Ancient mythological retellings are trendy right now, seemingly all being compared to Circe and all that I’ve read up to this point not actually coming close. But Babylonia lives up to that promise with beautiful writing, intricate world building, and meaningful storytelling.

Babylonia tells the story of Assyria’s first queen, Semiramis, her rise to power from nothing and the two great loves of her life. Assyrian culture is brutal and violent and the characters in the novel are the same and feel very set apart from modern life. In this way the love and connection we get to Semiramis, Ninus, and Onnes are earned and complicated. Casati fills their story in with complex minor characters and commoners that add more depth and context for Assyrian culture and fully immerse the reader into the ancient world.

I am obsessed with this book- it has immediately claimed a spot in my favorite reads of 2024. I cannot wait to get my hands on the January special edition.

I love a historical fiction book set in the ancient world and to find one that is based on a real woman who ruled Assyria is a must read for me. This novel did not disappoint.

Semiramis's is left motherless as a baby and is raised by a cruel man. She forms a plan to try and get out of this horrible situation before she is forced into a marriage. One day a new governor comes to her small town in Assyria and Semiramis decides to change her destiny. This is only the beginning of her incredible story.

This story is filled with incredible writing and captured perfectly the ancient Assyrian world. This was a story that I will not soon forget and I love that Semiramis was a real woman with a humble background. There are so few books written about the ancient world and so many of them are set in ancient Rome that I absolutely love that this is set in Mesopotamia. It is action packed, filled with drama, intrigue but also and incredible story about survival. I highly recommend this novel!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this ARC.

Babylonia by Constanza Casati, is based on the female warrior/ruler Semiramis , who ruled the Assyria region for about 5 years in 9th century BC.
The story starts with Semiramis's humble origins as an orphan in the village of Mari, who is adopted by the chief shepherd of the village, taunted and teased constantly as she is growing up, beaten and abused by her adoptive father, and then continues on to her journey on becoming a legend and a myth.
Casati has done a brilliant job in her character development of Semiramis, a strong, beautiful, ambitious yet vulnerable woman, trying to survive and make her mark in a cruel and violent society. Semiramis teaches herself to survive against all odds, with a combination of cunning and generosity. The other main characters of Ninus, Onnes, Sasi, Nisat and Ribat are all brilliantly drawn; especially the tragedy and ethos, the suffering and madness of Ninus and Onnes has been written beautifully. You are drawn into the torture and struggle of Ninus, as he is constantly trying to keep up with the internal war between the cruelty expected of him as a king, and his kind and loving nature as a man.
The story draws brilliantly on the influence of a mother whether it is on Ninus - the king, Ribat - a slave, or Onnes - a bastard or Semiramis - an ambitious orphan. These characters either strive to become like their mothers, or hate them and do their best not to become like them, but either ways it influence of these mothers on the decisions and lives of these characters is unmistakable.
My favorite part of this book are the excerpts from The Epic of Gilgamesh : "We are not gods, our days are few in number and whatever we achieve is a puff of wind."
While Clytemnestra was well written, I think Casati has outdone herself with Babylonia, she has created a cast of unforgettable characters and scenes that will stay with us for a long time, whether they are the fight scenes of Balkh or the PTSD and emotional scenes suffered by our three main characters.
I will put a trigger warning on the violence in the book, which is unavoidable considering the topic and the nature of the empires at that time.
Constanza Casati is fast becoming my auto-buy; don't miss this one if you like to read about history, especially of Mesopotamia region.

Thank you Net Galley for providing me with this ARC for review.

“That is how obsession blinds. It makes one think one is the only person in another’s world. But our greatest mistake is to think that obsession comes with loyalty.”

So this is undoubtedly one of my favorite books I have ever read. Costanza Casati, you have cemented yourself as an auto-buy author for me. I loved reading into this world so much!

Babylonia is a fast-paced story of Sammuramat (aka Semiramis), and her rise from a village girl into Queen of a Mesopotamian Empire, in present day Syria and Iran. As in her debut, Clytemnestra, Casati’s research makes me appreciate this book so much. I highly recommend reading the author’s note at the end, where she breaks down the book, the texts used, the research, etc. Babylonia pulls elements of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the “oldest story in the world,” which ultimately influences the themes of immortality, grief, longing, devotion, etc. The research feels fully fleshed out within the story which is so fascinating to see, I really felt like I was geeking out at the end when I could finally read the author’s note, because I had no prior knowledge of this story!

Many of the characters are real people, but the ones that weren’t add so much to the story. It by no means felt lazy or as if they were being added to check a box. Sasi, the eunuch, whose cunning adds a vibrancy that adds to the element of royal life. Ribat, a slave, whose character illustrates the dynamics and imbalances of power. Despite the full cast of characters, Casati does not fail to have each and everyone’s voice come through, I genuinely felt I had a full grasp on who each character was--their thoughts, emotions, and what drives them. Also--a love triangle where they’re actually all in love with each other? Not just two men loving the same woman? I’m obsessed, give me ten of them.

Similar to Clytemnestra, which I also loved, Babylonia has an insanely strong voice that comes through in all of the characters, which ultimately is what draws me in. I felt like I was living this novel, it was atmospheric and incredibly vibrant while not distracting from the story at hand. Also, I was excited to see Casati write a battle scene and her ability to incorporate themes of mental illness surrounding war was fascinating and did not feel forced or overdone, in my opinion.

If you wish Daenerys had a different ending in GoT…I think this may be for you. Kings fall, queens rise, baby!! As they should!!!

I fell in love with this book. The way it was written was inspiring. The author has an amazing ability of story telling that kept me enthrall all the way through to the last page. The story was a historical fictional tale of Seramis, a commoner who rose through power to the top with some high costs. The way the characters and story was written made the reading a very vivid experience. I would definitely recommend this book to others. Thank you NetGalley ARC !

Costanza Casati does it again!

I LOVED her debut Clytemnestra, and recommended it to all of my friends. I'll be doing the same for Babylonia!

Babylonia is a historical, feminist retelling of Semiramis, a poor villager who, by the power of her own sheer will and determination, raises herself up to the highest position in the empire. It's got it all--war, love triangles, morally grey characters that you can't help but root for--and it keeps you reading the entire time.

A novel with political intrigue, scheming, and love, I'll be recommending Babylonia to everyone.

I am in awe of the complete mastery of storytelling this book presented. Getting to read one of Constanza Casati's books is always an amazing thing, and this one was no different. Each chapter transported me into a world of intrigue, ambition, and ruthlessness that I adored. The imagery used was so vivid that I felt as if I was seeing the world through the character's eyes, and I loved following their stories as the book progressed. The plot for this book followed Seramis, a common woman who steadily rose to power at the cost of those she loved. This description in itself would have been enough to entice me to read the novel, however, getting to know Seramis throughout the story made me idolize her and feel for her in a way that I haven't experienced through a book in a long time. Her struggles greatly parallel the struggles that women still face to this day, making her an even more impressive subject considering the history of this book. Seeing what she accomplished gave me pride in being a woman, and I absolutely adored and resonated with this book. Phenomenal writing, fantastic characters, captivating plot; this book was truly amazing and I would highly recommend it.

Babylonia is a mythology retelling surrounding the story of Semiramis, a strong-willed orphan, who rose from being a commoner to a queen. Costanza Casati is an incredible storyteller who can take the Assyrian legend and create a powerful novel where you are rooting for the main character the entire time. This retelling felt like an accurate depiction of the effects of war on a person and the ruthlessness of that time, with descriptions that allowed for me to be transported into the story. Although I did not feel extremely connected to the characters, I was enraptured by the dynamics of Semiramis and the other main characters. Casati has a wonderful voice and beautifully allows for you to learn more about the legends while creating a believable story. This novel has put her on my auto-buy author list, and I look forward to future releases. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the e-arc!

The way Casati writes female characters allows women and girls to see that women are complex characters and can be powerful while being flawed.
A student recommended Casati’s “Clytemnestra” to me for this very reason - to read about women who do more than what they’re usually written to be like in this epic stories. They can’t be the savior all the time but they can make their own choices, good or bad.
I love read these stories, even when they hurt.

listen this was SO GOOD! i did not become a greek mythology until i read clytemestra, and now casati is an autobuy author for me. so when i say netgalley was doing arcs, i ran. babylonia is fresh, fast paced- ready to be devoured by fellow greek mythology lovers. even the bits i didn’t know much about, it didn’t hurt the story because casati has a way with storytelling where everything just flows together. i loved this book, please read it! thank you again netgalley.

Costanza Casati you are brilliant! I randomly came across Clytemnestra earlier this year and was blown away after reading, so when I saw she had a new book I knew I had to read. I was not familiar with really any Assyrian history or mythology so I learned a lot while reading and was truly transported to this time through Casati’s writing. Similar to authors like Madeline Miller, Constanza Casati has a true talent for bringing history and mythology to life in such a new and refreshing way. These are stories and figures that have been written and spoken about for centuries, but she is still able to tell their stories in a unique way that keeps you engaged as a reader the entire time.

This book was fantastic from beginning to end and I implore everyone to read Constanza Casati’s work, her writing is remarkable.

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

Wow! Just wow, I've never read a book by Casati and now I want to read more! I didn't think I would love this one that much before it's a myth that I had never heard of and am not familiar with. But the way it is written with such passion and adventure, I felt like I was there living through it all. It was great reading a story about one of the greatest women rulers ever. She came from nothing and fought her whole life to be Queen of everything. I will never tire of reading myths and my last 4 reads have been of some fun and exciting ones. This was a fantastic read, and I hope to read more soon.

So, when I came across this book, I was intrigued by the plot of the story and was eager to give it a try. It's also a time period and geographic region that I don't read about a lot, so I was interested was a bit of an understatement. And I absolutely fell in love with it. I was hooked throughout the entire story, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen to Semiramis next as the story progressed. In the end, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to purchasing a copy when it gets published early next year.

Amazing book! I felt immersed in the culture and the story. Love the character development and the strong female lead. Would recommend this book 100%! Did not disappoint at all. Thank you for allowing me to have the opportunity with this ARC.

I've been a fan of Costanza Casati ever since I read Clytemnestra, so when I heard she was releasing another retelling I was thrilled! Babylonia is such a poetic piece of art. The prose is stunning, the characters are rich, and the story is electrifying. If you enjoy feminist reimaginings of ancient mythology you'll love this as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The politics and intrigue of this book are 10/10. And I appreciate a retelling/historical with a less common aspect of history as the focus.

Still hate love triangles though so that knocks a star for me.

I liked that this book was in a little covered area of historical fiction. The writing itself was okay. I got more into the story as it went along but I did put it down several times. The second half was better to me. I do hate a love triangle and this one was especially icky so that may have influenced my view of the book. I don't know that there would be a large audience for this kind of historical fiction. If it develops some word of mouth demand, it may do well with the mythical retelling readers.

If you love complicated female / male characters with complicated friendship dynamics you will love this ! Also , if you’re just a huge history lover this is perfect!

It’s the perfect mix of GOT and ancient history !
I read a lot of fantasy but this was a good in between because it focuses on just the main characters , and is VERY POLITICAL! and that’s something that I folk discovered now that I love ! I loved being nervous at every council meeting , or when our main FMC Semiramis didn’t know what her next step was herself !
Every word , paragraph, and conversation is so fundamental in this story , and in the end everything comes together so beautifully!

I found myself lost in glory , power , HISTORY! , and madness ! I found myself imagining I was there myself ! This was such a beautiful retelling that was so powerful and captivating!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this ARC of Costanza Casati's 'Babylonia.'

'Babylonia' is not the type of book I typically read but the description was intriguing and I'm glad I requested and was approved.

I guess you could call this the ultimate rags-to-riches tale - an orphaned commoner of somewhat mysterious but tragic origin and despised by her adoptive father finds herself elevated to the highest echelons of the Assyrian world in a dizzying turn of events that was prophesied.

From there Semiramis goes on to learn the ins and outs of palace intrigue and becomes - at the same time - one of the three points of a convoluted love triangle with her husband Omnes and the king Ninus who's also the unrequited adorer of her husband but who falls for her. She's also the target of the malevolent Queen mother and head of the armies while making an uneasy pact with the eunuch chief spymaster. She becomes skilled in matters of the court, diplomacy, intrigue, and war and becomes a legendary historical figure (if that's not a contradiction). Did the prophesy make this happen or did she - through sheer power of will - make the prophesy come true? I'm inclined to go with the latter.

All based on historical sources, myths, and the scenes depicted in the bas-reliefs the violently cruel Assyrians left behind this sounds like an ancient world episode of 'Dynasty' or some other potboiler soap opera but it's written with such skill and seriousness it becomes an engrossing history lesson. I kept checking some of the characters and situations on Google as I was reading and it very closely follows the known or presumed history quite closely while encompassing the mythological aspect quite believably.

It's a while since I read a novel where all of the characters are so well fleshed out and complex - all believable too. Love, hate, passion, depression, PTSD. fear - all very well written and believable.

Congratulations to Costanza Casati for this achievement - now I have to go away and buy 'Clytemnestra'!

4.5 ⭐️
I’m going to be honest, this is not a book I would typically go for, but I got the gorgeous edition from my Page & Wick subscription, so I gave it a try. I was pleasantly surprised with how this hooked me from the beginning and was such an interesting read!
The lesson- sometimes it’s okay to switch things up and go outside of your usual genres of choice. A good story is a good story, in my opinion.
I will be reading more from this author in the future!