Babylonia

De: Costanza Casati

Narrado por: Ayesha Antoine

When kings fall, queens rise.
Nothing about Semiramis's upbringing could have foretold her legacy. Born to a woman scorned by Aphrodite and raised as an orphan on the outskirts of an empire, Semiramis was never meant to hold power. But that does not mean she was not made for it. When she meets a young representative of the new Assyrian king a path unfolds before her, one that puts her in the midst of a brutal world and at the heart of two men raised as brothers—one who just happens to be king.
Now a risen lady in a court of vipers, Semiramis becomes caught in the politics and brutality of ancient Assyria. But even amongst the lavishness of the kingdom, she feels the precariousness of her position. Instead of bartering with fate, Semiramis trains in both war and diplomacy. And with each move, she rises in rank, embroiled in a game of power, desire, family, and betrayal, until she can ascend to the only position that will ever keep her safe: Queen.
This myth-based story follows Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire, and the famous love triangle that made her queen—usurping both a king and the man they both loved.

©2025 Costanza Casati (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Enthralling!

Amazing story, beautiful prose and a great reader. The characters are strong and complex, the story is enthralling. I was sad to part with the protagonist and her life and companions.

Riveting, taught, perfect

I loved listening to this story unfold. Every character is worth investing in. The narration was perfect, the writing impeccable.

A tale of rags to riches…

Loved this take on the rise of Semiramus. A tale of rags to riches with a twisted love triangle. Couldn’t stop listening!

Divine

She finessed this book into a portrait of love, loss, and grief accompanying humanity and its pursuit of freedom and power. Highly recommend.

Wonderful

I truly enjoyed this historical fiction of the great queen Semiramis. The writing is superb and the perspective revealing.

Excellent!

After enjoying Clytemnestra I was looking forward to this and those of us in the IS had to wait an extra few months for the audio version and it was worth the wait. I loved how multi-layered the characters were. I sometimes found myself even doubting Samiramis’ true intentions behind her actions. Really the mark of a well written, human characters.

A beautiful epic

I loved this so much. One of the first 5 star reads of the year. I didn’t want to stop listening to it.

Gorgeous storytelling

I read Costanzas first book Clytemnestra and fell in love with her writing, the way she portrays her heroine is poetic and satisfying in way I long for in any story of a woman wronged.
Costanza iteration of Sumiramis’s rise to power is beautifully told, from multiple points of view I found myself absolutely entranced by this book.

I really enjoyed the voice of the narrator. The pacing was great, and Semiramis is a strong female character.

I would have like to hear some more variance in character voices. sometimes it was hard to tell who was speaking.

An amazing woman of ancient Assyria

It’s a story about a clever, beautiful, ambitous woman who rose from humble beginnings to rule one of the biggest empires in the world.

The setting is in the 9th century BC, we’re in the Assyrian Empire (which is in the modern day Middle East) This empire is known for its brutality, conquests, innovations and art.

Don’t be intimidated by all the historical talk, all of the information you need to know gets introduced to you in such a beautiful way. There was no info dump or confusion.
Babylonia is a fictional spin on Semiramis, and what her life and journey may have been like.
She befriends the slaves and scribes, she has a pet leopard as her sidekick, she rides into battles with her husband and burns down cities in the name of Assyria.
The author didn’t shy away from depicting Assyria as the brutal conquerors that they were, some scenes in this book were pretty bloody and savage.
But reading Babylonia by Costanza Casati felt like time traveling to the wild world of Assyria but from the safety of my bed.
I loved the complex relationships between all of the characters, the court politics and secrets, and I loved how well researched this was. The author really dove into historical myths, art depictions and writings to create this story and I loved it.