“Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with its bloody plot and characters, has inspired writers for years. Now Hartley and Hewson go a step further and adapt the play as a novel, in the process expanding its political background, making its language more accessible, and humanizing its characters. While both Macbeths profit from this approach, it’s Lady Macbeth, given the first name Skena, who is the primary beneficiary. Barren after the earlier death of their infant son, she presents her war-hero husband (with whom she has a deeply loving and passionate relationship) with political realities and then masterminds the assassination of Duncan, which leaves both Macbeths guilt-ridden. But Lady Macbeth has no role in the ensuing bloodshed. Macbeth’s longstanding friendship with Banquo also is fleshed out, and the appearance of Banquo’s ghost is rationally explained. The supernatural comes into play with the witches—here both cannibalistic and carnal—who make more frequent appearances but cast the same predictions; not all of the frequently quoted lines from the play appear here, however. This is an exceptional adaptation of a classic work of literature, a novelization that can add to the understanding and pleasure of the original to
which it pays homage.”
— Michele Leber, Booklist
