The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak
Melissa B. (dragoneyes)
This book reads like a brutal medieval soap opera. The author does a fantastic job of keeping you entertained and she gives a rich history on two women who are not very well known in our time. What a shame that their names were not carried on as well as their male counterparts.
The book surrounds the Merovingian dynasty, considered by some as the first race of the kings of France. The king of the Merovingians would tend to split the kingdom between his sons. So when he died, it was an all-out war between the siblings. This would last for decades only for one to be superior and later do the same thing.
Our story takes place in one of these family battles. The queens, Fredegund and Brunhilde, are both smart and ruthless but in their own way. Each one has a totally different background and handle matters in dissimilar fashions. I would have to say that I leaned more favorably to Brunhilde and the way she took care of things but they both had a passion and conviction.
While the author did lots of research, the book still had a good amount of speculation due to the lack of information back in that period. It was handled well and not put out there as definite fact. Look forward to reading more about this.
The only thing that took away from the book was there was so much going on and so many names to remember and keep lined up. At times I would feel myself drifting a bit and getting confused. I think I might have missed some things here and there and might go back later on in the future to reread it.
