It's Just My Opinion

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was so excited to read The Heretic Queen after reading Nefertiti and liking it so much. Michelle Moran delivers just the right amounts of mystery, history, politics, intrigue, romance, betrayal, and action. She knows her craft well. It's hard to put down once you start reading.

The one reason that I was disappointed in this book is... On the back cover, the teaser says, "Destined to be the most powerful Pharoah in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history." (Referring to the Biblical Exodus led by Moses.) The book does not cover the time span of Moses's Exodus from Egypt. In the author's note at the end of the book, Moran states, "Readers looking for the Biblical Moses within this story will be disappointed." And I am! I feel like she tricked me by mentioning the Exodus, then not including anything Biblically accurate in the story. She had a character, a Habiru, named Ahmoses, who spoke out for his people, but the Exodus was not covered at all, and Ahmoses and Moses are not the same person, so I have to wonder why she names him Ahmoses.

There were other facts that appeared to be historical in nature that I found out through reading the AFTERward were purely fictional. She writes in such a way that her fiction comes across as real. I like to know which parts are fact and which are fiction as I read.

I still highly recommend this book.

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