Summer Reading Project, BookLikes Satellite

Once upon a time, there was a Jewish kingdom in the Caucasus mountains. No, really. Emily Barton takes the actual history of the Khazar khanate, pairs it with the Biblical story of Queen Esther, and runs with them in The Book of Esther. Barton imagines a world in which Khazaria was never conquered and survived until the twentieth century. As the book opens, the German Reich (yes, Nazis) have invaded Poland and Ukraine. They’re closing in on Khazaria’s borders and it seems like the kingdom might finally fall. The blend of history, the Bible, and Jewish folklore created an action-filled alternate history and fantasy that had me hooked from the first chapter. This book is packed with golemim, Kabbalists, mechanical horses, and on-the-fly religious reformation...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book for review consideration.