Sumerians Trilogy by Emily H. Wilson ~ a Review

by MK French

If you enjoy mythology, then you'll want to check out this series. The first two books are available and if Wilson keeps to the schedule book three should be published next August.

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Inanna

August 2023; Titan Books;  978-1803364407
audio, ebook, print (496 pages); fantasy

Inanna is the first Anunnaki born on Earth in Ancient Mesopotamia. She is crowned the goddess of love by the twelve immortal Anunnaki, but they split into warring factions. Inanna is forced into a marriage to negotiate peace but is in terrible danger. Gilgamesh is the mortal human son of the Anunnaki, and is imprisoned by King Akka. This king wants to distance himself and his people from the gods. At the same time, the warrior Ninshubar is cast out of her tribe and hunted by her own people after a kindness. All of their fates are connected, and together they can change the world.

There are multiple POV's in this novel. Inanna is caught between older gods in a world where they manipulate each other and humans alike. Might makes right here, with marriage rites including consummation in front of witnesses, the god and goddess coupling as part of temple rituals, and the elder gods assaulting others with impunity as punishment for even trying to defy them. Inanna is young and weak in comparison, so she bides her time and follows along so she won't be broken. Gilgamesh is a womanizer and drunk, hardly a paragon of virtue despite his parentage. He is seeking novelty to make up for feeling abandoned, and he has a grandiose face to appear better. Adopting a cast-off child and refusing to bow to expectations made Ninshubar's tribe call for her death. She was then captured and bought as a temple slave, putting her into the same orbit as the gods.

I'm not familiar with Sumerian mythology, so I appreciate how the book begins long before their paths cross. We see what life was like, how temple rituals worked, and the role that gods played in life. This follows the Epic of Gilgamesh with additional plot points from Sumerian tales about Inanna. She starts off believing that she's a goddess of love only, and it doesn't help that her family of Annunaki plot against each other and jockey for power as well as the melam that makes them immortal. It ran out, so their immortality can run out with enough time. Hundreds of years have passed, and there are as many people who no longer believe in their godhood as they believe in them. War expands in the territory, and bad decisions compound over time. The gods are human, with additional powerful weapons they use on each other as well as enemies.

There's a lot that happens in this novel, which is the first of a trilogy. Their paths cross and the future of Sumer is at stake. The Annunaki are on the verge of becoming superfluous in the area, and the baby goddess born into this world will come into her full power as a goddess of war as well as love.

Buy Inanna at Amazon

Gilgamesh

August 2024; Titan Books; 978-1803364421
audio, ebook, print (512 pages); fantasy

Gilgamesh is about to be crowned King of Uruk. His homeland is devastated and most of his family is on the run as Sumer's enemies gather strength. Inanna and Ninshubar seek revenge on Enki, and Inanna is struggling to understand the power she inherited. Meanwhile, Ereshkigal, queen of the underworld, has a visitor warning about a dangerous new threat, and a prophesied vengeance. Even the gods cannot escape their fate.

This book follows the first volume of the trilogy. King Akka still hates Gilgamesh with a passion given his former womanizing and the tricks he plays to get out of battles. He doesn't believe in the Annunaki as gods, only as mortals pretending to be gods to gain political power. It doesn't help that using their powers drains the energy of the melam in their veins so that they are starting to grow old and slow down. Their weapons can also slowly be drained of power, so they aren't the fearsome things that helped them start their rule over the city-states. The king bears down on Uruk, laying siege and vowing revenge. Inanna has Ninshubar helping her get her own revenge, and they are also looking for Ninshubar's adopted son. Ereshkigal is first afraid of the newcomer that has arrived but then comes to love him as well despite the warnings he gives and the fact that death comes in his wake.

There are new POV's in this book, and the stories that were hinted at in the first novel come to play here. We know that the older generations of Annunaki had done deplorable things with their power, which had led the family to flee the Heavens and come to Earth. With the continued fighting among the humans, many of the Annunaki have fled to save themselves. A few others still have reason to stay and fight with their favored people and cities, but war has come on all fronts. The losses from the first book pale in comparison to this one, as it is now a prolonged city siege. Inanna doesn't know how to truly use the power of her weapon, so it takes her a long time to figure it out and it drains her energy. Ninshubar must protect her then, and this is the story thread that I'm the least connected to.

The story is engaging and gives an interesting spin on life in 4000 BC. The language people use reflects that time, and the relationships of the Annunaki keep changing as well. Gradually we find out the truth of the oldest tales, fleeing the Heavens and Creation, and that the Annunaki aren't as powerful as they like to say they are. This isn't the end of the trilogy, and there is bound to be more devastation as the enemies on earth and from the Heavens come for the Annunaki after centuries of hiding.

Buy Gilgamesh at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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