BLACK SHIPS by Jo Graham

BLACK SHIPS is one for the keeper shelf. Which means I have to go get a copy, because I read a library copy.

BLACK SHIPS follows the life of the Sybil of Aeneas, a prince of fallen Troy, or Wilusa. A sybil is what the Romans called an oracle. An alternate spelling is sibyl, and a Wikipedia entry on sibyls can be found here. Sybils were always female, and they always serve for life. This sybil--whose given name is Gull--is the daugher of a slave, born of rape after the first fall of Wilusa. Her mother gave birth to her in the town of Pylos, in the Greek pennunsula, but always reminded her that she was of "the People".  Her mother also gave birth to a son by an Achaian (Greek) father, and his name was Aren.

When Gull is still a young girl, an accident leaves her crippled. Since her mother cannot take care of a crippled daughter, she takes her as an offering to the shrine of the Lady of the Dead. The oracle there--called by the Achaians as Pythia--is reluctant to take her, but when Gull has a vision of black ships, Pythia knows she has found her replacement.

So Gull grows up and eventually takes over as Pythia. Shortly afterward, the she is driven by her goddess to a hilltop early one morning. There, she sees the black ships of her vision. She hurries to the town of Pylos just as the invaders begin to put the city to the sword.

And what happens next is not anything you would expect.

The rest of the story is based on the story in the Aeneid, the epic poem by Virgil, based which tells how Aeneas founds the city of Rome. Gull travels with Aeneas's fleet, in a ship captained by Xandros. Xandros is in love with Aeneas, but he also grows to love Gull. Gull is in love with Aeneas, but she also loves Xandros. As for Aeneas's feelings? He clearly loved his dead wife and displays no particular passion for Xandros beyond trust and friendship. And he has a very dangerous romance midway through the story. And his feelings for Gull? Time will tell.

Don't expect modern homosexual attitudes. This is the way it was in ancient times. Just read about Julius Caesar's life.

My critiques are few. A sex scene, when it finally happened, was surprisingly awkward. So was a subsequent birth scene. And during one squabble scene, a character drops the F-bomb, which I felt was totally out of place in this novel, since this was the only place where it appeared. My only major critique concerned a long-anticipated battle. Since Gull is a woman and didn't participate, she only learns about the battle after-the-fact. I felt the author missed a chance to use Gull's powers as an oracle to put the reader in the midst of the battle.

Otherwise, this was a marvellous novel. A while back, I wrote a post on how much I love character development novels. BLACK SHIPS is such a novel. If you enjoy ancient history and getting lost in the life of an extraordinary character, I think you'll enjoy BLACK SHIPS.

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Links!

BLACK SHIPS Amazon links: USA, UK, Canada
Jo Graham's website and blog
Excerpt

My Opening Chapters review

My Midway Point review

BLACK SHIPS - Midway Point

I'm actually a bit past the midway point, and I had to pry myself away from this novel in order to write this post. I have not enjoyed a novel so much in a very long time. BLACK SHIPS has not only made me forget that I'm reading it in order to review it, but I'm forgetting I am supposed to be reviewing it as I read it. And when I got to the midway point--when I was supposed to stop and write, I kept on reading.

I only have one gripe so far, but it has nothing to do with the writing, or the story, but rather, the setting. Since it may resolve itself before the end of the story, I'll hold off on mentioning it right now.

Jo Graham has woven a marvelous tale. It reads as if this is her tenth or twelfth novel, rather than her first. It is more like historical fiction than fantasy, with a great deal of character development. This doesn't mean that the novel doesn't have fantasy elements. The main character, who started out as Gull, but became Pythia when she became an Oracle, makes predictions of the future and occasionally becomes the avatar for the Lady of Death, whom she serves. She also had a meeting with a god. Her native people call her Sybil, which is the name that the Romans had for their oracle.

There is a bad guy--a blood enemy--named Neoptolemos who, like the best of villains, keeps turning up, even halfway around the world. Neoptolemos, son of Achilles, seems born to plunder and conquer. He is shaping up quite nicely as a villain. And he may even now have a potential traitor in his enemy camp, under Gull's very nose.

Now, to get back to reading!

BLACK SHIPS - Opening Chapters

I am loving BLACK SHIPS. Jo Graham has written just the type of character development novel that I love. She has made me forget that I'm reading this novel in order to write a review. These are the moments when I love keeping this blog. I am already a quarter of the way through the novel.

The story is told in first person, from the point-of-view of Gull, a slave born out of rape after the fall of Wilusa, or Troy. Her mother was taken as war booty and is a slave in Greece. When she is crippled in an accident, her mother cannot support her anymore, so she takes her as an offering to the Lady of the Dead. When she demonstrates a gift of prophesy, the offering is accepted.

The tone of this novel is quiet, but the pace always moves forward. Unexpected things happen quite often. This novel is based on the Aeneid, which is an epic poem written by Virgil, chronicling the travels of Aeneas, a Trojan who founds Rome. I have not read the Aeneid, but I may have to, now. I'm actually glad I have not read it yet, because I will not have the tendency to quibble with the author, which I admit to doing when I read about a historical period that I know well.

Back when I announced this novel, I made note of the fact that the cover reminded me of a 1920s film star. Well, now I know the reason for the stylized makeup, and I think they did a great job with the cover.

My copy is a library copy, but I can tell already that I'm going to want to buy this one. I hope it doesn't disappoint, but I really don't think it will.