Book review: Mark of Shamash by SSpjut

I was really looking forward to reading this novel, and it's been nearly a year since I agreed to read it. I have a degree in Near Eastern Archaeology, so this was completely up my alley. That being said, I was heartbroken when I couldn't bring myself to finish Mark of Shamash.

Honestly, I can't quite call it a novel. It's more of a manuscript in the sense of a lack of editing. And I mean nearly a complete lack of it. The plot itself is very slow, but nothing quite wrong with it really. Aside from the lack of editing, the writing isn't terrible and I'm sure once it's cleaned it up would be pretty decent and would appeal to many readers.

From what I understood, the story was meant to be written in the form of a Mesopotamian myth or at least styled in that way, but carried none of the patterns or themes found in myth stories. And the research done seemed half-hearted in general. To be fair, a lay person likely wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I could. I had absolutely no sense that it was set in the Early Bronze Age, especially when a few characters spoke with a Cockney accent. In Mesopotamia.

If I were to receive an edited version of this, I would definitely give it another go as I am interested to see how it plays out since this is supposed to be the story of Abraham's ancestor. But as it stands, I need to be fair to myself and to the other authors who requested a review and give them the time they deserve. I gave as much as I could to this novel, and I only got halfway through.