BOOK REVIEW: The Master Of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley

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Judith Merkle Riley is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. Her stories and characters are just offbeat enough to keep me smiling with enjoyment from beginning to end.

In this novel, Sibille Artaud, the daughter of minor nobility and an aspiring, if bad, poet, has unwittingly acquired the "Master Of All Desires": an ornate box containing the undying head of Menander, an ancient evil magician who will grant any wish to anyone, exactly as it is wished. These wishes often result in tragedy and death, and Menander likes it like that. Sibille's accidental possession of this horrific relic brings her to the attention of the French queen Catherine de Medici and the legendary seer Nostradamus, each of whom has an overweening interest in the box and its contents, albeit for differing reasons. How Sibille negotiates the treacherous ground she's encountered and achieves her ultimate destiny makes for a marvelous story. Compelling reading. Highly recommended.