Babylonia by Costanza Casati (large paperback)

Description

There are whispers of her fame, in the land long since turned to dust. The Queen who rose from nothing – and changed everything . .

. Ancient Assyria, 9th century BC. An orphan is raised on the outskirts of a brutal empire.

Heir to a tragic prophecy, Semiramis dreams of wielding power and escaping her destiny. Far away, a reluctant prince walks the corridors of his gilded palace in a city built by the gods. Ninus would rather spend his days in books and poetry than conquering the world of men.

But when he meets Onnes, a broken, beautiful warrior, something awakens in them both. And as they grow into young men, their friendship deepens into something fiercer still. That is until Semiramis arrives.

A savage love soon erupts between them all, even as a dark threat to the kingdom mounts. And before long, all three will be forced to learn the lesson of the gods – in Babylonia, you must bend the world to your will. What doesn’t bend, you break.