The Eunuch Neferu

By Daniel Tegan Marsche

Marsche conveys an enthralling, historical fiction tale with The Eunuch Neferu. Upon the canvass of Roman-occupied Egypt in 23 B.C., this literary tapestry is woven using a rich and enchanting... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891855549
• ISBN13: 9781891855542
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: STARbooks Press
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

enjoyed the journey, sad ending

I enjoyed the journey provided by this read. Mr Marsche did a cool job transporting me to this time and place. Horrific to imagine there actually was a time and place where grown men could be child molesters and the practice was considered normal custom. Regardless of whether Mr Marsche conducted proper research to uncover truths of what happened back then (this is a work of fiction) and although those realities most probably did occur, I was taken aback with the notion that it was considered customary (Roman law) for a man to take a boy into his bed for sex until the lad acquired the stage of puberty... In Neferu's poor case, his castration effectively cancelled the onset of puberty allowing the molestation to continue. Regardless of exact historical facts being nailed down or not, times back then were harsh and barbaric for many. I can conceive, accept and understand the passion felt by Neferu, however, it collides with my personal view that a boy at the age he was "taken" was impressionable and unable to truly understand what his sexual orientation is. Certainly, being gay myself, I agree it is possible for one to know their orientation from a young age, but I find it hard to digest that boys at that time, could be saddled with that role without having an opportunity to go through the natural discovery period puberty provides. In this case, Neferu, luckily, was gay. The romance was warm and beautiful and it made sense that his agony at the end would lead him to CONSIDER his final decision, but given his professed desire to be with Aurelius and ongoing narcissism to the end, I found it conflicting that he would carry it out. I think the romance between Troy and Neferu, regarless of whether it was a fraud on Troy's part was too muted during the time they were together to cause to have as much weight as it did at the end to warrant such guilt on Neferu's part. In closing - great journey, sad ending, outstanding author. What's next Mr Marsche?

The book was OK, but I disliked the ending

Overall, I liked this book. It may be not the most historically accurate out there. Well, there are indeed some French phrases and "zen" and a few other anachronisms as some of previous reviewers mentioned. Nonetheless, they did not annoy me or distract me from the plot, as the book does have some interesting story to offer. The story is told from the eunuch Neferu's point-of-view, and as he is descibed as a person who's very young and prone to different types of decorations (jewelry, fine clothing, etc), so his ornamented/exuberant language also didn't seem to be out-of-place for me. The book's strong points, in my opinion, are its quite passionate, emotional (and even philosophical, at times) plot, dialogue and descriptions. I gave it four stars mostly because of its ending, which I found to be indeed out-of-place and even fairly inconsistent with the rest of the story/unrealistic. I think the author even managed to convey what he never planned to convey: for those who read the book - my impression was that Neferu's best friend Bo'am was quite envious/ interested in taking Neferu's place in his master's heart and bed, as there is no other logical expnanation to his actions/it's completely inconsistent with the rest of his character. Besides, the ending precluded any sequel, and I would have really enjoyed reading one.

What an Intriguing Tale!

I could not believe how easily I slipped through the sands of time to find myself in the world of Egypt in the first century BC! The story flowed flawlessly and it was incredibly easy to read, however, VERY difficult to put down. Mr. Marsche seems to have been very concerned for the evolution of his characters! Kebryn arrives from out of the desert with virtually no social grace and then rises to become an equal in the eyes of his lover! The Eunuch Neferu really brought to life for me a time and place I would never have thought to venture. It gets a little steamy here and there, but steamy in the sense of what we all do in real life without talking about it. I can't give away any of the details without feeling as though I've revealed the entirety. This book will capture, enrapture and seduce its readers and I say hats off to Daniel Tegan Marsche - and thank you as well. The Eunuch Neferu truly touched my heart and I believe I will be reading it again and again.