Chasing the Lion

Chasing the Lion

From the blood-soaked sand of the Roman arena, a divine destiny will rise.
For as long as Jonathan Tarquinius can remember, everyone has wanted something from him. His half brother wants him dead. His masterâ€™s wife wants his innocence. The gladiator dealers want him to fightâ€”and dieâ€”for their greed. Romeâ€™s most famous prostitute wants his love. And the gentle slave girl who tends the wounds on his body and the hidden ones on his soul longs for him to return to his faith.
What Jonathan wants is simple. Freedom. But God wants something from Jonathan tooâ€”something more than anyone would ever imagine. The young warriorâ€™s journey will push him to the limits of human endurance and teach him that true freedom is found within. The greatest battle Jonathan must ever fight will not come in the arena, but deep within himself as he is forced to choose between vengeance and mercyâ€”with the fate of an empire and the life of the woman he loves hanging in the balance.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS
"I actually read your book in one eager gulp this afternoon and absolutely loved it. My heartfelt congratulations to you on writing such a fantastic thing - I'll certainly be reviewing it myself in the autumn issue." - Steve Donoghue, Editor, Historical Novel Society

Full Review:
Just before his mother dies at the beginning of Nancy Kimballâ€™s Chasing the Lion, young Jonathan Tarquinius is taken into the family of his father, Roman praetor and future senator Tarquinius Cornelius, to be raised as a member of the family right alongside his older half-brother Manius.

And these are only the beginnings of the upheavals Jonathan faces: later he is kidnapped and sold into the underworld of Romeâ€™s gladiatorial games and forced to learn the ways of the arena, ways that clash as sharply as possible with the tenets of his Christian faith.

In well-constructed and fast-moving chapters, Kimball wonderfully complicates poor Jonathanâ€™s already-complicated existence with everything from the rapacity of the games (the fight scenes are very crisply done) to the lust of bored Roman women idolizing fighters like Jonathan to, eventually, a tangled political conspiracy against the Roman emperor Domitian that manages to involve both Jonathan and Manius, although they remain enemies throughout.

The sub-narrative of Jonathanâ€™s embattled faith is handled with appealing delicacy throughout, and the result is enjoyable enough to make the prospect of future volumes in the series very appealing.

2014 Grace Awards Winner
From the first page we were drawn into this powerful novel. The hero and heroine are crafted so perfectly that we felt we knew them. Under Nancy Kimballâ€™s skillful pen, even those who appear briefly are clear and consistent. The main character, Jonathan, is complex. Manius, his â€œhalf-brother,â€ betrays Jonathan, resulting in a life as a slave and gladiator. Jonathan sinks into doubt and despair. Nessa, the heroine, is a beautifully drawn character. Providing medical care for the injured gladiators, Nessa struggles at times, but ultimately faces challenges with grace and faith. The plot is full of adventure and ever-increasing obstacles for Jonathan and Nessa. The author seamlessly interweaves a story spanning a great number of years. The theme of Christian sacrifice and faith flows wonderfully throughout those years. This is truly an EPIC adventure, as stirring as â€œBen Hur,â€ that kept our judging team reading late into the night. Jonathanâ€™s and Nessaâ€™s lives engaged our hearts. It seems incredible that humans could treat each other so cruelly. But as we look at the daily news of terrorism, beheadings, torture and kidnappings, it becomes clear that humanity hasnâ€™t changed. Evil still exists, faith is still needed.
Country USA
Manufacturer Nancy Kimball
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-04-24
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Nancy Kimball
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-04-24
Format	Kindle eBook

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