Howl of the Golden Jackal: Babylon/Persia #1

When Amytis, the bastard daughter of an ineffective and paranoid king learns that her wild, mountain country could be ravaged by powerful Babylonians desperate to seize Media's natural resources, she takes matters into her own hands. Thus begins a tale that brings to life historical figures and events in a gripping drama by an award-winning writer and expert in the ancient Near East. Rich with gods, ambition, and intrigue, this is Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon at a time of the Bible's origins, the beginnings of Judaism, and the rise of Cyrus II (Amytis's nephew and who, with her - in subsequent events - becomes "Cyrus the Great"). Even as Amytis faces alienation (untrained in palace life and an immigrant, too), attempted assassination by a courtier whose position she unwittingly threatens, and heartbreaking loss (far from her wild mountain home and denied a secret love), she emerges as a powerful woman, resolutely herself - an nature-loving wild child - despite cultural expectations and norms, in a most consequential time. Howl of the Golden Jackal takes readers inside the Ishtar Gate, through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and into the heart of a vibrant, cosmopolitan, glorious, and cruel Babylon. Amytis's story plumbs the lengths of love, identity, and the meaning of home.