Ancient Historical Fiction discussion

I'll add a very personal favourite of mine.

Donna Gillespie
The Light Bearer
Lady of the Light

Set in the 1st century. The perspective of Germanic tribes pitted against Rome, though we see a Roman perspective too. Our hero Auriane is a chieftain's daughter, a fighter -- she ends up in the Roman arena as a gladiatrix. We see much of tribal life and religion, in a story about resistance to Rome.

I was fascinated by this (confession: I haven't read the second yet, which came out twelve years later) because of its attention to tribal societies as juxtaposed to Rome. When I came to write about tribal societies as juxtaposed to China, I scoured my bookshelves, and honestly found only this as a... companion. I felt more or less 'That's what I want to do, at the other end of the world'. Hence my devotion. Must have been what they call a formative influence.

I love it when that kind of inspiration strikes! I started reading the Light Bearer, but it didn't hold my interest, so I never finished it.

I really liked The Light Bearer, even upon subsequent rereadings but was not enthralled with the sequel.