janicu’s Neighborhood

Post number fifty-three is for a compilation of short stories entitled Vacations from Hell. It features stories by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson and Sarah Mlynowski. I have only read books by two of these authors myself, and both of them were the stories I enjoyed the most.

Brief, not-really spoilers follow.

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The first story in the book was by Sarah Mlynowski and featured a twist at the end that I didn't see coming, so that's always satisfying.

The second story, by Claudia Gray, was perhaps the most light-hearted of them all, and was overall okay. Not fabulous but not really bad, either. Just ... okay.

The third story was by Maureen Johnson and was just creepy. I didn't care for the ending at all, but it did fit in with the plot, so I guess I can't complain.

The fourth story was my favorite, and it was by Cassandra Clare. I liked this one because the ending was satisfying, the plot was interesting, and the heroine had to figure things out (with help from others) and carry out what was necessary to be done. Two thumbs up!

The final story was by Libba Bray, and it was borderline creepy, too, and also had a twist that I didn't see coming. It was pretty dark, though, especially as it neared the end, so just be forewarned.

Of all the stories, Maureen Johnson's was the darkest. They were all well-written, for the most part, and enjoyable in their own right. I'm glad I read the book, but also glad I borrowed it from the local library, as it's not something I'd ever really be inclined to read again.

Post number fifty-two is for Esther Friesner's Sphinx's Princess, which is a fictional account of the life of Nefertiti. This books is semi-based on fact, but mostly made up, as hardly anything (aside from the names of Nefertiti's father, stepmother and sister) is known about her life before she became Akhenaten's Great Royal Wife. Likewise, there's nothing known about her death, either, so her life is basically one great big mystery, aside from the time she spent as Pharaoh's wife. Nonetheless, Friesner managed to make Nefertiti into an interesting person, full of joy, humor and intelligence. I enjoyed this book a lot.

Spoilers follow.

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This book picks up with Nefertiti as a small child. She's been raised by a nurse, Mery (who later becomes her stepmother), and her father, Ay. Ay is the brother of Pharaoh Amenhotep's Great Royal Wife Tiye, and after a long period of time, Tiye requests that Ay, Mery, Nefertiti and Mutnodjmet (Nefertiti's sister) come visit her, and she forces Ay to send Nefertiti to Thebes, where she'll marry Thutmose, Tiye's eldest son, and the next Pharaoh. Nefertiti's father doesn't want to do this, but Tiye threatens him until he relents. Nefertiti goes into the courtship with the idea that she might fall in love with Thutmose, but this is not to be. Nefertiti is only allowed to bring her slave girl, whom she calls Berett, which means "harp" in Egyptian. (Berett is a harp player who has since gone mute after the death of her sister, who was punished for blasphemy because she pulled Nefertiti out of the river when she fell, even though the priests declared that Nefertiti's death was the Gods' will. My recap makes this sound confusing, but it really isn't. Sorry about that.)

Thutmose is really rather evil, although we don't find this out until nearly the end of the book. He has an older sister, Sitamun, and a younger brother Amenophis, both of whom become friends with Nefertiti. This turns out to be a good thing, because, after Pharaoh falls ill and he and Tiye head to Dendera, Thutmose becomes acting regent, and condemns Nefertiti to death for supposedly killing his cat. He plays her, though, making her think he's on her side, when in reality he's jealous because she likes Amenophis more than she likes him. (The truth is that if Thutmose had been more like the way he was when he was pretending to court Nefertiti, she most likely *would* have liked him more than Amenophis.) Anyway, Sitamun and Henenu (a friend of Nefertiti's father, and a scribe to the Pharaoh Amenhotep) work out a way to get Nefertiti away from Thebes, and her, Berett (who's real name is Nava), and Amenophis set out in a small reed boat on the way to Dendara to clear Nefertiti of all charges.

I am interested to see how Friesner ends Nefertiti's story. In reality, Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten, which is the Egyptian name for Amenophis. Also, the physical descriptions of Amenophis match those of Akhenaten, so it seems pretty clear that she's going to end up married to him. I don't know what's going to become of Thutmose (in reality Thutmose was a sculptor, and is the creator of the famous bust of Nefertiti), or if Tiye (who in the story blames Nefertiti for a great many things, due to the fact that she's been given three years to marry Thutmose) will see that the charges against Nefertiti are false, or if she'll side with her eldest son. Also, Amenhotep's poor health is a concern; hopefully Nefertiti will reach him at Dendera before anything bad happens to him. I imagine that much of the next book will be about Nefertiti's, Nava's and Amenophis' journey to Dendera, although I could obviously be wrong. Nonetheless I eagerly await the installment. :)

This will be my first year joining nanowrimo. The writing begins in 2 days! I am excited and nervous at the same time. But mostly excited. Well see how it goes.