Son of Ishtar (Book One of Empires of Bronze) by Gordon Doherty

Overall Rating: **** (4 stars)

Son of Ishtar is the first of a planned series of six books, with the overall title of Empires of Bronze. As one might expect, the setting is the late Bronze Age, specifically the realm known to us as the “Hittite Empire.” The Hittites are less well-known to a modern audience than, say, New Kingdom Egypt, but archaeology has managed to uncover a wealth of detail about this enigmatic culture. Gordon Doherty spins a rollicking adventure tale out of those details.

Son of Ishtar is a coming-of-age story about Prince Hattu, born about 1315 BCE as the fourth son of King Mursili II of the Hittite Empire. Suffering from ill health and childhood tragedy, young Prince Hattu seems to lack promise, overshadowed by his domineering father and his robust older brother, Prince Muwa. Struggling to earn respect, Hattu insists on being trained as a Hittite soldier, subjecting himself to the trials of a fierce Bronze Age boot camp. Winning over his fellow trainees, going with them to his first military campaign, he sets himself on the path that will one day lead him to the Hittite throne.

Readers will want to be aware that this is a story about a brutal and violent time. The combat scenes, in particular, are downright Homeric – recalling how lovingly the Iliad describes violent injury and death at every turn. Ethnic hatred and slavery are common to the period. There’s plenty of earthy dialogue and some implied sex as well.

I was very favorably impressed by Son of Ishtar. The production is very high quality, with clean prose and a minimum of editing mishaps. Gordon Doherty has done meticulous research, and it shows. I’m familiar with the period myself – in fact, I suspect Mr. Doherty and I have read some of the same sources – and I spotted a lot of authentic detail. Not to mention a great deal of foreshadowing, by way of a prophecy of the goddess Ishtar, of events to come. Later books in the series seem likely to cover some of the most important episodes of this critical period.

The story itself is suspenseful, and the battle scenes had me on the edge of my seat more than once. The identity of the “hidden” villain is possibly a little too obvious to the reader; I found myself grumbling at the characters once in a while for their obliviousness. Even so, I had no trouble getting through the story and reached the end wanting more. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a solid adventure story set in ancient times.