Crimson Dawn
Barbara Korsness
Publish America, Frederick, Maryland
ISBN: 1-4137-1636-9
Pages 195
Crimson Dawn catches the readers attention from the beginning. It is
a spellbinding account of a tale during Biblical times in ancient Rome. Peter and Paul from the Bible come to life as the
author brings them into the novel with ease as real and convincing characters.
The
bloody accounts of battles and tortures accurately depict the inhumane treatment of Christians during the time following the
crucifixion of Jesus. Ms. Korsness has taken a very difficult time in history and woven a wonderful tale of romance, deceptions
and loyal friendships. The story, while very entertaining, is filled with historical facts that I found interesting to read.
Crimson
Dawn is well written and I would recommend it to anyone as an interesting look into the times of early Christians. I enjoyed
the hints of romance, although I found the book entertaining because of the history and realistic characters more than the
from the romance side.
I
highly recommend Crimson Dawn to all genre lovers. Christians will especially enjoy the references, but this is clearly not
a book written just for the Christian. Crimson Dawn is filled with history, romance, intrigue, battles and action.
This is not a book just for women. I believe men and women alike will enjoy the trip back in time and the action of this fast
paced novel.
Crimson Dawn
By Barbara Korsness
PublishAmerica
PO
Box 151
Frederick, Maryland 21705-0151
877-333-7422
www.publishamerica.com
ISBN: 1-4137-1636-9
Tradeback
195 pages @
Crimson Dawn is a captivating tale about Celtics, Druids, Romans,
Christians and dogma destroying crusades. The author successfully and skillfully
builds an entertaining vehicle with three-dimensional characters.
Taryn, filled to the brim with a rough and ready attitude,
ventures off with her twin brother who is returning to school. Taryn’s
purpose for traveling with him is to relocate her wolf. The wolf, killing a hare,
was the final straw. The dead hare was interpreted as a bad omen for her people,
the Celts.
Taryn is smitten with a virile Roman, Marcus, but soon a battle takes place putting them on opposing sides. Taryn’s twin brother, Connor, is killed and her other brother, Brian, ends up
being saved by slavery. Brian becomes a slave to Marcus’s family only until
they can free him.
Taryn, possessing a hard as nails mental and physical strength, is kidnapped and forced into gladiator
fighting. Against all odds, she earns her freedom with her vividly fierce and
intelligent display of warfare. Yet, her freedom isn’t for long. The brutal Nero recaptures her when he hears she receives messages from her deceased twin brother, Connor.
Connor tempts her with knowledge from the other side including telling her about the God of the Christians. Nero, wallowing in his own mental mud, challenges Taryn to bring forth his mother’s spirit or to
die. With Marcus’s help, she finds an escape route in Nero’s room
and flees.
She locates her brother, Brian, who is happily in love and becoming a Christian. As curious as she is about this new faith, she is distracted with the chance she will lose Marcus once
and for all to a scheming devious woman.
The story is highlighted with enthralling gladiator fights, chariot races, young love and religion producing
a high-velocity story.
Sherry Russell
Reviewer
MidWest Book Review
Reviews Bull Dancer
Saturday, August 17, 2002
Author Barbara Korsness has just released a new novel called Bull Dancer. This is her second novel, her first was Ancient Fire. It
is time for me to get back into some fiction and so I am going to avail myself of a copy of each book. I suggest you do the
same . . . support Catholic fiction!
It sounds like Barbara's books are well researched and they just sound well done,
so I am really looking forward to reading anything but German articles on J.H.Newman.
In 1938 BC Crete, Kira, a bull dancer, is injured in the ring & must return home.
To keep a promise
she made to her dying father, she teams up with her brother Niko, to expand their family's merchant business. She
& Niko venture to many ancient seaports as well as Egypt & Mesopotamia. On one adventure Kira must find
a man near the Dead Sea to deliver a mysterious book meant for him. Traveling on to Babylon, Kira and Niko buy a boat
& sail to Ubar, a city in southern Arabia that produces the purest incense in the known world. It is worth more than gold.
If they can establish a trade route from Ubar to the kingdoms of the north they will become rich. Guest Reviewer
Jeanmarie Morelli writes: Bull Dancer's impulsive, big-hearted heroine leads an action-packed life,
& will win the hearts of many young readers as well as be a source of inspiration for her courage, generosity & innovation. We
are introduced to 21 year-old Kira on the day when she throws herself in front of a raging bull to protect the life of
another bull dancer. In the process Kira receives a gash from the bull's horns. Being injured & loosing blood is taboo
for Bull Dancers. Her courageous act is not appreciated by the King, who banishes her from the Palace. This young
dancer has trained for her profession from the age of 15. She knows of nothing else. Along the way she has become a skilled
horse woman, & a strong swimmer, strengths that will save her life in future adventures. Not content to stay
at home, she joins her brother who is the captain of a trading vessel. A few days out at sea, pirates block their passage,
& Kira develops an innovative plan. The seasoned sailor follows his sister's advice & they out smart the pirates. Again
& again Kira plans important strategies & leads others through perilous adventures. all the time accompanied by
her falcon who often comes to her aid. In her native land of Crete, women have many rights including owning property.
They experience freedoms unknown in other lands of the time. When her brother insists that she cover her body & veil her
face before going out in public in one port, she responds by rolling her eyes toward heaven. “Another culture where
the men think they are superior.” Page 144 The people of Crete worship a goddess. As she travels to exotic
cultures Kira often asks people about the gods they worship. At one point she finds Abraham & learns of his one God. Later
when asked about her own beliefs she says “I'm confused. Everywhere I go there are different gods demanding different
honors. Some encourage feasting and that men take pleasures in life that hurt others, some demand human sacrifice. One god
commands his worshipers to throw their infants into fire...Where I come from. we had no wars, no human sacrifice. We worship
our mother goddess and involve bulls in our worship. I was a bull dancer, part of a religious ritual, but the reason I did
it was for the fun and excitement.” Page 142. She claims to have no feelings toward her gods & continues, ‘El
Shaddai (Abraham's god) holds my interest more than any of the gods of my land.' On her journey Kira seeks out followers of
the one god. Everywhere she goes, Kira is a champion for the underdog. In the process she upsets the balance
of power. One of the characters in the story sums it up well: “...Turning to her, eyes sparkling with humor,
he continued. “ And, Kira, I hear you have made an impression on royalty again.” He then explains to his grandmother,
“Kira has the talent to disrupt the royal families of each countries she visits.” He goes on to recount her adventures,
including: how she is blamed for leading a princess astray, in another country she impersonated the princess of the land,
& in a third she stole the King's slave. Page 173 Kira is invited to ride the Arabian horses that are bred
in one region & gallops out into the desert. There she comes across “a large, strange, wounded animal.” Page
156 When she returns alone at night to help the creature she saves its life by killing an attacking wolf. She
befriends the camel & adopts it. Although distant nomads are known to ride these “creatures of the devil”;
the locals shun them, preferring to ride donkeys & horses. Kira comes up with ingenious plan to harness camels & let
them carry her cargo, thus expanding the family trade route. Everywhere she turns, this former bull dancer finds
adventures that keep the reader turning pages. This compelling character will find her way into the hearts of young readers
& those who are young at heart. Bull Dancer is an enjoyable read. A map showing the ancient trade
routes of the Mediterranean from Crete to Damascus to Egypt would have helped the reader follow Kira & her brother on
their adventures. More from Barbara Korsness: Ancient Fire
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