The Sumerians

 

The Sumerians is a series of three novels set at the very beginning of history, in the land once known as Sumer.

Sumer has long been overshadowed by other ancient civilisations such as Greece, Rome and Egypt. But all of those civilisations owe a debt to Sumer. It was in Sumer, in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now modern Iraq, that writing, the wheel, and so many other key facets of civilisation are first known to have appeared.

The first in my novel series, Inanna, draws on the most famous ancient myths about Inanna, as well as the Epic of Gilgamesh, to tell the story of this ancient goddess, and also to recreate the lost world of Sumer.

The second novel in the series, Gilgamesh, picks up almost exactly where Inanna leaves off, and draws on an increasingly wide selection of ancient Sumerian myths, including the dark story of Ninlil and Enlil, and the creation myths of Sumer.

In Inanna, there are three main characters. First, of course, Inanna. Second, Gilgamesh, the famous mortal son of two gods, who struggles to accept his own immortality. And then finally there is Ninshubar, Inanna’s right-hand woman, and the leader of her armies. The book is published by Titan, and you can order a copy here!

The second book in the series, Gilgamesh, is available here  or at all the usual places. Our three main heroes from Inanna are all back, but this time joined by some new major characters. I'm currently working on the third and final novel in the trilogy, which will be out in August 2025, if all the gods of Sumer are willing. Very excitingly, the audio versions of both Inanna and Gilgamesh are out now on Audible. There is also a wonderful French version of Inanna available from the publisher Bragelonne, which you can order here. 

PS In case you are interested in reading more on all this, I wrote a piece for The Nerd Daily on why the world needs more fantasy novels set in Sumer. You can read it here. I also wrote in The Guardian about why Inanna is arguably the first ever literary hero, and you can read that here. And finally I wrote in Prospect magazine about how AI is transforming the hunt for new stories from Ancient Mesopotamia, and you read that here.