Hello!
(And along with it, her publisher has brought out a brand new edition of The Light Bearer, for those who want to start the story from the beginning....
See snippets of reviews from Amazon.com and other goodies below:
The Light Bearer
Customer Reviews — [1] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-10-04 Summary: A Fascinating Book ... This is a big book by any standards, 800 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. I found it fascinating, exciting and thought provoking. In fact everything that a good book should be. The year is AD 83 and the Emperor Domitian has crossed the Rhine with four legions, approximately 24,000 men and they have not marched that far for the exercise. The German tribes have tried to maintain their independence for as long as they can, ...more
[2] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-09-12 Summary: A sumptuous tale with few stops for breath ... There is much I could say about "The Light Bearer" which has already been said, but as I don't review all the books in McCullough's Masters of Rome series (of which I've ready each book), I don't feel I can properly do justice to the greatness of this sweeping epic, which unlike McCullough's work, spans not just from Rome, but from a not well known Germanic tribe called the Chattians. Gillespie does an amazing job of keeping Rome and Germania separate in writing details, with an inevitable connection between the two. ...more
[3] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-05-18 Summary: I loved it! Suspenseful, passionate, breathtaking imagery ... The Lightbearer is truly an amazing read. Once I began it, I couldn't pull myself away from the spell of Auriane, woman warrior, fighting for the survival of her embattled Germanic tribe against the all powerful Roman army. The characters are so richly drawn, I had an immediate sense of our shared humanity, despite the remoteness of their times. I was captivated by the vivid descriptions of these two worlds, sometimes hauntingly beautiful, sometimes disturbingly barbarous, always artfully rendered through Gillespie's ...more
[4] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-05-18 Summary: A Book to Savor ... Every possible element of good writing comes alive in this book. Gillespie recreates a lost time with such powerful detail we can feel we're living there with her characters. Those characters are larger than life, just as they should be in an historical novel of epic scope. Who would want to read about Robin Hood if he couldn't shoot an arrow straight? But best of all is the plot. I don't *think* I read books for plot, but without a plot, no book really succeeds. It's like the skeleton of a human. You don't want to ...more
Editorial Reviews — [1] ... Amazon.com | Quo Vadis for our times! Well, not exactly. It's been awhile since anyone tackled the Roman Empire as entertainingly as Gillespie has done in this book, a nearly-straight historical novel which should please readers of fantasy, too. Germanic Auriane is a combination of the noble, natural savage, and the heroine marked from birth for great deeds. Roman Marcus Julianus is the personification of the highest civilized, republican Roman values. Both are typical and atypical of their societies, fighting...more
[2] ... Book Description | On the day of her birth, Auriane received a mysterious amulet from a priestess-and a doubleedged prophecy of doom and glory. The daughter of a Germanic tribal chieftain, Auriane witnessed unspeakable horrors committed against her people by ruthless invaders. And when tragedy tore her family apart, she took the oath of a warrior, and vowed revenge. Tales of her brilliant swath of conquest carried as far as Rome, to the renowned statesman Marcus Julianus-who felt his destiny intertwined with...more
Lady of the Light
Customer Reviews — [1] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-10-05 Summary: 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 ...more
[2] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-09-05 Summary: 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 ...more
[3] Rating: 4 Date: 2007-08-23 Summary: 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 ...more
[4] Rating: 5 Date: 2007-07-30 Summary: everyone has already said it all. ... A really good summer read. I just finished it, can still smell the leather horse saddles and feel the cool fog on my face. ...more
[5] Rating: 4 Date: 2007-05-02 Summary: Almost super ... I read this book right after reading Light Bearer and found it almost as good. In the middle I was losing interest and then Ms. Gillespie brought in the nine maidens with their string skirts and I was hooked again. Scholars say that the skirts were worn high on the waist and did not fall low enough to cover the private parts (not sure of the reason why) but this is a minor inaccuracy. I await book three when I am sure the family will be temporarily reunited after many adventures, of course. I am curious to see how ...more
Editorial Reviews — ... Book Description | 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...more
The Light Bearer Special Advance Edition
Editorial Reviews — ... Product Description | On the day of her birth, Auriane received a mysterious amulet from a priestess-and a doubleedged prophecy of doom and glory. The daughter of a Germanic tribal chieftain, Auriane witnessed unspeakable horrors committed against her people by ruthless invaders. And when tragedy tore her family apart, she took the oath of a warrior, and vowed revenge. Tales of her brilliant swath of conquest carried as far as Rome, to the renowned statesman Marcus Julianus-who felt his destiny intertwined...more
Warrior Women: Feature - Discovery Channel - Warrior Women. From a gentle farm girl who heard the voice of God to an apache warrior and a pirate queen, these leading ladies challenged convention and ...
Women Warriors - Which leads quite directly to the one work of the "High Middle Ages" dealing most specifically with the concept of the "Warrior Woman" -- "The ...
Amazon's warrior women or ancient myth? - Did Amazon warrior women, the Antiope and Hippolyte belong to an extinct matriarchal warrior society? Or were they simply fictional characters depicted in ...
Ancient Women Warriors - Ancient women warriors. Ancient women who led troops into battle: Amazons, Queen Artemisia, Queen Boudicca, Queen Samsi, Queen Tomyris, Trung Sisters, ...
Warrior Women of Eurasia - Ancient burial mounds in Russia have yielded skeletons of women buried with weapons, suggesting the Greek Amazon tales may have had some basis in fact.
Lucy Lawless Warrior Women Documentary - Information section on the documentary Warrior Women which looks at the lives of five warrior women in history - Joan of Arc, Boudica, Wang Cong'er - The ...
SparkNotes: The Woman Warrior - The Woman Warrior. Maxine Hong Kingston ... Chapter One: No Name Woman · Chapter Two: White Tigers · Chapter Three: Shaman ...
