Favorite historical fantasy book: The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie
Book description on Amazon.com:
In the harsh
wastes of the barbarian north, a child is born on dirt and straw in the rude
thatched hall of a Germanic tribal chieftain. She is Auriane, destined to
follow the pathway of her tribe’s most revered seeress. But as ruthless Roman
invaders plunder her people's lands, burn their crops and kidnap their young
men for the imperial army, Auriane is chosen to lead her tribal people in their
struggle against the empire.
When the Emperor
Domitian crosses the Rhine with four legions, the north’s hope resides in a
woman…
And as the only
world she has known collapses around her, Auriane is captured and taken to
Rome, and into a life of horror and glory no seeress could have foreseen.
In Rome, senator
and Stoic humanist Marcus Arrius Julianus rises to the loftiest pinnacles of
government. Through wit, daring and brilliant maneuvering, he struggles to
check the murderous whims of the increasingly corrupt Emperor Domitian. As a
reign of terror begins, Julianus orchestrates a vast plot to assassinate the emperor.
Cultured Marcus
Julianus and barbarian Auriane meet — and form a powerful bond across the gulf
of their vastly different ways of life.
Domitian condemns
Auriane to the arena, where in the halls of a gladiatorial training school she
discovers the tribesman who betrayed her people in war. As Julianus’
assassination plot rushes to its cataclysmic conclusion, Auriane must carry out
the solemn rite of vengeance before a maddened throng in the Colosseum.
An immediate
international bestseller, The Light Bearer is the product of twelve years of
research into the history, culture and mythology of classical Rome and the
proto-Germanic tribes.
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I loved this book. It is beautifully written and well-researched. I loved Auriane's strength. Highly recommended to anyone interested in classical Rome and the ancient Germanic tribes.
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
My author page at amazon.com with all my books listed
