Barbara Hambly has been one of my favorite writers for years. She is such a good writer. I read her Science Fiction/Fantasy novels, following her through the Dog Wizard fantasy and James Asher vampire novels to the Benjamin January mystery series.
The Nubian’s Curse is number 20.
The arrival of a woman January knew in Paris to New Orleans raises memories of a suspicious death in a haunted house. Was it really haunted and was the death from a malevolent ghost – or was it murder?
Now the murder of the man on scene in Paris, who arranged to marry the wealthy heiress left orphaned, raises more questions. Ben is asked to investigate.
As usual, the society in New Orleans – the Quadroon Balls, the custom of keeping a placee, a free woman of color who is mistress to a wealthy white man, the casual racism and the slavery, are front and center in these amazing mysteries. Highly recommended.
It is not necessary to read these in order but I would.
Since Crete is near the equator, it stands to reason that it is a hot country. That is partially true. During the summers, the weather is hot and dry. Winters, with temperatures in the fifties, are rainy. That is when the olive groves and the vineyards are watered. (Excavations have shown that the Ancient peoples did practice irrigation in the hot dry summers.)
Horns of consecration on a summer day.
Their clothing, loincloths for the men and short-sleeved jackets for the women, also suggest hot weather. (I often think those tiered skirts, probably made from wool, are very heavy and hot.)
Does that mean the Bronze Age culture never saw snow? No. Crete is a mountainous country. Two mountains, Jutkas and Ida, are even now pictured with snow.
Most of the population lived in the lowlands, (although not all) but the snow capped mountains were visible from communities on the plains.
The Final Heir by Faith Hunter is number fifteen, the final entry in this series.
Mainet Pellisier, grandfather of Leo, is in New Orleans. His mission is to capture the magical objects Jane has, killing her in the process. Leo, three times dead and reborn, tries to help but he is bound to Mainet and struggles to tell Jane what she needs to know.can’t help Jane.
The null prison has been destroyed by witches using death magic and Lacklash, head witch, has been captured. Although Molly, Evan, and her sisters are in New Orleans, they have so far been stalemated by Mainet’s witches. Jane’s brother and fellow shape changer and her friend Rick La Fleur are far away and out of communication so she can’t rely on them for herp.
Worse news, it appears that Mainet has bound a demon and partially bound an angel. Leo manages to tell Jane that if Mainet manages to finish the binding, and collect the magical items, he will be too powerful to beat.
When Jane uses several of the magical items to see the future – or rather – the multiple futures, it looks as though she dies and her allies lose in every one.
Besides the action and the fantasy elements, the characters are captivating. I really cared about them and wanted them to be happy.
Highly recommended. BUT it is crucial to read these in order. Besides the evolution of Jane’s character – she evolves from a loner and a hired killer to a wise and compassionate woman – the change in Leo is striking. A scarily powerful vampire in the beginning, he becomes something totally different. (No spoilers here.)
Women, as expected, took care of children. And they were famous as spinners, weavers and dyers, as the previous posts demonstrate.
But what did the men do?
Well, farming was certainly a profession. Even many of the people who lived in Knossos owned farms. Besides goats and sheep and cattle, the farms grew grains and vegetables as well as the very important olives and grapes.
There were other professions, such as gold smith, jewelry maker, mosaic maker, but the primary job for men involved the sea. Minoan Crete had the best navy in the ancient world at this time. It was so superior that an Egyptian Pharaoh (one of the Ramses) sent a request to Crete for help pushing back the Sea Peoples. These people were sailing from Anatolia and attacking the rich cities of Egypt.
Besides the Navy, the men roamed far and wide, exploring the Mediterranean Sea and trading. (This was certainly a factor in the importance of women. The wives provided the woven goods for trade. As well, the women left behind ran the businesses while their husbands and other male family members were gone.)
Minoan fishing boat
Finally, fishing was an important part of this culture. The people who lived on the island ate from the sea. The mosaics show octopi, dolphins, and a variety of sea creatures. Fish bones, sheep bones and beef bones have been found during archaeological excavations.
I read another of Marcia Talley’s Hannah Ives mysteries, Mile High Murder, this past week and I started Final Heir by Faith Hunter.
In Mile High Murder, Hannah joins her friend Claire on a trip to Denver to research legalized marijuana.
Claire, a cancer patient, has a prescription for medical marijuana. She is trying to see marijuana legalized in Maryland. Claire and Hannah are put up in a B and B that provides recreational cannabis in all forms.
Then one of the other guests is murdered and the safe is broken into. Are both crimes linked? Don’t worry, Hannah is on the case.
Regular readers know that I love the Hannah Ives mysteries. I did not care for this one, however. I did not find the characters engaging and the identity of the thieves was easy to guess. I am still looking forward to the newest Hannah Ives, however. Circles of Death will be released March 5.
I am about halfway through Hunter’s Final Heir. The story engages the reader immediately – but these books are long.
Jane and her crew are anticipating the arrival of Mainet Pellisier, grandfather of Leo. Leo, three times dead and reborn, can’t help Jane. Mainet has bound Leo and although he wants to help, he can’t.
Mainet brings the battle to Jane’s house and her friends, the Trueheart witches, come to help. They are almost destroyed as the plane lands.
Besides the non-stop action, one of the features that I admire in this series is the layers. Hunter has thought about the politics of the vampires, the witches, and the humans and of course the baddies whose nefarious aims drive the plot. Although Jane herself is not political, Hunter has clearly thought about the different goals of the various species and how those goals interlock.
Return next week for the full review once I’ve finished the entire novel.
I’ve written quite a bit about women’s clothing, which was both colorful and elaborate. Male clothing was much simpler.
The above is a fresco at the Knossos palace site. The man pictured is wearing a loincloth decorated with colored bands.
One of the sources I read claimed that the important men wore one robes, similar to the robes worn by Egyptian men. I haven’t seen pictures of such clothing so I am not sure about the accuracy of this statement.
The robes were described as decorated with colored bands, similar to those on the loincloths.
Loincloths and kilts were common wear then. Trousers would not be invented for many centuries.
The hairstyle, with the three locks over the shoulders and the hair decorations were popular for both men and women.
Why was women’s clothing so elaborate and men’s clothing so comparatively simple? I’m speculating here but I wonder if that wasn’t because the women were the spinners, weavers, and dyers. They did the work so they spent more effort on their own attire.
This week I read books by an old favorite author and a new favorite author.
First up, Tangled Roots by Marcia Talley.
Regular Readers know how much I enjoy these Hannah Ives mysteries. Somehow I missed this one and I took advantage of the holiday to backtrack.
Hannah’s sister Georgina discovers through DNA testing that she is 25% Native American. When Hannah tests as well, the results are the same. Through her subscriptions to the various DNA/ancestry sites, she sends out a request for matches. No one should be surprised that the she finds far more than she bargains for.
While Hannah is tracking down the Indian connection, Julie, her niece, follows some of the other matches. This search leads to many other matches and a big secret that culminates in a murder. Scott, Georgina’s husband, is struck down in his gardening shed.
Meanwhile, Hannah and Julie continue researching the Lakota Sioux – and meet another branch of the family – and discover the story of a long ago love and murder. Excellent as usual.
The second book was from a new author for me. Down a Dark River by Karen Odden is the first in a new series.
Michael Corrovan escaped the slums of Whitechapel when barely more than a boy. Now a senior Inspector in Scotland Yard, one of the few remaining after a corruption scandal, he is charged with investigating the murder of a young woman found floating in a rowboat. The daughter of a wealthy and respected judge, Rose seemed to have no enemies.
Then another young woman is found murdered and sent floating in a rowboat on the Thames. Then a third. Corravan can find no link between these young women.
At the same time, he is investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Beckford. When he finds her, she is so terrified of returning home he hides her in a hospital until he can investigate further.
Gradually, he discovers the two cases are linked and the murders are the result of a terrible injustice.
Last week I mention the non-profit organization dedicated to reestablishing wild areas in Europe with the species that were driven out or in decline. These species are not only herbivores either but also Lynx and wolves.
One species that is not part of the project but is in serious decline is lions. Once one of the most widespread, now only 600 Asiatic lions remain in a wildlife preserve in India and 23,000 African lions in central Africa.
Like the bull in Bronze Age Crete and the horse for the steppe tribes, the lion was a symbol of power, spirituality, kingship, divinity, and even safety and peace. (The lion-headed goddess Sekhmet represents both war and healing.) India, Mesopotamia and even Mycenae Greece honored the lion with statuary and ritual. Delos, Greece has a sanctuary to a point where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. To reach it, a supplicant had to pass through the Terrace of the Lions – sixteen snarling lion statues.
So what happened to this magnificent creature? Humans. To prove themselves, kings and others hunted the lions. In Ancient Rome, so many lions were killed in the arenas that they eventually became hard to find, partly from overhunting and partly because the Romans began to lose territory.
This will be my last post of 2023. My best wishes to everyone for a delightful holiday season and a warm and peaceful New Year.
With this busy season, I Only managed one book this week. I thought I was finishing the Bucket List mysteries: Number four is Murder in the Tattoo Parlor.
I thought I was finishing this series, only to reach the end and a To Be Continued.
In this outing, our older, but still intrepid detectives become involved in a murder in a tattoo parlor. What are they doing there? Well, Joy, who is engaged to a local sheriff, wants to get his name tattooed on her shoulder. When Charlotte, Francine and Joy arrive at the tattoo parlor, they discover the artist dead. Joy leaves, not wishing anyone to know she was there, but Charlotte and Francine are filmed leaving.
Charlotte’s accident on her motorcycle and Francine’s new job lead to a solution – and the unveiling of several big secrets. Lots of fun. I look forward to the next installment.
In my Ancient Crete series, I describe a sport in which young people run at a bull, grab the horns, and flip over the back. Martis, my protagonist, wants to become a bull leaper in the first book – In the Shadow of the Bull.
In the second in the series, On the Horns of Death, Martis is a full fledged bull leaper.
Below is my imagined picture of what bull leaping might look like.
The bulls used in this sport/ritual were not the domesticated cattle we are now familiar with. Instead, a type of cattle now extinct called aurochs are thought to be ones used.
The aurochs were holdovers from the Ice Age and were much larger than domesticated bulls. From historical reports and excavated skeletons, we know the auroch bulls stood about six feet. They had long slender legs for walking long distances. For the purpose of bull leaping, they had long, thick curved horns.
What happened to the aurochs? We know they were still in existence during the Roman era; they were used as battle beasts in the arenas. The aurochs actually survived until the 1600s, but the numbers were much diminished. Over hunting and loss of range as humans expanded into their habitat. The date given for their extinction is 1627 when a poacher killed the last one on a reserve in Poland.
An effort to rewild Europe has attempted to bring back the Aurochs, among other extinct animals. DNA strands from some ancient cattle strains were combined. The result is called Heck’s cattle and gradually they have been introduced into Europe. Spain just announced a reintroduction in October, 2023.
