River of Life (Light in the Empire)

By Carol Ashby

Description:

River of Life: a Roman-era adventure with dangerous choices, unlikely friendships, and world views in conflict.

When the future you dreamed of looks impossible, maybe God has a better one planned.

Driven from home because of her Christian faith, Neferu lands a position tutoring Jason, her childhood friend’s young son. Jason's father despises him and banishes both the boy and Neferu to his ancestral estate, where Jason becomes the target of a family member who wants Jason's inheritance for her own boys. How can a mere servant thwart her mistress before her young charge is killed? Knowing what she does, is her life at risk as well?

When Lusario’s new master, Caelus Martinus, decided they would train together to work as architects, Lusario's once-bleak future seemed bright. But if they don’t get a commission within a month to design a building, both will lose the future they long for.

During their trip up the Nile to compete for a building contract, disaster strikes, forcing Neferu to rescue Lusario and Caelus from certain death. As the threat to Neferu and Jason grows, both men would do anything to protect her and the boy. Might death await them all if they fail?

Book Takeaway:

When a person doesn’t want to consider becoming a Christian because they’re afraid of what they might lose if they do, the persistence of friends, both old and new, in sharing their faith can finally open eyes and lead them to the truth. Our calling is to keep sharing the truth and loving them, and God can use us to reach their mind and heart.

Why the author wrote this book:

I’ve been writing stories set in different provinces of the Roman Empire at a time when it was illegal to be a Christian and becoming one could cost you everything. I had just finished Truth and Honor, set in Roman Carthage in North Africa. A major character had a son who was off studying in Alexandria, and I decided Caelus Martinus would be a good reason to write a story in set in Roman Egypt. His backstory and that of Lusario, his manservant and best friend, became Crushed Hopes and Hopeful Beginnings, a prequel novella for the full length River of Life. I’ve had a great time taking my two Stoic heroes on an adventure three years later that’s filled with danger, unlikely friendships, and courageous faith.