'The Victor' by Marlayne Giron - Book Review

The author of this book, Marlayne Giron, is a Messianic Jewish believer.  I am always so excited to learn about Jewish people who realize Jesus the Messiah has already come – and will come again!

Here is the book trailer for ‘The Victor’:

The idea for ‘The Victor’ came to Marlayne almost thirty years ago when she heard a song by Amy Grant called ‘Fairytale.’ Here is that song:

Marlayne was particularly inspired by this line in the song:

“Two princes wage the battle for eternity but The Victor has been known from the start…”

It took me a little while to get the ‘feel’ for the book - in the middle of Chapter Two.  It is not every day I read a medieval tale!  But once it grabbed me, I had a hard time putting it down!  Marlayne really captures the essence and the language of the time period.  I felt as though I was actually there with the characters!

The main characters in this book are Eloth, the king of Ellioth, Lucius, and Eloth’s son, crown prince Joshua.  These characters can be equated to God, satan, and Jesus.  There is also Ardon, Eloth’s foster son and the steward of Shiloh, a kingdom of Eloth, and his daughter, Llyonesse.  An important inanimate character is Eloth’s sword, named Ephlal (the word is ‘judgment’ in Hebrew). 

‘The Victor’ is a wonderful allegorical novel.  Similarly to how Lucifer and his angels were cast out of heaven, Lucius and his men were cast out of the Kingdom of Ellioth for treachery and dishonesty.  And, like Lucifer did and does, Lucius used deceit and lies to weasel his way back into the kingdom and to exact revenge on the King.     

It is interesting how Lucius, who returns to Shiloh in disguise and using the alias Lucan, is able to lie and deceive in order to gain what he wants.  This is very instructive in the way the enemy of our souls, satan, tricks believers into doing his bidding.  It is well that we remember those tricks.  Both Lucius/Lucan and the biblical Lucifer (aka satan) can be charming and cunning, but their self-interest is preeminent in their actions.  Lucius/Lucan is very expert at raising doubts about the sovereignty and judgment of the king and fostering a bitter heart – just as the snake did with Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:5.  They come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Mrs. Giron is a gifted writer.  Here’s an example:

It needn’t have been like this, he thought to himself.  Their lives needn’t have come to this end: devoid of hope and empty; existing from one miserable day to the next.  Had they been watchful, had they not succumbed to Lucius’ lies, it could have been so different.  They were living in a hell of their own choosing. (p. 241)

Marlayne’s attention to detail is keen.  She is wonderful at creating an amazing portrait of the novel’s settings.  And her knowledge of that era of history is amazing; she clearly spent a lot of time in researching the time period.

I highly recommend this book; it is truly a masterful piece of literature.  It is wonderful as a biblical allegory, but it also stands alone as an amazing piece of fiction.  Marlayne weaves scripture references into the story, without referencing it exactly, but the essence is there.  And the ending is very happy!  I applaud Mrs. Giron’s first novel, and hope to see more emanating from her mind – and her computer - in the future!

Marlayne lives in Orange County, California with her husband Michael and her teenage daughter, Karina.

You can order a copy of the book here.

This book was generously provided to me by Tate Publishing and the author for review purposes.