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Chloe and Cheftu #4
Twilight in Babylon
Separated from the man she loves, Chloe Kingsley finds herself alone in Mesopotamia, haunted by memories and driven to survive. Here, in a land where upheavals in the heavens and a flood on earth portend catastrophe for mankind, the rulers demand an appeasement - a beautiful young woman to placate the gods.
483 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2001
8 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Frank
13 books100 followersJ. Suzanne Frank is a newspaper and magazine journalist who has traveled extensively in Egypt, Greece, and Israel. A native of Texas, she lives in Dallas. She has written 4 novels under her own name and a short series of light mysteries under the name Chloe Green, which feature a fashionable sleuth named Dallas O'Connor. Her four novels are a linked series of time-travel fantasy that take a woman from the 1990s to ancient Egypt, Atlantis, and Biblical Israel. She draws heavily on history, myth and especially the Judeo-Christian Bible.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 4, 2009
The first three books in this series are among my all-time favorites so I was thrilled when this 4th installment came out. Parts of it were OK but then it went positively evangelical and full of Bible babble. Chloe and Cheftu apparently had a hand in all the important Old Testament stuff like Sodom & Gomorrah, tower of Babel, Hanging Gardens, etc etc. While the middle of the book was good, much of the rest was extremely weird and "fuzzy". An unsatisfying conclusion to what had been an exciting and romantic series.
November 28, 2012
Anything I say is a spoiler! I loved this book (I would, I'm the author) -- it's different than the others, because Mesopotamia is so different from the other cultures, but Chloe and Cheftu are in prime adventure mode and it was fun to piece together an ancient mystery's solution.
May 10, 2010
Great time travel series!
January 19, 2011
I liked it, but didn't want the series to end.
July 30, 2011
Loved the whole series.
July 26, 2025
Lo habia leido hace tiempo pero se me había olvidado marcarlo, es el cierre de una saga, no me leí los anteriores y lei este porque me lo presto una amiga, lo disfrute aunque lo romántico con toques eroticos no me llama mucho la atención, aunque esto igual va de viajes en el tiempo
January 8, 2019
This book description is nothing like what actually happens. Chloe wasn’t pregnant. Who wrote this?
September 21, 2016
Umpteenth reread 8/19/13: I love the way Frank mixes up ancient history, a hot love story, biblical allusions, and reflections on modern politics and society. These books are easy to read for enjoyment, but if the reader turns her brain on, there is plenty of meat and depth as well. I love how each book makes me feel like I'm immersed in the various ancient cultures. If you like history as via time travel, I recommend this series to you.
Re-read once again 9/12/16. Now I'm off on a rabbit trail of Sumerian art and culture. Her books are so weird and fun. All that historical info and mythology, with Ramses and Chloe added into the mix.
Suggestion for other readers:
Much of this book is based on what little we know about Ur and Sumerian culture from Sir Leonard Wooley's 1920's discovery of the "Royal Cemetary of Ur". I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you do some Googling before reading this book. Go to Wikipedia and look up Wooley and his expedition, then check the Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's website which has really good info and pictures.
You can see the layout of the gravesite, the artwork (including Puabti/Chloe's crown, the ram in the thicket, the goblet, the seal, how they dressed, the bull's head... all of this as described in the book. And, if you want to take the time, I recommend Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.
Suzanne Frank wrote a wonderful inventive novel, but a lot of what is written here is fictionalized based on Wooley's discoveries, and the speculations/hypotheses(?) about the findings by later archaeologists. (Talk about a rabbit trail! But it was well worth it for me.)
If you, like me, are an art history buff and/or like to add some reality to your readings, go for it. Imo, it's well worth your time. This is one of those cases where the truth is as interesting as the fiction. What an amazing find Wooley's was!
Re-read once again 9/12/16. Now I'm off on a rabbit trail of Sumerian art and culture. Her books are so weird and fun. All that historical info and mythology, with Ramses and Chloe added into the mix.
Suggestion for other readers:
Much of this book is based on what little we know about Ur and Sumerian culture from Sir Leonard Wooley's 1920's discovery of the "Royal Cemetary of Ur". I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you do some Googling before reading this book. Go to Wikipedia and look up Wooley and his expedition, then check the Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's website which has really good info and pictures.
You can see the layout of the gravesite, the artwork (including Puabti/Chloe's crown, the ram in the thicket, the goblet, the seal, how they dressed, the bull's head... all of this as described in the book. And, if you want to take the time, I recommend Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur.
Suzanne Frank wrote a wonderful inventive novel, but a lot of what is written here is fictionalized based on Wooley's discoveries, and the speculations/hypotheses(?) about the findings by later archaeologists. (Talk about a rabbit trail! But it was well worth it for me.)
If you, like me, are an art history buff and/or like to add some reality to your readings, go for it. Imo, it's well worth your time. This is one of those cases where the truth is as interesting as the fiction. What an amazing find Wooley's was!
July 27, 2011
Hm.. I don't really know what's my opinion this book.
Strange, I think. More strange because I don't have there was a lot of important or rememberable stuff on it.
It had a lot to do with religious stuff and while there was a lot of this in the previous books, too, I had no trouble keeping up. But here.. well. I never read the bible.
I don't really liked this one and it was a fight to go through with it but I hate not end a book.
Furthermore I am not satisfied with the end. I think Frank neglected ongoings between Chloe and Cheftu and I really missed it. Because I really liked Cheftus and Chloes Story. But here it is like.. well. Don't know.
I kind of hoped they finally get kids or get to a better time.
What was this thing about all the languages? And the illness in the end? What? I still only get half of it. Maybe I am to slow for those things.
I had the feeling Franks ability to take me with her in her stories dropped from book to book. Frankly, I think she could have made an end with the second one. (I still don't know, why Dion disappeared in the 3rd though. Strange thing)
I am really not satisfied with the end.
Strange, I think. More strange because I don't have there was a lot of important or rememberable stuff on it.
It had a lot to do with religious stuff and while there was a lot of this in the previous books, too, I had no trouble keeping up. But here.. well. I never read the bible.
I don't really liked this one and it was a fight to go through with it but I hate not end a book.
Furthermore I am not satisfied with the end. I think Frank neglected ongoings between Chloe and Cheftu and I really missed it. Because I really liked Cheftus and Chloes Story. But here it is like.. well. Don't know.
I kind of hoped they finally get kids or get to a better time.
What was this thing about all the languages? And the illness in the end? What? I still only get half of it. Maybe I am to slow for those things.
I had the feeling Franks ability to take me with her in her stories dropped from book to book. Frankly, I think she could have made an end with the second one. (I still don't know, why Dion disappeared in the 3rd though. Strange thing)
I am really not satisfied with the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2012
This was the final adventure for our time travelers Chloe and Cheftu. At the end of the last book they were living in Jerusalem. Chloe is burned in a house fire, dies, and ends up traveling to Mesopotamia. She enters the body of a marsh girl who is surviving a great flood and lands in the city of Ur. Months later Cheftu ends up in the body of En Kidu a fertility priest. Soon after she arrives a new star is discovered in the sky, a solar eclipse is predicted, and all the rulers are scurring about demanding a sacrifice to appease the gods. The fertility priestess, Puabi, needs a secret substitute so she won't have to die, and Chloe becomes it by default. Cheftu (Kidu) must save her. This is all the plot I can manage to convey, because this story was so convoluted. After they escape Ur they travel around and there are several references to stories from the Bible without actually naming them as such - Sodom and Gomorrah, tower of Babel, hanging gardens of Babylon, etc. It was time for the adventure to end!!! The author does inject a sense of humor when Chloe makes modern day observations in her everyday ancient life, and she is very creative with the "holes in history".
June 12, 2013
Time traveler Chloe despairs of being reunited with the love of her life, Cheftu, when she lands in the body of a marsh girl in ancient times. She struggles to fit in as she rises in rank but then has to flee when targeted for a human sacrifice. Chloe and Cheftu end up in the ancient city of Babylon where the purpose of their time traveling sojourns becomes clear.
This story was harder to get into than the others in the series. Too many characters and switching viewpoints were confusing at first, but once the focus zeroed in on Chloe and Cheftu, the story flowed more smoothly. Nonetheless, there was almost too much violence and depravity in this story with a multitude of religious sacrifices and people living amid squalid conditions that make you grimace. The conclusion was satisfactory if you buy the reason why Chloe and Cheftu were brought to Babylon. As always, the characterizations draw you into the story and thrust you into another gripping tale.
This story was harder to get into than the others in the series. Too many characters and switching viewpoints were confusing at first, but once the focus zeroed in on Chloe and Cheftu, the story flowed more smoothly. Nonetheless, there was almost too much violence and depravity in this story with a multitude of religious sacrifices and people living amid squalid conditions that make you grimace. The conclusion was satisfactory if you buy the reason why Chloe and Cheftu were brought to Babylon. As always, the characterizations draw you into the story and thrust you into another gripping tale.
July 15, 2014
When last we heard from Chloe and Cheftu, they were settling down in King David's Jerusalem. Frank's final installment of their journey, Twilight in Babylon, the fourth book, was difficult to find but I'm so glad I did.
Like the second book in this series, this one was hard for me to get into. Less of Chloe herself was first seen in her new body. The time period, ancient Sumeria, also held my interest less. But once Chloe found her own consciousness, and with the appearance of Cheftu, the story was great. Frank has a unique skill at bringing the past alive - it's palpable - and the characters are great.
I will truly miss Chloe and Cheftu. Their stories could keep me entertained for years!
Like the second book in this series, this one was hard for me to get into. Less of Chloe herself was first seen in her new body. The time period, ancient Sumeria, also held my interest less. But once Chloe found her own consciousness, and with the appearance of Cheftu, the story was great. Frank has a unique skill at bringing the past alive - it's palpable - and the characters are great.
I will truly miss Chloe and Cheftu. Their stories could keep me entertained for years!
July 8, 2015
The last two books in this series have left me wondering why the author chose to write a fictional story based on fiction. The bible as history? Really? Then again, I do enjoy mythology and so I tried to read it in that light, but the seriousness with which the characters seemed to take these beliefs appeared to be, to me at least, the actual belief in the bible as historical fact by the author bleeding through. It comes off oddly when trying to show up the wickedness of the populations being destroyed, utterly, by a supposedly good and merciful god. Because, as "wicked" as those populations may be, they weren't, you know, destroying whole populations. The Abrahamic god remains the reigning champion of murder. Hooray. Pffft.
July 23, 2016
Hunh?
She lost me again. The best description for this book is jumbled boredom with random spurts of interesting.
It almost makes me feel like book three was written by a ghost writer, the style seemed completely different.
She lost me again. The best description for this book is jumbled boredom with random spurts of interesting.
It almost makes me feel like book three was written by a ghost writer, the style seemed completely different.
July 24, 2008
These were all very good.
July 25, 2012
4th book in the series. Still holds strong as a great read. (plus I can never leave a series unfinished!)
February 8, 2013
I love all the books in this series!
July 1, 2014
I like this book...Chloe si adorable, and her husband too...their journey throuth time finished in Babylon, where thay stay for the rest of the days :D
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews