Scan barcode
A review by wiggleallaround
The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie
5.0
oh my goddess i finally finished it!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
okay, guys. get ready for a very journal-y, stream-of-conscious, probably-unedited, incoherent review...
so you know what's so great about this book, that brings hope and light into my life? it's the fact that i started reading this book in august or september 2014. yes, you read that right -- 2.3ish years ago!!!! and for someone who has book ADD and can read many books at once, but then gets distracted by other books, the fact that i picked up The Light Bearer again at least 3 significant times, gives me hope for other books that i loved/wanted-to-finish but then put away for that mysterious and elusive "another time."
plus, it's kind of cool to have widespread reading memories for the same book. like, what i remember most about books that i read is the feelings they give me and especially where i was personally, physically, emotionally when i read them. ya know? so september 2014 sara was so very different from december 2016 sara. but it's pretty cool to compare and contrast that sort of thing.
so anyway. The Light Bearer is this awesome historical novel about rome trying to colonize/conquer the chattian tribes of upper germania in the first century ce. the main characters are Auriane, a warrior woman of the chattian tribes who just wants to keep her land and traditions alive (but also is open to growing as a person and community aka learning stuff from the romans), and Marcus Julianus, this senator philosopher who is just trying to keep evil tyrannical emperors from murdering everyone in rome. so yeah, political intrigue, women warriors, pagan priestesses, clever battles, clever manipulations, gladiator manipulations, etc. etc. pretty badass, really.
Gillespie could have definitely benefited from some hardcore editing. i mean, it was for sure fun and awesome to read such a long book and learn a bunch about the roman empire (since my high school honors world history teacher read to us from the textbook... like, how did i not know there was a huge difference between the roman republic and the roman empire? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). the book only covers about 30 years -- from nero to domitian -- so a bunch of editing woulda been nice. but who knows. it's also cool to have a long ass book to read.
there was some other stuff i didn't like (insta-love), but for the most part, the stuff about old-school colonization and domination floated my boat fer sure. i like learning about power and corruption, especially if it's real life. also, how marcus julianus was working against a terrible ruler felt pretty inspiring and timely. and auriane was one of the coolest women characters ever - strong and rebellious and open-minded and family-oriented, but sometimes unsure and stubborn in the worst ways. she was awesome.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
okay, guys. get ready for a very journal-y, stream-of-conscious, probably-unedited, incoherent review...
so you know what's so great about this book, that brings hope and light into my life? it's the fact that i started reading this book in august or september 2014. yes, you read that right -- 2.3ish years ago!!!! and for someone who has book ADD and can read many books at once, but then gets distracted by other books, the fact that i picked up The Light Bearer again at least 3 significant times, gives me hope for other books that i loved/wanted-to-finish but then put away for that mysterious and elusive "another time."
plus, it's kind of cool to have widespread reading memories for the same book. like, what i remember most about books that i read is the feelings they give me and especially where i was personally, physically, emotionally when i read them. ya know? so september 2014 sara was so very different from december 2016 sara. but it's pretty cool to compare and contrast that sort of thing.
so anyway. The Light Bearer is this awesome historical novel about rome trying to colonize/conquer the chattian tribes of upper germania in the first century ce. the main characters are Auriane, a warrior woman of the chattian tribes who just wants to keep her land and traditions alive (but also is open to growing as a person and community aka learning stuff from the romans), and Marcus Julianus, this senator philosopher who is just trying to keep evil tyrannical emperors from murdering everyone in rome. so yeah, political intrigue, women warriors, pagan priestesses, clever battles, clever manipulations, gladiator manipulations, etc. etc. pretty badass, really.
Gillespie could have definitely benefited from some hardcore editing. i mean, it was for sure fun and awesome to read such a long book and learn a bunch about the roman empire (since my high school honors world history teacher read to us from the textbook... like, how did i not know there was a huge difference between the roman republic and the roman empire? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). the book only covers about 30 years -- from nero to domitian -- so a bunch of editing woulda been nice. but who knows. it's also cool to have a long ass book to read.
there was some other stuff i didn't like (insta-love), but for the most part, the stuff about old-school colonization and domination floated my boat fer sure. i like learning about power and corruption, especially if it's real life. also, how marcus julianus was working against a terrible ruler felt pretty inspiring and timely. and auriane was one of the coolest women characters ever - strong and rebellious and open-minded and family-oriented, but sometimes unsure and stubborn in the worst ways. she was awesome.