Hi, folks!

I promised myself I would refrain from pimping jo_graham's Black Ships until it was actually available, but Amazon is now shipping for Monday, so I will stop refraining.

I can't pretend to be objective, here, both because jo_graham is someone I know exceedingly well, and because I've read every draft of this book since its very early incarnations years ago. I still think it's fabulous, and I love the fact that it's now an actual book that I can actually, you know, read in the bathtub rather than over her shoulder.

Black Ships is a retelling of the Aeneid, and I'll give you the Publisher's Weekly review rather than trying to sum up myself:

Graham's exquisite and bleak debut views the events of The Aeneid through the oracle Gull, a disciple of the Lady of the Dead. Taken to the Lady's temple after being lamed in a chariot accident, Gull quickly displays her power to see the future. Her first vision—black ships fleeing a burning city—lets her recognize Aeneas when he arrives after the fall of Wilusa (the Hittite name for Troy), hoping to save those sold into slavery. Gull joins Aeneas, and they take the few remaining people of Wilusa on a glorious journey to find their scattered brethren and a site where they can found a new city.

Instead, I will tell you that the book is realistic without being depressing, is enormously entertaining to read, and deals interestingly with the ways the characters are shaped by and navigate their cultures. (You might also be interested in knowing that Xandros -- one of Gull's two main romantic interests -- is canonically attracted to both men and women, and that slashing him with Aeneas is pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel.)

It's also the first book in what promises to be a really interesting series involving reincarnation, games gods play, and lots of different fascinating bits of history. The next book is Hand of Isis, about Cleopatra's handmaiden and half-sister, which I am eagerly reading pieces of as it is being written.

You should read it! Available now from Amazon, or check your local Giant Soulless Chain Bookstore! (Although it may not be on shelves yet -- the official release date is the 10th.)

(If you know jo_graham's other LJ name, please don't connect the two in public; she'd like to keep her two identities separate.)