Truth is the Soul of the Sun - A Biographical Novel of Hatshepsut-Maatkare
Truth is the Soul of the Sun, Maria Isabel Pita's historical novel about Hatshepsut, follows her subject from childhood to twenty years of ruling as Pharaoh Hatshepsut-Maatkare and includes a cast of hundreds along the way. In less adept hands, such a profusion of detail would almost certainly prove deadly (several highly publicized historical fiction tomes of the last few years come to mind), but Pita has a consummate storyteller's skill for pacing and as a result, this long novel is an absorbing reading experience. It's a tribute to Pita's skills that Hatshepsut herself ends up towering over all other characters in this novel. The decision to follow her through every trial over years bears fruit. Readers will close the book feeling they've known this remarkable woman. Highly recommended. --Steve Donaghue for The Historical Novel Society