VeganCleopatra

I have long been a lover of the person and history of Cleopatra, including her subsequent children. I've read both fiction and non-fiction tales of both Cleopatra and Cleopatra Selene. So each time I pick up a book about Cleopatra or her daughter it is more in search of an author's take on history rather than learning history itself. Therefore, the way the author creates the character and brings to life history matters a great deal to me, the characters MUST be strong to fit the historical facts.

Unfortunately I felt as though Shecter failed in bringing Cleopatra Selene, the other children, or even Egypt or Rome to life. There was no life bursting from the pages, just a continually unchanging voice of Cleopatra Selene (despite the age range being 7 to 16) and her one dimensional self. This is the child of CLEOPATRA, who eventually made significant strides in her own life as a queen, so should she not burst from the pages? But no, neither Cleopatra Selene nor her fellow characters were lively or even interesting to me. I would hope anyone reading this novel would look into the actual lives of the characters so they can see how much more vivid they were than Shecter drew them to be.