THE LIGHT BEARER is
a monumental epic of ancient Rome and her clash with the tribes of Germania,
a richly-embroidered tale of war, vengeance and spiritual transcendence,
of palace intrigue and pagan ritual.
Encompassing a sweep of events spanning the reigns
of two tyrants, the Emperors Nero and Domitian, it's the saga of Auriane,
a Germanic chieftain's daughter. At the prodigal age of sixteen, she must
take the warrior's oath. Ultimately, the record of her deeds will reach
as far as the glittering capitol city of Rome.
Auriane's birth is attended by Ramis, the most powerful and revered tribal
seeress, who claims the newborn as her own. But war and necessity impel
the indomitable woman onto a different path: As ruthless Roman invaders
plunder her people's lands, burn their crops and kidnap their young men
for the imperial army, she takes the oath of a shield maiden. When the
Emperor Domitian crosses the Rhine with four legions in 83 AD, Auriane
is chosen to lead her people in their doomed struggle against the encroaching
imperial army. As the only world she's known collapses about her, she's
captured and taken to Rome...and into a world of horror and glory no seeress
could have foreseen.
Set against her story is the tale of a philosophically inclined nobleman,
the Senator Marcus Arrius Julianus, a champion of the weak who publishes
banned books in the age of Nero. Julianus swiftly rises to first place
among the fiercely competitive imperial advisors. Through wit, daring
and brilliant maneuvering, he alone is able to check the murderous whims
of the increasingly corrupt Emperor Domitian. As a reign of terror begins,
Julianus is forced by conscience to become the architect of a complex
and delicately balanced plot to assassinate the emperor.
The Light Bearer was an immediate international bestseller. It received
a 'starred' review in Publishers
Weekly, and was lavishly praised by The
Washington Post. The novel is the product of twelve years of research
into the history, culture and mythology of classical Rome and the proto-Germanic
tribes.