941: Gilgamesh was a more complicated sequel
In this episode, I was fully immersed…
Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress.
My narration journey continues in 2025, so before we get to the review,
I’d appreciate if you check out my works on A03
As I said in its review, Inanna was a complete book that was more than sum of its parts. It was so well organized that it was incredibly difficult to separate the original mythology from the original inventions and additions.
In the sequel, Gilgamesh, I saw some of the challenges of any middle book of a trilogy, but the artistry of the writing was excellent. I cannot comment on the historical accuracy of some of the more specific, but I liked the bold takes on the Annunaki’s origins as well as the main characters themselves.
Inanna continued to be my favorite, but Ninshubar and Gilgamesh were excellent as well as the less divine characters of the story. Marduk took a while to reveal his characteristics, but his positioning in the larger story was clever. Ereshkigal was heartbreaking as a minor POV character, even though it took me a little while to wrap my head around her perspective.
The challenge of both books, Inanna and Gilgamesh is simply that unlike with my history with other mythologies and traditions, I have much less knowledge of Sumerian mythology.
That means that I am much more in the dark about the third and final story in this trilogy. That is a very good thing. Despite the intense action and the surprising twists and turns of the plot, this trilogy has, throughout the first two books, maintained a focus on the characters and the impact they have on the world around them. The power of stories woven in the civilizations, the lies of power made me extremely curious about the last book. Inanna, Marduk, Gilgamesh, and the titular character of book 3, Ninshubar have their work cut out for them.
The Sumerians trilogy is beautiful, brutal, and fascinating. It is worth an exploration.
Until next time, keep your bookmarks close.
Peace, Love, Pages.
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.