3rd Place: Guardian of the Flame (Library & Lighthouse of Alexandria)
Guardian of the Flame
The next three stories might be equal in different ways, so hard to rank.
But what I loved about this one was first of all, the Antikythera Device being referred to and “explained,” because indeed my own Detective Tim Reynolds has his understanding of that!
But aside from that AMAZING ANCIENT MYSTERY, the age of Sophia the protagonist-heroine, was lovely. They called her an “old woman,” though she was probably closer to middle-age. They called her “no longer beautiful,” and yet those who REALLY KNEW HER saw both her pain and her beauty still in spite of her loss. And we got to know her from their eyes.
Sophia’s LOSS–and reason for hiding in the tower–was so gripping, especially when you learn the extent of it. And the enemies to friends arc contrasting the friends to enemies arcs were engrossing.
The FRIENDSHIP based on literature and knowledge, and how even in ancient Alexandria–amidst Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, the Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse of Alexandria–, meaning, before Christ–there was still HOPE in the Ancient World.
Available, though hard to find.
The redemption arcs in this were so rewarding. and the TWIST OF ALL TWISTS?? Unforgettable!
