Between The Rivers -a review

Between the Rivers by Harry Turtledove

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A fun read by the master of alternate history. The setting is the dawn of civilization, where every city has a patron god. Sharur, the protagonist, is the sone of a master merchant. Times are good for Sharur, he's about to marry his love, profits are high, and he is lucky to live in Gibil, whose god, Engibil, is lazy and lets men rule themselves.

This has resulted in Gibil being a leader in new ideas like writing and bronze working. Other gods are jealous, but things get bad when Sharur leads a trade caravan and learns that now the mountain gods have forbidden all trade with Gibil. Now Sharur has to scheme against the gods themselves to lift this embargo and marry his true love!

I loved this book, especially for the picture of how people lived "between the rivers" in ancient Mesopotamia. Magic is subtle, wits are favored over brawn, and Turtledove does a nice job or portraying an era on the cusp of a major change.

Runequest players should read this one. The setting is pretty close to Glorantha.





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