T.L. Higley

Dear Readers,

Ok I have to admit when I first heard about this series I wasn't sure how well it would do or if I would even like it. I had read a couple of T.L. Higley's other books and they were ok, but in the Seven Wonders series she seems to be perfecting her craft. Her characters are much more 3 dimensional and the stories read less like a history lesson.

Guardian of the Flame is the 3rd of the series and the 2nd one I read. The one I missed, number 2, is City of the Dead and set during the time of the construction of the Pyramids. I was just handed a copy of that one today and will be reading it soon.

Guardian is set in Egypt again only in Alexandria and centers on the lighthouse that was built there in 250 BC. It stood guard over the harbor, guiding ships in through the harbor reefs and shallows. Sophia is the guardian of the lighthouse, making sure that the flame never goes out. She is seen by the people of Alexandria to be cruel, unloving and someone that you just don't want to meet. She seldom leaves the lighthouse and pretty much keeps to herself. As you read her story, you come to understand that she is just trying to protect herself from more hurt. That is until her past student, Cleopatra, returns to the city to reclaim the crown that her brother has stolen from her.

At the same time Julius Caesar arrives in Alexandria to seek repayment of a debt long over due. The city is in turmoil, and Caesar orders one of his platoons to take over the control of the Lighthouse so their fleets will be guaranteed safe passage into the harbor. Bellus is not thrilled with his new orders, but knows that he deserves much worse for how poorly his soldiers did in the battle for the city. Sophia has meet her match in Bellus and for some reason finds herself drawn more and more to him.

This is an action packed book. The battle for Alexandria kept my attention because of all the political intrigue that is involved. Keeping all the Egyptian names straight did prove to be a bit of a challenge, but didn't take away from the story at all. I loved the history of it all and I did learn stuff that I didn't know before. Which is always interesting. I think that the next four books of this series will prove just as interesting and am looking forward to the chance to read them.

Happy Reading
Chris

P.S. I did do a review of Shadow of Colossus back when it was released in Oct. If you didn't get that one or don't remember it, you can go to my blog to view it. bbhfiction.blogspot.com. Just scroll down to reviews by author on the right hand side and find T.L. Higley. If you click on that one it will bring it right up.