The novel opens with Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices part of a reenactment of the historic Battle of Mylea. Gladiatrices from the two rival warrior schools, the Ludus Achillea and the Ludus Amazona are in a pitched battle with wooden weapons. The battle is being staged on Lake Sabatinus for the amusement of Cleopatra, Queen of Aegypt.
Fallon's ludus captures the flag on the Amazona's ship, ending the battle. The gladiatrices retire to an evening party held on the beach to celebrate their victory. The gladiatrices of Ludus Amazona meanwhile return to their barracks in the Ludus Achillea compound.Life continues on, with Fallon pining for the Roman soldier she has fallen in love with, Decurion Caius Antonius Varro. Cai and his second, Quintus arrive unexpectedly bearing the deed from Caesar, conferring ownership of the Ludus to Fallon's sister as Caesar promised.
That night the Ludus Achillea is attacked, the stables burned, Fallon's sister Sorcha is missing and presumed dead, and Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices are prisoners of Pontius Aquilla, owner of the Ludus Amazona. Pontius tells Fallon and her fellow gladiatrices that they have come to put down a rebellion at the ludus and that they are to be rehabilitated. He also informs them that he has taken ownership of ludus. When Fallon insists that the ownership should pass to Thalestris, Pontius produces proof that Thalestris has sold the ludus to him. Fallon realizes that her dream warning of vengeance has come to pass.
Fallon who is seriously wounded in a fight with Nyx, is imprisoned in a dungeon in the ludus while the other gladiatrices along with Cai and Quintus are held in the infirmary. In the dungeon, Fallon dreams of Arviragus, known to the Romans as Vercingetorix, the Gaul chieftain who was strangled after being paraded through the streets of Rome during Caesar's Quadruple Triumphs. However it isn't Arviragus nor Cai who frees Fallon, but Aeddan, the Canti warrior Fallon was betrothed to and who murdered the man whom she loved.
With the help of Aeddan, Fallon, twelve of her Achillea gladiatrices, Cai, Quintus and Leander escape the ludus and flee to Rome, to the prison of Arviragus, who apparently was never executed by Caesar. Hidden in Arviragus's prison, Fallon heals from her wounds and then learns what really happened at the Ludus Achillea.
Leander reveals that he overheard Thalestris dragging Sorcha through the Ludus gate that night. He believes that Thalestris has been planning her revenge on Sorcha for the death of her sister Orithyia. Sorcha's very first gladiatorial fight was with a warrior named Orithyia. Sorcha won, killing Orithyia. Thalestris had come to be Sorcha's primus pilus - the one who trained the gladiatrices in the Ludus Achillea. But Thalestris feigned forgiveness and friendship with Sorcha to get close to the Lanista in order to exact her revenge. Working with Pontius Aquilla, Thalestris has kidnapped Sorcha, destroying her dream of freeing the Achillea gladiatrices by delivering them to Pontius Aquilla.
Leander tells Fallon that Thalestris plans to sacrifice Sorcha to the goddess of the Amazons during the Huntress Moon which takes place in fifteen days. Leander believes that Thalestris has taken Sorcha to the island of Corsica, which happens to be where Quintus is from. He tells Fallon, Cai, Leander and Elka that he was born in a small fishing village on the east coast of Corsica. He and two of his brothers were sent away to protect them from being captured by the Amazons living on the other side of the island like his brother Secondus was. The Amazons are actually descended from a group of slaves freed by the Greeks who colonized the islands years ago. When the Romans settled the island they too left the women on the other part of the island alone.
Fallon becomes determined to travel to Corsica, confront Thalestris and the Amazons and free her sister. Once that is accomplished her plan is to retake the ludus from Pontius Aquilla. What Fallon doesn't realize is that she will be ensnared in a web intended to bring down the mighty Caesar. That can only an epic confrontation between Fallon and her sister Sorcha and Pontius's gladatrices, Thalestris and Nyx.
Discussion
The Defiant is a fitting second novel in Livingston's epic warrior trilogy, The Valiant Series. In this novel, Fallon ferch Virico, Cantii princess and Julius Caesar's Victrix embarks on a quest to rescue her sister and recapture the ludus her sister was supposed to take ownership of, at the bequest of Caesar. This unwittingly puts Fallon in the middle of the conflict brewing in the politics of the Roman Republic.
The Defiant is set in the last years of the Roman Republic, against the backdrop of the Great Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar, after his great military successes, had set up the First Triumvirate to rule Rome. This meant three prominent men, Caesar, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus formed a loose political alliance. The alliance was an attempt to counter the Roman Senate which controlled most Roman politics. Eventually, with the death of Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae in 59 B.C. and the defeat of Pompey by Caesar in the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., Caesar came to rule Rome. Within Rome, though there was conflict between the Populares who were supported by the common Roman class known as the plebians and who supported Caesar, and the Optimates who represented the nobility. In the novel, Caius's father, Senator Decimus Fulvius Varro is a member of the Optimates who oppose Caesar.
Senator Varro also belongs to a secret sect known as the Sons of Dis who worship the god Dis, "the dark incarnation of the Roman god Saturn - ruler of the Underworld." In early Roman times worship of the god Dis may have been practiced, but it fell out of favour by the time the story takes place. Livingston revives it in her novel, through the character of Pontius Aquilla, a character from the first novel who Fallon recognizes as a potential enemy. His rituals in the Sons of Dis provide an element of horror and suspense. Fallon finds herself caught up on Pontius's plan to seek revenge on Caesar.
Fallon must also fend off deadly threats from Thalestris who is bent on revenge for the death of her sister at the hands of Sorcha, and from Nyx whose hates Fallon for freeing her from the ludus. Several plot threads are neatly resolved, but the major one involving Pontius Aquilla remains, likely to be continued in the third novel.
Livingston has crafted an enjoyable historical fiction novel that will appeal to teens and adults alike, with a strong female heroine, exciting action scenes, interesting historical references, all wrapped with a touch of romance and humour. The relationships between the characters are well developed and help drive the story. Besides the blossoming romance between Fallon and Caius, Livingston also creates tension between Fallon and Aeddan, the man she was betrothed to and who killed his brother Mael whom Fallon loved. There is also a developing relationship between Quintus and Elka, one of the gladiatrices in the Ludus Achillea. Elka is having none of Quintus's attempts to romance her, but by the end of the novel she's beginning to thaw. The novel is made more appealing by its attractive cover which references a battle scene in the novel.
The Defiant is another fine novel by Canadian author, Lesley Livingston with the third installment due out February 2019
Book Details:
The Defiant by Lesley Livingston
Toronto: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd. 2018
371 pp.
Fallon who is seriously wounded in a fight with Nyx, is imprisoned in a dungeon in the ludus while the other gladiatrices along with Cai and Quintus are held in the infirmary. In the dungeon, Fallon dreams of Arviragus, known to the Romans as Vercingetorix, the Gaul chieftain who was strangled after being paraded through the streets of Rome during Caesar's Quadruple Triumphs. However it isn't Arviragus nor Cai who frees Fallon, but Aeddan, the Canti warrior Fallon was betrothed to and who murdered the man whom she loved.
With the help of Aeddan, Fallon, twelve of her Achillea gladiatrices, Cai, Quintus and Leander escape the ludus and flee to Rome, to the prison of Arviragus, who apparently was never executed by Caesar. Hidden in Arviragus's prison, Fallon heals from her wounds and then learns what really happened at the Ludus Achillea.
Leander reveals that he overheard Thalestris dragging Sorcha through the Ludus gate that night. He believes that Thalestris has been planning her revenge on Sorcha for the death of her sister Orithyia. Sorcha's very first gladiatorial fight was with a warrior named Orithyia. Sorcha won, killing Orithyia. Thalestris had come to be Sorcha's primus pilus - the one who trained the gladiatrices in the Ludus Achillea. But Thalestris feigned forgiveness and friendship with Sorcha to get close to the Lanista in order to exact her revenge. Working with Pontius Aquilla, Thalestris has kidnapped Sorcha, destroying her dream of freeing the Achillea gladiatrices by delivering them to Pontius Aquilla.
Leander tells Fallon that Thalestris plans to sacrifice Sorcha to the goddess of the Amazons during the Huntress Moon which takes place in fifteen days. Leander believes that Thalestris has taken Sorcha to the island of Corsica, which happens to be where Quintus is from. He tells Fallon, Cai, Leander and Elka that he was born in a small fishing village on the east coast of Corsica. He and two of his brothers were sent away to protect them from being captured by the Amazons living on the other side of the island like his brother Secondus was. The Amazons are actually descended from a group of slaves freed by the Greeks who colonized the islands years ago. When the Romans settled the island they too left the women on the other part of the island alone.
Fallon becomes determined to travel to Corsica, confront Thalestris and the Amazons and free her sister. Once that is accomplished her plan is to retake the ludus from Pontius Aquilla. What Fallon doesn't realize is that she will be ensnared in a web intended to bring down the mighty Caesar. That can only an epic confrontation between Fallon and her sister Sorcha and Pontius's gladatrices, Thalestris and Nyx.
Discussion
The Defiant is a fitting second novel in Livingston's epic warrior trilogy, The Valiant Series. In this novel, Fallon ferch Virico, Cantii princess and Julius Caesar's Victrix embarks on a quest to rescue her sister and recapture the ludus her sister was supposed to take ownership of, at the bequest of Caesar. This unwittingly puts Fallon in the middle of the conflict brewing in the politics of the Roman Republic.
The Defiant is set in the last years of the Roman Republic, against the backdrop of the Great Roman Civil War. Julius Caesar, after his great military successes, had set up the First Triumvirate to rule Rome. This meant three prominent men, Caesar, Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus formed a loose political alliance. The alliance was an attempt to counter the Roman Senate which controlled most Roman politics. Eventually, with the death of Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae in 59 B.C. and the defeat of Pompey by Caesar in the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., Caesar came to rule Rome. Within Rome, though there was conflict between the Populares who were supported by the common Roman class known as the plebians and who supported Caesar, and the Optimates who represented the nobility. In the novel, Caius's father, Senator Decimus Fulvius Varro is a member of the Optimates who oppose Caesar.
Senator Varro also belongs to a secret sect known as the Sons of Dis who worship the god Dis, "the dark incarnation of the Roman god Saturn - ruler of the Underworld." In early Roman times worship of the god Dis may have been practiced, but it fell out of favour by the time the story takes place. Livingston revives it in her novel, through the character of Pontius Aquilla, a character from the first novel who Fallon recognizes as a potential enemy. His rituals in the Sons of Dis provide an element of horror and suspense. Fallon finds herself caught up on Pontius's plan to seek revenge on Caesar.
Fallon must also fend off deadly threats from Thalestris who is bent on revenge for the death of her sister at the hands of Sorcha, and from Nyx whose hates Fallon for freeing her from the ludus. Several plot threads are neatly resolved, but the major one involving Pontius Aquilla remains, likely to be continued in the third novel.
Livingston has crafted an enjoyable historical fiction novel that will appeal to teens and adults alike, with a strong female heroine, exciting action scenes, interesting historical references, all wrapped with a touch of romance and humour. The relationships between the characters are well developed and help drive the story. Besides the blossoming romance between Fallon and Caius, Livingston also creates tension between Fallon and Aeddan, the man she was betrothed to and who killed his brother Mael whom Fallon loved. There is also a developing relationship between Quintus and Elka, one of the gladiatrices in the Ludus Achillea. Elka is having none of Quintus's attempts to romance her, but by the end of the novel she's beginning to thaw. The novel is made more appealing by its attractive cover which references a battle scene in the novel.
The Defiant is another fine novel by Canadian author, Lesley Livingston with the third installment due out February 2019
Book Details:
The Defiant by Lesley Livingston
Toronto: Harper Collins Publishers Ltd. 2018
371 pp.
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