Gilgamesh - (The Sumerians Trilogy) by Emily H Wilson (Paperback)

About the Book

Includes preview of third book in the trilogy.

Book Synopsis

The second book in the enthralling and lyrical Sumerians trilogy, retelling the Epic of Gilgamesh, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Lucy Holland and Jennifer Saint.

Now is the time for the gods of war

Gilgamesh, soon to be crowned King of Uruk, travels north to find his homelands in flames and his family on the run. A blood-red moon brings warnings of a new kind of war, and in the far north, the enemies of Sumer are massing.

Inanna and Ninshubar sail south to take their revenge upon Enki, the king of the water gods. Armed with the master mee and struggling to understand its true nature, Inanna will face impossible demons in her quest to fully comprehend the power she has inherited.

Meanwhile Ereshkigal, queen of the underworld, has a mysterious visitor. This dark stranger brings with him the threat of dangers far more terrible than Enki, or even Sumer's warlike neighbours. Because a long time ago, in a realm faraway, a little girl was taken from her family. Now, a vengeance, long prophesied, is about to unfold.

As the forces of chaos rise across the riverlands, Gilgamesh must battle against overwhelming odds to save the city he loves, and the Anunnaki will soon discover that no one can escape the sins of the past. Not even the gods.

Review Quotes

A wonderfully evocative novel... whisking the reader away to ancient Sumer with its dry humour, atmosphere and complex characters.--Grimdark Magazine

PRAISE FOR THE SUMERIANS TRILOGY

"I love it! Spectacular storytelling, vibrant prose, wonderful handling of multiple narrators, and genuinely gripping. I haven't read a historical novel this good for years: it's reminiscent of Rosemary Sutcliff at her peak." Joanne Harris

"The kind of original, exciting, sexy, funny, ambitious storytelling that the world simply needs more of." Caroline O'Donoghue, New York Times bestselling author of All Our Hidden Gifts

"Inanna may take Gilgamesh as its source material, but it is wholly its own creation. In this richly rendered world of gods, mortals and monsters, the pace never falters, and neither does the sense of an epic being constructed - like the temple to a new divinity - before your eyes. The most enjoyable novel I have read this year." Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong

"Beautifully crafted and elegantly told, I was carried away to a world both familiar and unknown - Inanna has an enthralling magic all of its own" Claire North, World Fantasy Award winner and author of Ithaca

"I devoured this divine, dazzlingly witty retelling of Sumerian myths. Wilson brings the world's most ancient texts to life as never before in this joyful, slick, and effortlessly funny novel. Her gods and heroes are heartbreakingly human, fabulously brave, teeth-gnashingly wicked and loin-stirringly sexy. I was awed by Wilson's achievement in creating a fresh, but eternally meaningful, modern epic, while staying true to the tone, language and themes of the ancient poems. This is a glittering gem of a book: rare and exhilarating; a sensation!" Nikki Marmery, author of Lilith

"Inanna is a deft, mesmerising novel, with a cadence true to its epic roots and an entrancing blend of historic depth, intoxicating imagination and sheer heart. Emily H. Wilson is an author to watch, and Inanna is a gorgeous myth retelling with a very timely message about power and empowerment, and who gets to set our cultural narratives." Lorraine Wilson, British Fantasy Award winning author

"A brutal and powerful story...Emily H. Wilson is an author to watch" Grimdark Magazine

"Inanna is an epic fantasy, with wars and high-born people competing for high stakes with incredible skills, but set in a world recognisably ours, a world you could imagine yourself living in if you squint a little. It will appeal to fans of any retelling, especially those who have feasted on the recent glut of retellings from Ancient Greek mythology and can't get enough of gods behaving badly and what that tells us about ourselves." British Fantasy Society

"In Emily H. Wilson's Inanna, the author makes the Gods flawed and interesting, but also otherwordly." SFBook Reviews

About the Author

Emily H. Wilson is a full-time writer based in Dorset, in the south of England. Emily was previously a journalist, working as a reporter at the Mirror and Daily Mail, a senior editor at the Guardian and, most recently, as editor-in-chief of New Scientist magazine. You can follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) @emilyhwilson or on Instagram @emilyhwilson1, and you can find her website at emilyhwilson.com.