I’ve gotten a lot of comments lately about how “original” my story “Guardian of Our Beauty” was. While I’ll readily admit that not that many writers set fantasies in the Ancient Near East, I’m not the only one! So, for those of you who would enjoy some more Ancient Near Eastern fantasy, here are a few that I’ve encountered. (First, a quick note. The “Near East” refers to the geographic area now usually known as the Middle East—Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, parts of Iran. The Arabian peninsula is also part of this region, although we don’t know much about what was happening there during the ancient period. The “Ancient” part of “Ancient Near East” refers to the period between the beginning of civilization there and the 1 st century AD.) My favorite Ancient Near Eastern fantasy series is the Farsala trilogy by Hilari Bell. This trilogy ( Fall of a Kingdom, Rise of a Hero, Forging the Sword ) is a magical take on the Ro...
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