We Are All Woman Warriors --We Are Amazons!

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An absolutely magical book. Parallel tales of two women 3000 years apart yet connected through their involvement with the story of the legendary women warriors, the Amazons.

The story begins in modern day Oxford rainy and gray, our heroine Diana Morgan, a lecturer and an expert on Greek mythology and the Amazons is approached by a man bearing a picture of an ancient tablet with mysterious writing. He offers her a large sum to come with him to Amsterdam where she might see the tablet and perhaps translate its message. Reluctant at first, she soon decides to go along to solve the mystery. Particularly, since her Grandmother had taught her much about the Amazons and has since disappeared. Diana is in hopes of possibly finding her and learning her exact connection to these ancient women.

Several chapters later we are transported back to ancient days and the adventures of the first Amazon queen, Myrina and her efforts to find a safe place for the women to settle once their temple to the Moon Goddess is ransacked and they are set upon by Greek marauders. She crossed the Mediterranean in flight but her travels did not end on the opposite shore.

Back and forth the stories weave with Diana, unknowingly, following in Myrina's footsteps--from North Africa to Greece to Troy and into the northern reaches of modern day Germany and Finland. Both threads are filled with suspense and mystery and danger and in the end love.

The search for ancient relics and art works and the greed behind some of the searchers. The question of where these relics truly belong. The mystery of whether or not the Amazons truly existed and if there are any descendants today. The mystery of Troy. The story of Helen and Paris and the Trojan Wars with Greece. All of this is part of the tale. Who is to be trusted and who is not--indeed, in some cases, who is the person, really keeps the reader guessing until the very end.

The copy I read was an ARC--but I truly hope it is not changed in any way. It is perfect as is. If I had any suggestions to make it would be that the binding be changed. It is 575 pages and quiet heavy as a paperback. By page 278 the binding had failed and pages loosened to the point of falling out. From then on I had to be very careful how I opened it so as not to loosen any more pages.

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