The Serpent and the Rose by Kathleen Bryan

[snugglekitty]

Title: The Serpent and the Rose
Author: Kathleen Bryan - a pseudonym for Judith Tarr. I picked out the book thinking she was a new author, as it says "a bold new voice (in) fantasy" on the back cover. But now I would like to read some of her other books.
Series: War of the Rose, Book 1
Genre: Fantasy
Setting: An alternate-history sort of France.
Reason for Reading: I saw it in the fantasy section of the library and thought it looked interesting.
Finished In: Days
Pages: 316
Copyright Date: 2007
Cover: A man, a woman, and some knights on horseback riding through a barren forest. The trees are leafless, twisted, and a little creepy.
First line: "The chapel was made of light."
Best part: Difficult to put down, with strong and believable characters.
Worst part: Seeing snakes demonized as evil in a patriarchal way just seems weird to me at this point.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Just a Girl" by No Doubt
Grade: B
Recommended for: I think there was more of an alternate history thing going on than I had background for. So, I suspect fantasy buffs who like European history would enjoy it.
Related Reads: Shadow of Albion by Rosemary Edghill and Andre Norton. Anno Dracula by Kim Newman.

Comments

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I really like Judith Tarr. She's got a couple historical novels set in ancient Egypt that I thought were great (if you like books set in ancient Egypt, that is). The ones I read were Lord of the Two Lands (about Alexander the Great's takeover of Egypt) and King and Goddess (about Hatshepsut).