The Sumerians

 

The trilogy

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.

All three novels in the series are published by Titan Books.

Inanna

The first novel in the 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.

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.

In the US, Inanna is available at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

In the UK, Inanna is also available at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Amazon.

There is also a wonderful French version of Inanna available from the publisher Bragelonne, which you can order here. 

Gilgamesh

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. Our three main heroes from Inanna are all back, but this time joined by some new major characters.

In the US, Gilgamesh is available at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

In the UK, Gilgamesh is also available at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Amazon.

Ninshubar

The third and final novel in the trilogy, which is available for pre-order now, opens six months after the dramatic events in Gilgamesh. The novel draws on the earliest creation myth known to humanity, Enuma Elish, as well as many other amazing Mesopotamian texts.

In the US, Ninshubar is available for pre-order at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

In the UK, Ninshubar is also available for pre-order at all the normal places including Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Amazon.

Audio

Very excitingly, the audio versions of both Inanna and Gilgamesh are out now on Audible. The audio version of Ninshubar is available for pre-order.

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.