Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

     I have always been an avid fan of ancient history. Rome, Greece, and most especially Egypt will always draw my interest. While Cleopatra is certainly low on my list of favorite pharaohs (because, at least to my way of thinking, she was not a true Egyptian) this book still instantly caught my eye. I had passed it by in browsing several times, giving it a cursory glance and little else. Most books that delve into the folds of ancient history tend to be irksome with inaccurate details and failing plot line. Finally, I gave into my curiosity and purchased it hoping that it would turn out to be a wonderful book. As the old saying goes, hope springs eternal.

We start off in Alexandria, Egypt in the company of Cleopatra herself with her brood of children, guards, and politicians. The Romans are invading, as the Romans were wont to do, and Egypt has found itself in a state of chaos. The pharaoh has barricaded herself in with her children, and her precious Marc Antony stumbles in and promptly dies. Once the Roman's take the city, Cleopatra turns her children over to the invaders and sticking with history she dies by the venom of a cobra. Caesar then takes her children to Rome, parades them through the streets showing off his spoils of war. 

Sadly, I found it difficult to get through this part. The author seemed so focused on describing the scene that she seemed to fail at giving the characters any personality. I was reading along what so-and-so was thinking and couldn't for the life of me remember who the character was. There was nothing for many chapters that made any of the characters stand out enough to remember who each of them were in relationship to the next or why their thoughts were significant. But as I've never opened a book I've not finished, I pressed on. 

Once in Rome, after parading these poor children through the streets like trophies at the state fair, they are taken to live with the Caesar's family. They meet people their own age and the various member of the ruling family all of whom seemed dry as dust and utterly predictable. There were only two characters that really held my interest and that was Juba who acted as sort of a personal guard to Caesar and the slave Gallia who seemed to be a very fiery woman (it's the fiery ones that hold your attention).

Throughout the story Caesar is shown as heartless for the most part but with a softer side that surprises you, and always calculating. The kind of man that would happily kill his own family members while having a laugh over a glass of wine and roast pheasant. The story seems to center around not just the children of Cleopatra but a man called the Red Eagle who is enemy of the politicians and supporter of the slaves. In the end, the magnificent Red Eagle turns out to be exactly who I thought he was which was both wonderful and disappointing.

My main complaint of the book is there didn't seem to be a clear plot line. We more or less meander through the lives of these royal children as they come of age and vaguely wonder what this supporter of slaves is up to. Even up until the last page of the book I kept wondering what the point was. Honestly, I'm still not sure. The story was anticlimactic, dry, and predictable. Despite that, it was still beautifully written with great care to detail. I'd give this three denarii out of five.