false <![CDATA[Hand of Isis]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255736984m/3625889.jpg 3625889 4 Once, in a palace by the sea, there were three sisters born in the same year. 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. 3668686 23 3 2009 Hand of Isis total:119|5:28|4:50|3:30|2:6|1:5| 119 447 264 42 5 5 false false Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 16:12:53 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 00:57:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Sep 19 23:56:34 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 23:58:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:20:07 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:20:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 25 20:36:11 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 12:08:47 -0700 2009 Black Ships. The one that recounts the life of Charmian, daughter of a slave and a Pharoah, as she tries to help her half-sister Cleopatra save Alexandria.

It's a familiar story, and it's kind of sad to fall in love with multicultural, free, technologically advanced Alexandria k...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Apr 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 16:45:34 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 11:54:27 -0700 2009 Black Ships but have not read it yet. It is a choice for a RL book group of mine for May.

Luckily the books stand alone in the sense that the stories are different. I think some of the previous...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 16:42:40 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 09:05:47 -0700 2009
Who's head was I in? Sybil's from Black Ships? Or Charmian's from Hand of Isis? There was...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 06:19:39 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 06:36:18 -0700 2009 Hand of Isis is a story of ancient Egypt as seen through the eyes of Charmain, a young handmaiden and half-sister to Cleopatra. Exiled into the Black Lands as girls, Charmain, Cleopatra, and a third sister named Iras, devote themselves to the goddess Isis, vowing to be her hands and avat...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 04:28:55 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 08:11:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Feb 21 07:30:56 -0800 2009 Mon May 18 16:37:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:28:28 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 07:30:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Jul 29 10:51:32 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 08:18:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 10:55:27 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 10:58:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 02 19:06:09 -0700 2009 Sat May 02 19:16:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 11:17:28 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 08:04:35 -0700 2009
However, five scenes of the book are downright trashy. These few ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 25 13:58:18 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 13:59:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed May 13 09:17:31 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 06:00:42 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 22:07:29 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 22:09:32 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 15:42:19 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 26 15:45:49 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 23 20:39:37 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 20:39:37 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 15:41:24 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 15:43:53 -0700 2009 ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3625889