Tag Archive for "5th Century" - Teddyrose Book Reviews Plus

Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt

In the 5^th century, Hannah, a sheep herder is taken from her father in Sinai and is taken into the slave trade to be sold in Alexandria, Egypt. She was bought by Tarek, a young man, still living with his father, Alizar. Alizar was a pagan and alchemist. Tarek hid Hannah in his room but Alizar discovered her quite quickly and took her from Tarek and treated her kindly.

Alizar freed her from her irons had a doctor come and tend to her wounds that the slave traders inflicted. He treated her very kindly and recognized her intelligence. She lived with him and Tarek but not not totally free from danger.

This was a time when Christianity was still in its infancy and there were men, called the Parabolani that went after anyone they believed were pagans.

Later, Alizar brought Hannah to the Great Library of Alexandria to sing and she becomes fast friends with Hypatia and other pagans who work there to preserve important art and scrolls. Hannah decided to work with them and became comfortable in her enriched life. She also helped to unite the fractured pieces of the Emerald Tablet which was seen as the last hope for pagans to live in peace.

Full of adventure, danger, romance, history, and strong female characters, Written In the Ashes has something for just about everyone! I read and reviewed it back in 2012 as a self published novel and loved it. Now it has been picked up by a new Harper Collins division, Legends. It has been newly revised and edited and I still love it! K. Hollan Van Zandt’s writing reminds of Michelle Moran, one of my favorite historical fiction authors. Written In the Ashes remains one of my top five novels of all times! It is a must read for historical fiction fans!

5/5

I received the ebook for my honest review.

About K. Hollan Van Zandt

Kaia Van Zandt is a celebrated author and teacher whose novel, Written in the Ashes, chronicles the events that led up to the burning of the Great Library of Alexandria, Egypt. Kaia’s spiritual journey began at age 14 when she founded the youth division of the Humane Society of the United States. Then as a junior in high school, she traveled to the Earth Summit in Brazil, where she taught meditation, and was given the opportunity to work with world leaders on the challenges facing humanity and the planet today, an experience that profoundly influenced her work.

She’s a graduate of Antioch University, where she focused on the intersection between the ancient Goddess traditions and modern culture. Her fascination with healing-both personally and collectively – led her to yoga. During her career she’s worked with thought leaders like Marci Shimoff and Deepak Chopra, actors like Ashley Judd, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Garry Shandling, as well as Sony ImageWorks, UCLA Medical, and the San Francisco 49ers. Her beloved writing mentor is bestselling novelist/humorist, Tom Robbins.