From the author of the bestselling Clytemnestra comes another intoxicating excursion into ancient history, as Costanza Casati reimagines the rise to power of the Assyrian empire’s only female ruler, Semiramis

KINGS FALL, QUEENS RISE

Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing in ancient Assyria in the ninth century BC could have foretold her legacy. Born to a woman scorned by Aphrodite and raised as an orphan on the outskirts of an empire, Semiramis was never meant to hold power. But a path unfolds before her when she meets a young representative of the new Assyrian king, a path that puts her in the midst of a brutal world and at the heart of two men raised as brothers—one who just happens to be king.

Now a lady in a court of vipers, Semiramis becomes caught in the politics and brutality of ancient Assyria. Even in this lavish kingdom, she is aware of the precariousness of her position. Instead of bartering with fate, Semiramis trains in war and diplomacy, rising in rank with each move. Embroiled in a game of power, desire, family, and betrayal, she seeks to ascend to the only position that will keep her safe: queen.

This riveting myth-based story follows Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire, and the famous love triangle that made her queen.