Bring Down the Sun

April 7, 2008
Ancient history and violent religious myth collide in this romantic fantasy-tinged biography of Myrtale, the imposing, powerful mother of Alexander the Great. Tarr (Queen of the Amazons
) opens with a weak segment on the queen's early days as Polyxena, an impossibly beautiful and rather childish acolyte of the Mother goddess. Once she seduces Philip of Macedon, who calls her Myrtale (“crowned oneâ€) and promises her a kingdom to go with her queenly new name, the story becomes far more compelling and suspenseful. As temples and kingdoms plot and quarrel, Myrtale mercilessly wields the authority of the retiring goddess and her own sexuality to further her ambitions for her husband and her son. (The book ends with Alexander's birth, leaving unmentioned the complex and bloody intrigues of Myrtale's later life as the dowager empress Olympias.) Occasionally confusing but often vibrant, this romantic story warms into a strong narrative about a fascinating woman.

Starred review from June 1, 2008
Nature versus nurture: accession to greatness may significantly depend on lineage, so does the mother make the man? Tarrs fine blending of meticulously researched history and romantic fantasy showcases the Great Goddess priestess, Polyxena, destined to be renamed Myrtale by warrior-king Philip of Macedon and, eventually, known to the ancient world as the powerful queen Olympias, mother of Alexander the Great. Much of the delight here lies in Tarrs realization of the past as a living, palpable present: "The scent of thyme was everywhere, green and strong, and the humming of bees, and far away the roaring of waves. The wind was cool on her cheeks; the warmth of bodies surrounded her, keeping her safe" as the young priestess journeys to a sacred ritual in which animal sacrifice precedes a holy chant to the Mother that "celebrated Her as ruler of the wild places, mountain goddess, Lady of lions." The initiate confronts her destiny, the bull-man-god Minos, to accompanying chanting. "The words did not matter. The sound was the spell, the slow rise and fall like the breathing of a great beast. She had seen this in dreams. The oracle had given it to her, this vision, this truth that shaped everything she would be." Enchanting escape reading for summertime--for all seasons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)