Lady of the Light | Donna Gillespie | In some ways it's better than the first one...

Lady of the Light | Donna Gillespie | Well Worth the Wait

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Lady of the Light

	Lady of the Light Donna Gillespie Berkley Trade, 2006 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Auriane, warrior maiden of the Chattian tribe, was sworn to remove the cursed Romans from the lands of the Rhine. Then fate intervened: she was captured, brought to Rome in chains, and trained to fight in the arenas as a gladiator-only to fall in love with a Roman aristocrat, Marcus Arrius Julianus, and become his wife.

Marcus and Auriane have lived in tranquility for years but, without his knowledge, Auriane is a traitor to Rome. Plundering her husband's coffers for nearly a decade, Auriane has provided her people with enough wealth to arm themselves. Now, Auriane's betrayal has been discovered, and if her duplicity reaches the Roman authorities, her life- and the lives of her family-will be forfeit.

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In some ways it's better than the first one...

This book is beautifully composed and artfully put together. I found not a wasted sentence. There is polished beauty to the scenes that shows a new mastery on the part of this author. The forward movement of the story is brisk and relentless and calamity lurks at the end of every chapter - I never felt a slowing of tension throughout the whole book. This family struggles to stay together as they are ringed by wolves. This story is put together like a puzzle box - every piece matters. I had to read it twice to appreciate how this was done. The reviewer who called this book a study in economy really got it right. The rich background of each scene somehow never intrudes on the action. The characterizations, too - possibly even lusher and fuller than in Light Bearer - are seamlessly developed along with the action. The dialogues are inspiring - so many characters have quotable lines that I almost lost track. Here is that sort of novel it's so difficult to find these days - a solid work of adventure that is also deeply meaningful. I agree with others who pointed out that the portrayal of the powerful position of women in early Germanic society is utterly convincing and makes this book a rare gem. I ardently wanted to believe that there was once a great teacher called Ramis dispersing wisdom with roots reaching back into archaic times. And there is such honesty and intimacy in the portrayal of Roman life. This volume beautifully complements Light Bearer - it fills in precisely those details of Marcus' and Auriane's lives that I was so avid to know and manages this with such deft storytelling that those details always felt necessary to understanding the continuing crises of the present. This book has it all - horror, mystery, psychological tension, betrayal, horrific battles, sweet victories, tragic love. If this book doesn't become a classic there is no justice.

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Well Worth the Wait

This is a big book by any standards, almost 500 pages and is the result of years of research and study by the author into the culture, and history of Rome and the Germanic tribes. The book believe or not is a follow up to The Light Bearer, a book that Donna Gillespie wrote 12 years ago. The book continues the life of Auriane, a warrior maiden of the Chattian tribe, designated to be their new prophetess but as fate would have it she was captured by the Roman army and taken in chains to the city of Rome.

Once there her life changed completely and she was trained to be a female gladiator in the great arena of Rome. Again fate takes a hand in the life of the woman who had vowed to defend her tribe against all things Roman. She falls in love with a Roman aristocrat Marcus Arrius Julianus and becomes his wife.

Marcus and Auriane have lived a peaceful life for a number of years, but unbeknown to her husband Auriane is a traitor to Rome, plundering her husband's coffers for nearly ten years, Auriane has provided her family with enough wealth to arm themselves. Now her deceit has been discovered and if it reaches the Roman authorities, not only her life, but the life of her family will be forfeit.

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Gillespie does not disappoint with this historical adventure romance

In true Troubadour fashion Donna Gillespie's prose and rhetoric entertain a reader like no other author. Layers of story characters as well as metaphoric messages kept me captivated as I read through "The Lady of the Light". She has a way of allowing the reader to climb inside of her characters viewing 360 degrees of their feelings, surroundings, sites, smells, and thoughts. . . .

As in "The light Bearer" the hero Auriane continues to find ways to break rules and gain bitter enemies not only her new life as a lover and companion to the extremely wealthy Roman Aristocrat, Marcus Arrius Julianus, but among her Germanic Chattian tribal people as well.

Her spirited and mischievous daughters, Juliana and Avenhar, are both on the verge of womanhood and are not to be outdone by their mother's stubborn dedication to duty as well as her habit of being drawn into intrigue and conflict.

In Juliana, daughter of Marcus, we see a young Roman noblewoman...will she achieve victory over her character flaws -- the Roman wealth and vices she craves and the distain she feels for her mother's tribal people?

Certain that her blood flows pure with the power of her Chattian ancestors, Avenhar's intense competition and dedication to live up her mother's fame and legacy leads her into one after the other of misfortunes and happenstance. Upon discovering her blood is also half Roman she plunges into an abyss of self loathing. When she casts off her family ties and joins a rebel Chattian tribal group we witness her rise to the occasion facing challenge after challenge. Like her mother, we wonder if she will live to the end of the story with the un-ending conflicts that appear at every turn. . . One of the most memorable quotes in the book is when Avenhar reveals to us the fiber of her being when addressing a tribal leader who has exposed her identity as Auriane's daughter, "You know nothing, yet you keep talking. It's a weakness in men who're given too much too soon, after having worked for too little... For myself, I plan to earn the glory I get."

As with her earlier novel this story does not disappoint us as a source of historical facts and trivia about daily life, customs, and superstitions of the time period.

I give this novel absolutely five stars to anyone fascinated with the time period or to those who love a compelling adventure and romance novel.

[...]

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Good, but not as great as the first one

This novel is the sequel to the magnificent work "The Light Bearer", which was an epic saga centering around Auriane, who is the daughter of a chieftain of a Germanic tribe at a time that ancient Rome is pushing further and further into their territory. It was fast paced, intriguing, well-written - just fantastic all around. I would even put it on a par with "The Mists of Avalon" and recommend it to anyone, whether or not they like historical fiction. It's been about 7 years since I read the book and I looked forward to reading this sequel.

Despite its very favorable reviews here, I personally had mixed feelings towards the sequel. On the plus side: Gillespie still writes beautifully and I like her characters. She brings the setting to life and gives you a fascinating take on history and the events that are shaped by one powerful woman. The whole setting is brilliant - the Germanic tribes are being even more overwhelmed and conquered by the Romans; their ancient traditions are falling out of history. It's always interesting to read about history from the perspective of those who lost a war. Gillespie also writes well of the mother-daughter relationship between Auriane and her first daughter Avenahar. Also, I liked getting to see what befell some of the characters from the first book such as the prophetess Ramis and Auriane's first love (and one of my favorite characters), the Roman man Decius. But on the negative side: The plot moved slowly. Some scenes felt like they were 5 times longer than they needed to be and there were plenty of scenes that really didn't need to be in there at all. I was shocked at that, since the first novel moved at breakneck speed and I found nothing in it superfluous. I also felt that the main male character, Marcus, is almost a bit too much like a hero of a romance novel - he's unrealistically without flaw. (I prefer the more spicy and flawed Decius). I'm glad I read the book though, just to see what happened to all the characters I loved in the first novel and I still found it enjoyable despite its faults. It's always hard for sequels of extraordinary works to follow up to the earlier book's greatness.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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