VeganCleopatra

Overall I would rate Nefertiti as a 3. The first 250 pages or so would get a 2 from me, they reminded me a great deal of a soap opera in writing and I did not get the essence of Egypt at the time through the writing. The characters could have been from any royal family, in any country and at pretty much any point in history.

However, the last half of the novel was a solid 4 for me, bring the average for the book to a 3. Once Mutny gets out from under her sister's constant presence, the book really picks up. You start to feel more like you are in Egypt and the characters seem to come more alive. There is still the drama like that in the first half, it is just handled in a better way in my opinion.

I thought Moran's take on history (the choices she made when we do not know for sure the truth) was interesting. I would not say that I felt I learned much from this period in time, most things that one would learn from it left you wondering if the event was fact or fiction--and the answers to such questions weren't really available in the back of the book.

I think an author like Margaret Geroge would do absolute wonders for this period in Egyptian history. Anyone interested in Egypt and feeling what it was like to be there, I recommend her Memoirs of Cleopatra.

Regardless though, I do believe I will read the sequel to Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, as I am intrigued. I just hope the first half does not let me down again. Moran's Cleopatra's Daughter was far superior to this novel, although not set in Egypt.