Shin'ar, My Love: Love Among the Ruins.

Shin'ar, My Love: Love Among the Ruins

Marty Duncan

The Pilot's Mate

c/o O'magadh Media

9780692632192, $14.95, PB, 292pp, www.amazon.com

Synopsis: The end of civilization appears imminent. The Great Deluge has devastated Sumeria, home of the Anunnaki, and the rumbles of war grow ever louder. Amid the chaos, Anunnaki princess Celi does what she can to help, working with her grandfather Mica to rebuild Lord Enki's temple in Eridu until shortly after her Naming Day, when the young woman is approached by Lord Enki's mate, Ninki. Ninki offers Celi the opportunity to rebuild the village of Arad, west of the Dead Sea, a request Celi can hardly refuse--even if it means separation from her love, the handsome shuttle pilot Deem. The assignment also means working with the Beag, a shorter race Celi intensely distrusts. As Celi labors with the Beag, however, she finds that wariness waning. Then disaster strikes: a nuclear warhead has wiped out Sodom from existence--and Deem has disappeared amid rumors he's been ensnared by Inanna, the so-called goddess of war and love. Celi can only wait and hope the gossip isn't true, and her beloved has survived what may be the end of her world.

Critique: Set in ancient Sumeria, "Shin'ar, My Love: Love Among the Ruins" is a deftly crafted and riveting read that showcases author Marty Duncan as an impressively skilled and original storyteller. All the more impressive when considering that "Shin'ar, My Love: Love Among the Ruins" is Duncan's debut as a novelist, it is still not all that surprising when considering the he has taught English and Journalism as part of his academic career. While "Shin'ar, My Love: Love Among the Ruins" is unreservedly recommended as an enduringly popular addition to community library Historical Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that it is also available in a Kindle edition ($2.99).