This book is a sequel to The Road to Alexander and continues the story of time-travelling Ashley who has gone back to meet her hero Alexander the Great. In this second book, the couple are desperately searching for their kidnapped son amidst the confusion and danger of war as Alexander conquers the Middle East and Asia, building his empire.
Alexander now knows that Ashley comes from the future and is in danger of being ‘disappeared’ in all times if she significantly changes or interferes with history. Jennifer Macaire skilfully weaves acknowledged historical facts about Alexander and his campaigns into the fictional account of his life with Ashley, a twenty-first century time traveller.
There are interesting vignettes such as Alexander naming a city Mary Margiana after Mary in the Beatles’ song Let it Be which Ashley has taught him. The story is in a first person narrative by Ashley, a useful narrative device as she is also, effectively, the omniscient narrative as she knows the future.
Despite the title, there was not enough about the legends of Persia and far too much about the couplings of Ashley and Alexander. The relationship between her and Alexander clearly is a major part of the story but, as in the first book, there is to my taste an unnecessary focus on the couple’s sex life including a threesome between Alexander, Hephaistion/Plexis and Ashley, plus a public drug-assisted coupling lasting seven hours, to ensure a good harvest with Ashley in her role of goddess.
As I said in my review of the earlier book in the Alexander series, it seems to me that Macaire resorts to a sex scene whenever she needs a change of pace or a narrative climax (pun intended) and I think that is lazy writing. I can’t recommend this book or the series.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
Rating out of 10: 6
Distributed by: Amazon Australia
Release Date: June 2017
RRP: $3.99
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