The eldest was born in the season of planting, when the waters of the Nile had receded once more and the land lay rich and fertile, warm and muddy and waiting for the sun to quicken everything to life. She was born in one of the small rooms behind the Court of Birds, and her mother was a serving woman who cooked and cleaned, but who one day had caught Ptolemy Auletes’ eye. Her skin was honey, her eyes dark as the rich floodwaters. Her name was Iras.

The second sister was born under the clear stars of winter, while the land greened and grain ripened in the fields, when fig and peach trees nodded laden in the starry night. She was born in a great bedchamber with wide windows open to the sea, and five Greek physicians in attendance, for she was the daughter of Ptolemy Auletes’ queen, and her name was Cleopatra.

The youngest sister was born as the earth died, as the stubble of the harvest withered in the fields beneath the scorching sun. She was born beside the fountain in the Court of Birds, because her mother was a blond slave girl from Thrace, and that was where her pains took her. Water fell from the sky and misted her upturned face. Her hair was the color of tarnished bronze, and her eyes were blue as the endless Egyptian sky. Her name was Charmian.

Once, in a palace by the sea, there were three sisters. All the stories begin so.

The Hand of Isis is a historical fantasy by Jo Graham, and easily one of the best books I have read this year. The book follows Charmian, Cleopatra’s handmaiden and half sister, as she helps Cleopatra navigate the political turmoil as she becomes the Queen of Egypt.
Being a self professed Classics nerd, I knew that after reading Black Ships I was obligated to read anything else that Ms. Graham decided to write. The Hand of Isis eclipses all other historical fantasies I have read to date.

In The Hand, the veil between mortals and the divine is very thin, and the book begins with Charmian in the Halls of Amenti, telling her story to Serapis and Isis before her heart is weighed against a feather. Thus the book switches between third and first person, always coming back to where Charmian stands in judgment.

Charmian and her half sister Iras were born of different slaves, and Charmian’s mother died in childbirth. Thus Iras’ mother raised them both, and when they begin taking lessons with Cleopatra to keep her company, they become a triumvirate, each a face of Isis: Cleopatra, mother of the World with Horus at her breast, Iras as the Lady of Amenti, and Charmian as Isis Pelagia, the Goddess of Love. Thus with their individual strengths they secure a kingdom for Cleopatra, the embodiment of Isis on earth.

Charmian occasionally dreams and has visions of what will be, including her past life, as well as the lives of others. In a conversation with Caesar, she tells him:

Because you have known me for a thousand years. I have died in your service. I have saved your life when your enemies sought you, and I have killed a man across your funeral bier…We carried you to Memphis in a coffin of gold and laid you among the sacred kings, beside the bulls of Serapis until your city was ready. You may not remember, waking, this side of the River, but I think that you do know. I think you know much more than you pretend…You have come home to your place, Imperator, and she greets you as a lover long absent and much missed.

Charmian knows that she has served Caesar before, when he was Alexander the Great, and she his soldier. The simple idea of death and rebirth is told so naturally that I find myself truly believing (I am usually prone to eye-rolling). Charmian is a woman of Alexandria, the face of the goddess of love, and her love of men is only diminished by her love and devotion to Cleopatra and the Ptolemy line. I thought it was refreshing that Graham didn’t impose current Western ideals on Charmian, but instead made her just as I would imagine a powerful woman in ancient Alexandria. Her life is rich, with threads of past lives woven in, and her sexual liberation very characteristic of the time period, though perhaps shocking in modern day. Graham mentions a great many characters to flesh out the world, including Plato, Hero, Vercingetorix, and others. It is clear that this time period has been thoroughly researched, and I could appreciate the little tidbits that she dropped (geography, architecture, etc.).The worldbuilding is flawless, especially for a standalone novel.

Perhaps my favorite point in the novel (though there are many) is the idea of the afterlife. Even though Charmian visits the Halls of Amenti and stands before Isis and Serapis in judgment, the angel Michael comes forward to speak for her, though she does not follow his god. Again, this liberated sense of worship, religion, and love really is a really different take that so many authors of historical fantasies of the same era miss out on.

I cannot reiterate how much I enjoyed The Hand of Isis. I felt like it wasn’t really advertised or talked about as much as Black Ships, which is ridiculous becomes Graham’s writing has only improved. For the numbers people: I’d say Black Ships was a 9/10 while The Hand is 12/10. Highly, highly recommended: Go unto thou local biblioteca and procure The Hand of Isis. Statim.

Stealing Fire comes out in May of 2010 and further explores the story of Alexander the Great, as told by his soldier Lydias of Miletus.

Black Ships is Jo Graham‘s version of the events of the Aeneid-Aeneas’ escape, travels, and subsequent founding of a new city. Our protagonist is Gull, a lowborn acolyte who ascends her mistress’ place as Pythia, an oracle of the Lady of the Dead.  Gull meets Aeneas and realizes that fate has bound him for a great destiny. She travels with the Trojans Wilusans (Trojans in Hittite) in search of a new home.  Their travels take them all over the Mediterranean–from an island of the dead to Byblos to Egypt (where they stay awhile) to the caves of Mt. Vesuvius-and finally into the Underworld itself.

This piece of historical fantasy was an enjoyable read, although a little slow at times. It was difficult for me to read at first because I have such set thoughts on Aeneas’ character and how it “should” be but I got over it fairly quickly. I just enjoyed it for what it was-a historical fantasy/romance. I especially enjoyed the disillusioned antics of Egyptian princess Dido Basetamon.

As the bedraggled group travels from place to place, they are pursued by Neoptolemus (his entrance into a fallen Troy and subsequent murder of King Priam is one of the most haunting scenes of the Aeneid). Unfortunately, Neoptolemus is never more than a vague threat in the distance (literally, they see his sails a couple times), and I would have liked a little more conflict there.  The scenery and historical details are thorough, and Graham’s writing style is exquisite- it’s beautifully simple and yet still so compelling and vivid.

I am looking forward to the Hand of Isis, which is another historical fantasy set during the reign of Cleopatra, the last Ptolemy! It features Charmian, Cleopatra’s handmaiden (Get it? Hand of Isis? ) and half sister. I am really curious as to how Graham will portray Cleopatra (I would assume she features prominently in the book, maybe not).

Will Cleopatra be portrayed as a dark, Egyptian sorceress (thanks to Octavian’s propaganda) or will she be as she was- a daughter of Ptolemy XII, of Macedonian (not Egyptian) descent, the first Ptolemy who bothered learning Egyptian mores, language, and who was believed to be the incarnation of Isis.