Review - Beverly’s Bookshelf
What a phenomenal book!
When I first read the premise of this book, I knew I would enjoy it since it took place in medieval times. But what really drew my interest, was that Marlayne described it as a retelling of “the Gospel as a medieval love story.” Marlayne further stated that the following verses from Amy Grant’s “Fairytale” song (Father’s Eyes album) was the inspiration behind the book, “Two princes wage the battle for eternity but The Victor has been known from the start…”
The book spans several years, during which the prince, Joshua, and his betrothed, Llyonesse, grow up and are separated. Llyonesse goes to live in a new country with her father, Ardon, as Steward over the new kingdom until such time as Joshua is crowned as king. Joshua stays in Ellioth, the land of his Father, King Eloth, to train as a knight in preparation for his future leadership.
Evil weaves its way through the land and the lives of our hero & his beloved in the form of Baron Lucius of North Umberland. Lucius only wants to posses the King’s sword of power, Ephlal, so that he may rule over all.
“The Victor” is the age-old struggle of good versus evil that has plagued the world since Satan entered the Garden of Eden. Marlayne has masterfully combined this struggle with romance, action, and symbolism of the Gospel story. The book contains beautiful drawings scattered throughout that bring to life the fantastic imagery that Marlayne’s words bring to mind. It is evident from the speech patterns and details written in the story that Marlayne did a great deal of research of medieval times. It helps to lend authenticity to the story-line.
This story is for readers of all ages. Marlayne had it Lexile scored (1060) and it is worth 15 Accelerated Reader points for ages 12 and up and comes with a Teacher’s Lesson Plan for those who are teachers or home school.
Marlayne Giron can be reached at: http://thevictor.tatepublishing.net/ or her blog: http://wishfulfillmentstories.blogspot.com/
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “The Victor” and recommend it highly to everyone. It will be one of those books that I read more than once, and each time I expect to take something away that I missed the first time. I look forward to reading more from Marlayne in the future!