"Set in the Roman Empire in 45 B.C., this action-filled story is not for the faint of heart.
The book begins with Damon, a young medical student, weeping over the death
of his Egyptian mother. Damon wants to honor his mother’s wishes, so when the
embalmers refuse to prepare her body for burial, he mummifies her himself.
Then, together with his friend Artemas, Damon sets off to find his father,
a soldier in Caesar’s army. Along the way, their ship sinks,
and the duo is almost eaten by sharks. They are rescued by
Cleopatra, who sends them off to spy on Cicero, Caesar’s enemy.
In a dramatic denouement, Damon meets his father (and Caesar) at a battlefield hospital,
where he tries to sort out his feelings for the man he has not seen in six years.
The book’s fast pace (and, frankly, some of its gore) will appeal
to readers who relish exciting stories. Rubalcaba also does a good
job with the characterizations, especially her depiction of the
relationship between the friends. Try this with boys who don’t think they like
historical fiction." - ALA Booklist
Jill’s new novel,
The
Wadjet Eye, is now available from Houghton Mifflin’s Clarion Books.
