A Ballad of Love and War

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A BALLAD OF LOVE AND WAR

Subject: FICTION / Romance / Historical

A Ballad of Love and War is a novel written by Rob Love and published in February 2007 from the Xlibris Corporation.It's about the great war between Atlantis and Athens from plato's classical tale in timaeus. The book's action themes draws great comparison's to Homer's the Iliad and the movie Troy. While its romantic tale of the lovers Lysander and Gaia has been compared to its readers as an edgy Pride and Prejudice meets Romeo and Juliet. One of the main themes is political corruption and how even good people can go bad during war. The story attempts to create a realistic Atlantis and weaves together many historical theories on the subject.

[edit] Summary

Before Achilles made a name for himself at Troy...before 300 Spartans were victorious at Thermopolyae. There was a great war that changed the world of men! Found in the sacred archives of Egypt by Plato´s great ancestor Solon. This is the story of the Great War between Atlantis and Greece. Lector king of kings and ruler of Atlantis lets his own greed and lust for power push the boundaries of war. The Greeks fearing their destruction go to war against Atlantis and follow a young Dalrian hero named Lysander. The Dalrian is one of the greatest swordsmen of his time...but Lysander threatens all that is at stake when he begins an affair with the Macedonian princess, Gaia. It is a love that will be tested by the gods, war, and the conspiracies of those who wish them harm. Gaia and Lysander’s affair sparks the tale of the greatest and oldest love story lost in time.

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

"If this is not love, and but an infatuation...then I curse love and choose infatuation" ~Lysander of Dalria

"Lysander is a fool, he will make many mistakes, but he will make many recoveries" ~ Lysander of Dalria

The story takes place in the ancient Greek city of Dalria. Following the lothario Lysander and his exploits and games of seducing the wives of Dalrian lords. Lysander is protected by his Aunt the Queen much to the dismay of the Dalrian lords who want Lysander's head on a spike. It also follows the life of Princess Gaia of Macedonia. She is being courted by the Prince of the Vizigoths, Etan. Etan is a man obsessed with gold and the traditions set in stone that men are the only authority. Gaia's father sees this as a good match despite his daughter's free willed nature and encourages Etan to ask for his daughters hand in marriage.

At the same time Atlantis invades and conquers the Greek kingdom of Maladgrath. The high king of Atlantis, Lector was in a civil war with his brother Hesogman and his brother flees to Maladgrath. He uses this as in excuse to invade and destroy Maladgrath with his seemingly immortal Barbarian general Kildar, who may be evil incarnate.

The kings of Greece are about to go to war with Lector when he invites them to Atlantis to preach peace and prosperity and that he has no intentions of going to war with Greece when in fact he's just using it to by time until he invades and conquers Greece.

Lysander and Gaia meet by chance and at first she finds him intolerable for his cocky ego. More and more their meetings become more frequent, and she starts to fall in love for the lothario leading to a forbidden secret love affair.
All of Greece eventually goes to war against Atlantis during the course of events and this threatens to tear the young lovers apart. Atlantis is the giant and only superpower of its time and Greece is the big underdog fighting for its very freedom.Through the course of events Lysander becomes the hero of Greece and the target of murderous conspiracies from his own Dalrian Lords and that of Lector and Kildar whom if they discover his secret relationship with Gaia they would use it to destroy Greece.
Eventually Lysander becomes King of the Dalrians and through his victories against Lector's armies he becomes a threat to Atlantis. Lector attempts to bribe Lysander into joining forces with him and Lysander responds by sending the messenger's heads back with the gold. As the war goes on Lysander becomes more and more dark as he realizes the very people he trusts are plotting to kill him. Dalria's lords and certain allies he has had begin to turn on him and with Lector's backing they plan to assasinate him. To which Lysander responds with swift action. Gaia does not like the change in her lover, but she stands by her man while her father plans her wedding to Eaton.
Lector is losing his patience with the Greek war and soon sends Kildar to wage total war on the Greeks.

As Gaia waits for her lover and this war to be over with she soon becomes the target of her Uncle Aesus's affection. He covets her fathers throne and begins to uncover the secret relationship between the Dalrian king and Macedonian princess. Kildar and Lector plan to attack Dalria...force Lysander's army into a trap, and destroy the Greeks, once and for all.