Fascinating "I The Sun" is a very interesting book. I received a complementary copy in return for an honest review. I must say that I was not familiar with the Iron Age or the Bronze Age and I definitely knew nothing about the Hittites.I found this book very informative and enjoyed getting familiar with the Hittite culture and its people. It was like I was reading history and it fascinated me.The author Janet Morris provides the facts brilliantly and it brings the reader close to the characters in the story. It pulls you into the pages and keeps you engaged until you arrive to the last page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves history and enjoys learning new facts about older civilizations. I had been looking forward to reading this for a while and I was not disappointed. This book is superb!Based on actual events (save one character) this story recounts the life of Suppiluliumas, King of the Hittites, favourite of the Storm God, and empire builder. Told from the perspective of the king himself it is an exciting, moving and in some places heart-rending story of the adolescent and angry prince who survives court intrigue, treachery, heartbreak and war to lead his people to a golden age. Translations from actual historical tablets merge in with the author’s own words to present this fantastic book and present a vivid recounting of a world which existed fourteen centuries before the birth of Christ. This must be remembered when reading this book, as it tells of slavery, violence and inequality against women, atrocities of war and other issues which harken back to a different morality than our own. The author neither condones nor condemns these views - they are a fact of the time.In many ways the story is tragic and I have to say, even though in a couple of places I guessed at events and I knew the ending I was almost moved to tears, I did not want to story to end. A touching and rather sad love story interweaves, proving that whatever else Suppiluliumas was he was still a man, and a flawed one at that. I was totally drawn in by the diverse, well described characters and their culture, from the lowliest slave girl to the man who was favoured by the gods. The Storm God himself is enigmatic but his role is crucial to the story and in following him one follows the journey of the man who was known as the Sun.Highly recommended, this will certainly be added to my list of favourite books.I will also be seeking out other books about this time period as it is so fascinating.
Do You like book I, The Sun (1983)?
Superbly written historical novel with a hip, modern sensibility. Stimulating and exciting.
—rose
A fabulous book. Interesting and well worth the read
—jess
