Anazar lives to fight in the Roman arena, for he doesn't have any other purpose to his masters. A runaway who got caught and branded is unsaleable. The lanista, the master of the events, dislikes how Anazar refused to slay unarmed men in a re-enactment. Hence he's had the slave beaten. Life is pretty bad, but Anazar doesn't wish to die just yet.
MARK OF THE GLADIATOR takes us straight into the brutality of Roman life, where one Numidian is worth only what his owners can get out of him. Anazar is leased to Marianus, a wealthy man who wishes to train a stable of female gladiators. This fighter was the entertainer of the day, when affluent men paid for spectacles to secure public votes. The fourteen gladiatrices are a mixed bunch who don't all speak Latin, though Amanikhabale can speak and read it, and as their new trainer, Anazar has his work cut out. But if he succeeds, he just might earn his freedom.
This adult novel shows us various sides of life at the time, from the squabbling, plotting wealthy to the galley slaves and valuable scribes. Relaxation in the baths is the only pleasure allowed to Anazar, but some men wish to take pleasure from his body, and he can't refuse. Spendthrift Felix, his master's younger brother, is the target of an attempted assassination one night and Anazar saves him, altering his status and turning him into a bodyguard. But there's still the matter of training the gladiatrices, and they're more likely to kill one another, or a Roman, than fight together....
The total immersion in the times, the continuous uncertainty of a slave's life, are well realised; details such as bullock carts making deliveries after nightfall, fine mosaics in rich homes and wooden swords painted silver, never cease to convince. Loyalty may not keep Anazar alive, given the constant plotting going on around him. At the end is a glossary, though Latin terms such as damnati - prisoners condemned to die - are self-evident in the context.
MARK OF THE GLADIATOR may appeal to those with an interest in Roman history or gay literature. The element of romance is constantly bound up in danger and betrayal, but brings a pleasing conclusion to Heidi Belleau and Violetta Vane's adventure
After an inconvenient display of mercy in the arena, the
gladiator AnazΓ’r is pulled from the sands and contracted to
nobleman Lucius Marianus to train his new stable of female
gladiators. His charges are demoralized and untested, and
they bear the marks of abuse. AnazΓ’r has a scant two months
to prepare them for the arena, and his new master demands
perfection.
AnazΓ’r is surprised by how eager he is to achieve itβfar
more eager than a man motivated only by self-preservation.
Perhaps itβs because Marianus is truly remarkable:
handsome, dignified, honorable, and seemingly as attracted
to AnazΓ’r as AnazΓ’r is to him.
But a rivalry between Marianus and his brother sparks a
murder conspiracy, with AnazΓ’r and his gladiatrices caught
in the middle. One brother might offer salvation . . . but
which? And in a world where life is worth less than the
pleasures of the crowd or the whims of a master, can there
be any room for love? As a gladiator, AnazΓ’r's defenses are
near impenetrable. But as a man, he learns to his cost that
no armor or shield can truly protect his heart.
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