Amazon Korinna, Daughters of the Fire, I Books For a Buck - for the e-version Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Rose International Publishing House ISBN-10:  193057455X Type: Fiction Pages: 360 Copyright: November 2006 With the audience appeal of "The Grass Crown" by Colleen McCullough and "The Last King" by Michael Curtis Ford, "Korinna - Daughters of the Fire, I," is an intense tour-de-force into the history of Ancient Greece, Rome, Anatolia, and the plight of women in ancient times. Excerpt FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, the Greek conquerors of Troy held colonies in the land named Anatolia (present-day Turkey) known in Roman times as Asia Minor. The Greek-speaking western coast and the surrounding Aegean islands were called IONIA, and the northeastern land track of Anatolia bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), was called PONTOS (the main). As time marched on, the tracts claimed by the next conqueror, Rome, included this Western coast and most of the Aegean islands. Administration was by a Roman proconsul, with three legates under him. Ephesus was the chief seat of the provincial government, with Pergamum a close second. Rome reigned by military force and commercial enterprises so that taxation was soon levied by Rome, instead of Athens. The Romans’ political corruption and usurious taxes bled the Greek colonists until, by the time the kings of Pontos/Pontus – originally an ally of Rome – took advantage of the internecine war on the Italian peninsula, and began seizing portions of the province, the people were willing to accept anyone who liberated them from the Roman yoke. The brilliant king of Pontus, Mithridates VI, called Eupator Dionysius, a.k.a. Mithridates the Great, grew to fame as one of Rome's most formidable enemies. The Kingdom of Pontus had been founded after the death of Alexander the Great, around 302 B.C., by Mithridates I Ktistes, son of Mithridates II of Kios (Mysia). Pontus was henceforth ruled by a succession of kings, mostly bearing the same name, until 64 B.C. Mithridates VI Eupator was ambitious, courageous, of great physical strength, and able to speak the languages of all the twenty-two nations he governed at his zenith. Among the territories he added to his kingdom was Crimea, and the northern shore of the Black Sea became Mithridates' protectorate. Then Colchis (modern Georgia) was swallowed up and soon after, western Armenia as well. Mithridates’ army juggernauted, expelling the Roman forces and taking over the Anatolians kingdoms of Bithynia, Cappadocia, the Bosporus and the Black Sea. In 89 B.C., he spread his rule to Rhodes and Greece. After Athens, much of southern Greece was brought under Pontic control, with the local populations initially happy to be free of Roman influence. In 88 B.C., Mithridates decided to ensure the loyalty of his newly won regional allies. In Ephesus, he issued a proclamation ordering the massacre of all resident Romans in Asia Minor and surroundings. As a result, 88,000 (by some accounts, 100,000) Roman/Italian citizens, men, women, and children, also 70,000 of their slaves and freedmen, including any person who spoke with an Italian accent, were slaughtered ………….

Compelling story, woven with magic
Rome dominates the world, but Rome is torn by civil war. The Italian states are in rebellion against Roman arrogance and within Rome itself, the aristocrats vie for power as the Roman Republic enters its last days. In Anatolia (located in what is now Turkey), King Mithridates sees the Roman civil wars as an opportunity to overthrow Roman rule and have his own nation of Pontus, aided by Greeks, become the dominant power on the Mediterranean (and by extention the entire world).

In this tumultuous time, a young woman, Korinna, seeks to discover the truth about her background and a way forward in her life. Leaving the relative safety of the Temple of Artemis where she has been raised, she attempts to visit a friend in the Temple of Venus--and is accosted by Roman soldiers. This attempted rape bars her from a return to Artemis--but certainly makes Venus unattractive as well. Still, she finds her life manipulated by the powerful priestesses who may wish her well, but who are busy playing the larger game of empire, while colosal forces move around them.

Korinna finds temporary sanctuary when she claims to be the wife of a recently murdered Roman businessman. But setting herself up as a Roman in an era where Mithridates is enflaming passions between the Greek and Anatolian natives and the tens of thousands of Roman occupiers has its own dangers. Another danger is Tiberius--the Roman soldier who nearly raped her and who has developed an obsession for her. Korinna gradually overcomes the revulsion caused by the pain in their intial meeting, but she cannot imagine that the two will be able to stay together.

Author Kristina O'Donnelly (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by O'Donnelly) continues her monumental series LANDS OF THE MORNING with an adventure set during one of the most fascinating eras in history. Korinna makes a compelling character as she grows from a spoiled girl seeking answers to her questions with no thought for consequences into a mature woman.

O'Donnelly weaves magic through her story--with partially remembered past lives going back to ANDROMAKHE and earlier, with friendly garden spirits, and with Korinna's eternal cat-companion all playing their roles. Still, although KORINNA is part of a series, it can be enjoyed independently, and the entire series can be read in any order.

Fans of historical fiction, of historical romance, and of the late Roman Republic will definitely want to grab KORINNA.

Four Stars

Reviewed by Rob Preece, 11/09/06