Babylonia by Costanza Casati is a captivating read for fans of historical fantasy and mythological retellings, particularly those drawn to stories of strong, complex female characters, Assyrian culture, and epic love triangles set against a richly detailed backdrop of ancient civilizations.

I am a geek for these Greek mythology/ancient times novelizations. This one is about Semiramis, who rose from being an orphan whose mom drowned herself to the heights of nobility in Assyria and eventually Babylonia. Four stars would be two generous, but this was a solid 3-1/2. Most intriguing to me is that this is the THIRD book this year that draws heavily on the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem from Mesopotamia about The Epic of the hero, his companion and the quest to find fame and immortality—and I had never heard of it before this. Kind of strange. If you like this kind of stuff, you will appreciate this book. Otherwise, not a must read.

After loving Clytemnestra, I was so excited to read this next one from Casati, and I loved it just as much. The way that Casati gives care and attention to developing the female characters in her stories completely hooks me and leaves me wanting more.

I loved the storytelling of the street rat Semiramis to the Queen that she ended up becoming and the journey laid out for us readers. The political intrigue in this one was brilliantly set up, and although there was a bit of a slow start in the beginning, it picked up with each passing page.

I love reading about the less focused on women’s stories in Greek and Roman history/mythology and I look forward to following Casati in her next novels!

Amazing time reading this book and was unable to put it down. The world building and characters are especially compelling.

Huge thanks to Net Galley and Sourcebooks for the digital galley copy

Babylonia by Costanza Casati is a story of war and betrayal, of regret and grief. But mostly of ambition and the safest found behind power. Babylonia spins the tale of Semiramis on her rise from poor orphan to clever Queen through a blend of history and myth.

Semiramis is born to a cruel world. Cruel to men and women alike, but mostly cruel to those who are weaker, or those perceived as weaker. And those that are weaker are crushed.

Semiramis didn’t have anyone to be strong for her, to protect her. She had to be that person for herself.

Casati weaves of tale of blood and survival juxtaposed with glittering palaces and beautiful skies. I loved her words whether it was describing the beautiful sky outside of the palace or watching the light leave someone’s eyes.

I appreciated that this story was told from multiple points of view, it helped to make the characters three-dimensional.

Once I got to the last third of the book, the story left me breathless. Each page was fraught with dizzying tension. Even though I knew the overview of Semiramis’ story, I was still stunned by what was laid out before me.

Babylonia is a blend of historical fiction and myth retelling of the only woman to rule the Assyrian empire. Though her reputation generally focuses on her lust, ruthlessness, and love triangle that eventually put her on the throne, she was also a warrior and concerned with the affairs of her people.

Can you blame someone wanting to have power so she could protect herself, to keep herself safe?

It's just been this year that I've started to read (and enjoy) the fantasy genre. Babylonia is fantasy/historical/intrigue/action all rolled into one. Excellent storytelling and well worth the immersive reading experience. Strong heroine for the win! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I enjoyed this book immensely. This book solidifies my love of this author. I love the writing and the way she brings to life the ancient world. This is her second novel and it's just as good as the first. I love that she picked Semiramis to write about because it's not another "retelling of a Greek myth." Don't get me wrong I loved this author's take on Clytemnestra, but the fact that she left Greece and went to Assyria and Babylon, chef's kiss. We need more from that area as I think the Greek myth retellings are played out and becoming too much. Loved Clytemnestra and I especially loved this book. The care and attention to detail given in this work proves that this author does her research, and then she crafts a beautiful world and story. 10 out of 10 from me.

Casati does it again. Her prose is stunning, and her characters are all so compelling. Semiramis’s journey—from a mistreated orphan to a powerful figure—is gripping and tragic. The multiple POVs worked well for this book though my only complaint is that the story dragged at parts.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction with depth and grit, this is a must-read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

It takes approximately one conversation with me to find out that the best author I read this year was Costanza Casati. It should come as no surprise that I felt I needed to get my hands on Babylonia ASAP, so I decided to make a NetGalley account solely to request it. I’m so happy to report that this book had me hooked from start to finish.

Semiramis is, without question, the crown jewel of this book. She’s an incredible protagonist—strong, cunning, and fiercely determined to carve out a place for herself in a world stacked against her. Every decision she makes, every challenge she faces, pulls you deeper into her story. Like Clytemnestra, Semiramis is the kind of character who sticks with you long after the final page.

The second factor of this book that had me hooked is the relationships. What started out as such a compelling relationship between Semiramis and Onnes grew into an even more enthralling trio when Ninus was introduced. The dynamic between the three of them is electric– their tangled web of love, ambition, and loyalty absolutely mesmerising. Every interaction is loaded with tension and emotion, and you never quite know what’s coming next.

Casati’s ability to bring ancient history to life is unparalleled. Not only does she take familiar myths and give them fresh, vivid energy, full of passion and humanity, she gives a spellbinding voice to women who have always been silenced by the men around them.
If you loved Clytemnestra, you’re going to adore Babylonia. And if you haven’t read either yet, what are you waiting for?

I went into Babylonia by Costanza Casati with high expectations after loving Clytemnestra, and I wasn’t disappointed! Casati’s talent for weaving emotional depth into her retellings shines once again. Babylonia is an excellent addition to the retelling genre, with richly drawn characters whose faults make them feel so real.

The story does take a while to pick up momentum—the first half leans heavily on politicking with minimal action, which made it a slower read for me. It took a few sessions to get through that part, but once things got moving, I couldn’t put it down. The second half flew by, and I devoured it in just one sitting!

As someone who loves both non-fiction history books and retellings, this felt like a perfect marriage of the two. While the retelling genre has been saturated with Greek mythology lately, Babylonia feels like a breath of fresh air. For me, it’s the retelling to end all retellings!

A very interesting and engaging book, I loved the main character instantly and was very involved and emotional about their story.

Netgalley Arc -- thank you!

Wow. This book. Oh my god.

First of all, the prose is just absolutely beautiful. I am not someone who highlights passages all that often--I will sometimes go entire books without annotating at all--but here I swear I was saving a quote at least once a chapter. The writing is just so incredibly beautiful. Every single time I thought I'd found the best quote of the book, I'd turn a page and be slammed with the next most powerful, beautifully written thing I'd ever read.

The book is definitely more character focused, and that can sometimes be a hit or a miss, but here it is a definite hit. Every single character in this book is so complex, flawed, and interesting. Each and every one of them even minor characters felt so multifaceted and well...real. It's so easy to get invested in all of them. One thing I really enjoyed is that there really aren't any heroes or villains in this book. Sure, Semiramis is our protagonist and we're rooting for her, but all the characters are so morally complex it's difficult to definitively say who's actually "right" or "wrong." The relationships between the characters were, like the characters themselves, so complex and interesting. I just loved everything about it.

I *loved* how the book handled war and trauma. It was artfully written and you can see all these changes in the characters both small and very obvious as their experiences change them.

Overall, it was just incredible. Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2024. This book is BEAUTIFUL.

Costanza Casati has done it again. Babylonia grabbed me and drug me into the story. This author has a way of taking old myths you thought you knew and putting a great spin on them as well as giving the characters life.

Constanza Casati explores ambition and the sacrifices it often requires in her sophomore novel Babylonia. This is a character driven story that follows the life of semi mythical Assyrian queen Semiramis. Of humble origins, Semiramis is the ultimately survivor at one point openly stating that she sees power as a kind of safety and proves willing to do just about anything to get it.

While I was fascinated by Casati’s depictions of Assyrian life, I often found the pace of the book to be fairly slow. Despite this being a character driven story, I’m not sure that I ever fully found myself understanding Semiramis and found the other 3 POVs much less interesting than hers. I would have preferred to see Casati’s musings on power and the role of women in patriarchal societies mixed with more of the political intrigue that Semiramis must have surely experienced.

I think Babylonia will appeal to fans of historical fiction especially those interested in less well known historical figures.

"I am not made for death, and death is not made for me."

What. A. Ride.

This was so well done--I loved it. The world building is definitely immense, and the detail that goes into describing everything is incredible--arguably, to a fault. If you're a fan of Madeline Miller or Sarah A Parker's When the Moon Hatched, this will definitely be right up your alley!

All of our characters are well developed, and they're all incredibly flawed. That's putting it mildly. You almost don't want to root for anyone given how grey literally everyone is, but yet you want to see them all win at the same time. The court politics are on par with A Song of Ice and Fire, and everyone must play the game to the best of their ability, within the confines of their role.

A story about a powerless woman who wanted more for herself, and learned to fight for herself to get what she wanted. Semiramis is a character for anyone who has ever felt rage at their powerlessness and wanted to make a change. She wants power, yes, but she also has heart and won't step on those seen as below her to get it.

The multiple POVs make this even more interesting--as I said, no one dimensional characters here--and really shows the complexity of characters. No one is ever truly 100% a hero or a villain. Everyone has a complicated past, a reason for their choices, a reason for who they are. It plays out in the relationship dynamics on top of everyone playing the game. I LOVED the characters and the way they were written.

The only reason this wasn't a 5 star read for me was the length--I do think some of the descriptions could have been pared down to keep the story moving. It felt like it dragged in some places, and that the extensive descriptions--while beautiful and really painted a picture--took away from the plot itself.

Thank you, #NetGalley, #CostanzaCasati, #SourcebooksLandmark, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣â𝘳û 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”

Costanza Casati loves an under appreciated ancient female ruler, and I love her for that.

In her first novel, Clytemnestra, she shone light on the life of the woman mostly known for being Agamemnon’s wife. In Babylonia, Casati brings us Semiramis, the only queen to rule the Assyrian empire in her own right. As always, she does so with lyrical prose, gorgeously lush imagery, and tragically complicated but unflinchingly human relationships.

Babylonia is an ambitious, multiple POV novel which begins in 823 BC and centers on Semiramis’ rise to power and the people who either get her there, or get in her way.

Semiramis is characterized by her unflinching desire for more. She wants more power, more opportunity, more time before she dies and enters the land of the dust, more out of life. This hunger drives everything she does.

The real magic of this novel is in the relationships between Semiramis, Onnes, and Ninus which are so messy and tragic it’s like Romeo and Juliet meets The Real Housewives. I really enjoyed watching these relationships unfold against the backdrop of Semiramis coming into her power.

Themes: self determination, choice, power, what it means to know someone and whether that is the same as loving them.

Favorite characters: Sasi, Ribat, Semiramis

Other elements I loved:
- There are a few chapters from the perspective of Ribat, an enslaved man, that captured the stratification of Assyrian society with such a unique voice.
- I loved how illogical Semiramis could be at times, sometimes avoiding death at all costs, and other times throwing herself headlong into battle.
- The battle scenes were incredibly written. They brought the characters’ personalities into sharp focus and were some of my favorite scenes.
- The leopard 😳

Thank you to @costanzacasati, @bookmarked, and @netgalley for the chance to review this eARC!

another great installment from costanza casati! I absolutely devoured clytemnestra so was really looking forward to this one and it didn't disappoint! from the world building to the characters themselves, I loved it. there wasn't one morally good character and each one had their own flaws.

a couple of things that I think took away from the story a little bit was some of the pacing, I felt a little lost at times when things were taking place. I also thought there were a little too many point of views.

overall, I really enjoyed it!

Oh. Oh my. I just finished this book this evening and feel like I need to process everything that happened and the way Casati ripped my heart in two with the tale of Semiramis.

Truly, this was one of the best historical fiction books I’ve ever read. It was incredibly immersive and well-researched to the point it felt like I was reading someone’s first-hand accounts of life in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The descriptions of locations and foods and art were detailed and the way she brought to life the people who history has preserved as mostly myth at this point was brilliant. It was a large cast of characters but Casati made it easy to follow (even as the story spanned decades) and she humanized their struggles and successes to the point of them being made real in the imagination. If you’re a fan of character-driven stories, this one is for you!

If you’d like to read more than the booksummary prior to starting your read, be sure to check out Semirami’s Wikipedia page though I do advise against it. Going in blind to this one allowed me to share her fears, triumphs, failures, joys and heartbreak as the story built and made a woman long-dead feel like an old friend.

Highly recommend this read and thank you to Casati, her team and NetGalley for allowing me to read early.

This book was magical. Casati created a detailed and exciting world based on a beautiful and mysterious time in world history. The female main character is amazing; she is unique, strong, wicked smart, and ambitious. She presents a side of femininity that often gets demeaned and shamed in modern society, but instead is praised and honored in this story. It also has a genuine love triangle which is very rare, and portrayed this love in the complex and diverse ways it deserves. Casati's description of grief and the fear of death was also fantastic and beautiful and she perfectly described all the different ways people process grief and loss.

Overall, I really loved this story and the world that Casati built.

An orphan, female and poor, rises to the highest power in Mesopotamia. Costanza Casati weaves a fabulous tale based on ancient rulers.