Salammbo
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Salammbo is a literary work written by Gustave Flaubert and published in 1865. This story is set immediately after the first Punic War. Carthage has weakened and is now not able to keep the promises made to its army of mercenaries and find itself under attack.The fictional title character and the daughter of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian general, is the object of the obsessive lust of Matho, a leader of the mercenaries. With the help of the scheming freed slave, Spendius, Matho steals the sacred veil of Carthage, the Zaïmph, prompting Salammbô to enter the mercenaries' camp in an attempt to steal it back. The Zaïmph is an ornate bejewelled veil draped about the statue of the goddess Tanit in the sanctum sanctorum of her temple: the veil is the city's guardian and touching it will bring death to the perpetrator……
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Druillet offers a new science-fictional take on Flaubert's 1862 protoheroic story involving the Punic Wars, creating a staggeringly vibrant but roundabout tale. In a cosmic landscape, Sloane betrays and kills his own crew aboard his space ship while looking for his friend Yearl. Sloane then finds himself in Carthage, hoping to conquer it after glimpsing the face of the beautiful Salammb , sacred virgin of the city. After interrupting a feast where Salammb is present, Sloane becomes involved in a war between unpaid mercenaries and their employers in Carthage that ultimately leads to both his and Salammb 's deaths. But the returning Yearl promises future resurrection. Despite Druillet's eye-catching use of high-contrast colors and masterfully intricate line work, the story is unfortunately marred by wordiness and excesses of world-building. The intricacy of Flaubert's original plot is lost and often unreadable due to the sheer volume of information and needless story components. Though visually stunning, this book ends up at war over the importance of detail and accessibility.
