false 2192272 4 "Haunting and bittersweet, lush and vivid, this extraordinary story has lived with me since I first read it." --Naomi Novik, author of <EM>His Majesty's Dragon</EM><BR><BR>The world is ending. One by one the mighty cities are falling, to earthquakes, to flood, to raiders on both land and sea. <BR><BR>In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, it is her destiny to counsel kings. <BR><BR>When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she has been destined for and the most perilous adventure -- to join the remnant of her mother's people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gates of the Underworld itself to lead him to his destiny. <BR><BR>In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.<BR> 2198000 10 3 2008 Black Ships total:282|5:83|4:117|3:65|2:16|1:1| 282 1111 511 92 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 13:10:41 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 13:10:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 07:11:27 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 07:30:28 -0800 2009 The Aeneid, this book tells the story of a daughter of Troy who becomes Pythia in Greece and ends up traveling with the remnants of her people, including Aeneas, to found a new homeland.

What I liked best about this book is Gull's journey as a priestess, and her experiences ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 22:11:42 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 28 09:11:56 -0700 2009
Written in the style of classical literature, very similar to Virgil's Aeneid, it tells the story of a priestess blessed with visions of the future of her people in the days after the Trojan War. The people of th...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 13 07:47:27 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 07:49:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Sep 30 12:43:24 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 12:43:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Aug 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 10:37:49 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 14:06:51 -0700 2009 "She has chosen you are Her voice and Her hands. You will be dedicated at the Feast of the Return, the Thesmophoria, as is proper. And from that time forward you cannot do as the living do. You cannot shed blood, or watch it shed. You cannot cut flesh with a knife, or wear the colors of the sun...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 11 17:26:24 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 11 17:26:56 -0700 2008 Black...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 05:45:19 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 21 01:29:50 -0700 2008 The Lives of Christopher Chant!) and I loved the way people and gods/go...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 06 17:47:17 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 13:58:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 13:51:58 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 06:04:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 18:12:26 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 01 21:06:40 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Fri Mar 07 15:39:54 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 06 12:31:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 07 15:39:14 -0800 2008 ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jan 19 19:42:48 -0800 2008 Mon Jun 09 10:57:51 -0700 2008
Having read this and Lavinia back to back, I'd have to say this is the year's best Ursula Le Guin historical novel.

One thing I partic...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 26 04:50:48 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 16 02:36:27 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 29 22:52:55 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 15 19:23:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:30:59 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:33:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 21:54:40 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 21:57:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 14 09:45:42 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 20 11:22:38 -0700 2009
Wonderful, wonderful book. I loved the POV character, Gull -- her strength and faith and almost grim determination when faced with the stark realities of the world and the time she lived in. All the emotions were familiar and rang true, even though...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jun 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 15:43:01 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 15:55:12 -0700 2008 Jo Graham's Black Ships is an engaging retelling of Virgil's Aeneid from the viewpoint of an orac...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 28 15:09:04 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 07:45:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2192272