Author(s): Rosemary Sutcliff

Middle Fiction 8-12-year-olds

Blood was staining the sand of the arena - the blood of his friend Vortimax whom he had just slain. All around him Phaedrus the Gladiator could hear the triumphant shouts of the crowd; and he knew that he had won his freedom. But he had not left a life of chance behind him. Soon he found himself riding north towards the wilds of Caledonia, on a strange mission. He was to assume the identity of Midir, heir to the kingdom of Dalriada and Lord of the Horse People, to seek vengeance against the treacherous Liadhan, who had usurped the throne. Ahead of him was more adventure, more excitement and more danger than he had ever known in the arena...