The Gladiator’s Downfall by Kristen Banet

Series: Age of the Andinna

Release Date: December 14, 2018

Format: Kindle

Rating: 5/5 stars

Banet has found her niche genre with The Gladiator’s Downfall! Ever since her Kingson Pride series, I’ve been an avid fan of her work, but with this novel, it seems that her writing style, interests, and characters all come together to create a fantastic world – and story – that I just want more of! In past books of hers, there’s always been an aspect of the story that gives me… pause, I guess, is the best way to describe it. For example, in her Kingson Pride series, she obviously wanted to explore an M/M relationship, yet it wasn’t a natural progression in the story for obvious reasons.

Her interest in the M/M relationship continued to her next series, the Redemption Saga. That series has a bisexual hero and another hero that doesn’t really factor gender into his attraction. These two men are best friends and occasional lovers, but the heroine comes first for both of them. I don’t think either of the heroes gets together once they’re introduced to the heroine (at least, not on-page). Not that I’m complaining, since I prefer my RH novels to focus on the heroine.

The point of my digression is that in this novel, Banet seems to have found a way to balance her interest in M/M relationships without it altering the way she wants her heroine, Mave’s, harem to be. In the world of The Gladiator’s Downfall, women of Mave’s species are scarce… so much so that their culture is matriarchal and therefore have “mayaras.” A Mayara is essentially a family (doesn’t have to be sexually based) centred by a female of their race. It can include her lovers, brothers, fathers, uncles etc. (these men don’t have to be biologically related to her, but can be brothers of the heart-type thing). Also, men in the Mayara can have their own lovers as long as they’re male; otherwise, they’d create a new Mayara with their female lover. In The Gladiator’s Downfall, Mave develops a close relationship with Rainev (one of the POV’s of this book), so much so, they call each other brother and sister (but they’re not related biologically).

Great Bones, An Even Better Plot

The structure of The Gladiator’s Downfall is fascinating since you get the POV of Mave, Rainev (her brother of the heart), and possible heroes (by which I mean potential love interests). It reads more like a high fantasy in that not everyone who gets a POV is a love interest or the main character. The writing style creates a more well-rounded image of all the characters. It also becomes evident that normal things to Mave are suddenly proven to be very abnormal once in the POV of one of the men (since she has been enslaved for 1001 of her 1006 years).

The pace of The Gladiator’s Downfall is perfect for high fantasy. Since high fantasy – at least for me – is primarily about world-building, a fast pace isn’t usually a priority for me. Yet, Banet achieves an engrossing pace in her story by restricting the scenery to the Gladiator’s Pit, in which Mave is an expert in its perilous machinations, violence, and cruelty. The political maneuvering and exposure to Mave’s reality for the past millennium is a harrowing jolt to her existence. The plot for over half of the book is therefore focused on Mave’s life in the pit and her acceptance of these two new males (who have a surprising connection to her past). Through these two males, Rainev and Mat, we learn how exactly Mave has survived, including the isolation and range of abuse she has sustained. (Note: Her sexual abuse is alluded to but is not explicitly described.)

Awesome Character Dimensionality

However, it’s Mave’s shift in the character after their escape (sorry, minor spoiler) that really resonated with me. So often, authors employ moments of change when readers first meet the main character (Banet even did this in her Redemption Saga). It is very rare for the main character to experience such drastic change – like Mave did when she escaped – after already having her character solidified in a different reality (one in which Mave is a slave). Mave went from a complete badass, and savant of the horrific world she knew (the Pit), to an unsure woman given the ability to make a choice for the first time in a millennium (don’t worry, she’s still a badass, though!). This transition of Mave’s was so well done because it really demonstrated how multi-faceted characters should be! To be honest, though, Mave is one of my favourite FMCs because she’s not too prideful or arrogant; she accepts she doesn’t have all the answers in new situations – her expertise is very specific. Since survival was her key focus for the past millennium, she understands that listening and observing are the best options when you’re uninformed. However, that doesn’t mean she’s a doormat: if someone insults her character, hurts her loved ones or crosses a line of hers, she will put them in their place!

Refreshing Male POVs, But Some Things Bugged Me

Due to the story’s structure, we are exposed to Rainev and Mat (Rainev’s uncle and Mave’s love interest). I really enjoyed both of their perspectives – even if they were a bit harsh. It was refreshing getting such a diverging narrative than Mave’s from the onset. However, I have to comment that their observations of Mave were a bit unaligned with my own. Her lack of knowledge of her culture, people and their language and just life seemed to be contextualized as a fault… or weakness. Which while logistically might be a weakness, she was a slave since she was an infant. How Mave was raised ensured she saw the males of her race – or at least the males of her race that she was exposed to – as a threat. Therefore, Rain and Mat’s portrayal… and observation of Mave in the pit to their leaders felt very mercurial. Like, her conditioned aversion to touch concerns them, but not because they are concerned for her. It was more like they were conducting an analysis of her strengths and weaknesses. It was a very startling juxtaposition to have these two men, who obviously care for Mave quite a bit, reduce her in that state to their commanding officer. However, writing this out, I must state that this is solely my opinion about a scene that irked me; therefore, other readers might not have even noticed.

Another scene that annoyed me was when one of the men – a partner in crime to Rain and Mat – does something dramatic to save Mave’s life (I don’t want to get into details because it’s kind of a spoiler). Mave was psychologically attacked by a witch and was magically compelled to return to the Empress that enslaved her. The only way Mave knew to stop this from occurring was to throw herself off a boat – she cannot swim. At its essence, the scene drives home that Mave prefers death over being recaptured (to be honest, this vein of thought is consistent throughout the novel). How Mave is saved seriously impacts the freedom of her future.

As a result, Mave – rightly so – is quite distressed and angered at the male who saved her life. Now, it’s important to note that said male was quite apologetic. However, I think a day later, he no longer has any patience for Mave’s dour disposition. He basically told her off for not considering the impact her death would have on Rain and Mat; he saved her for them because he didn’t want them to lose a sister or lover. Of course, this guilt trip is met with an ‘Omigawd, I can’t believe I’m so selfish that I didn’t even think of them,’ from Mave.

Que *eye-roll*. Now, I get that this scene is multifaceted. However, his point isn’t the point that she was trying to make, which is: she prefers to die than be captured and enslaved to the Empress again. In terms of how that would affect Rain and Mat? Mat promised her if she were ever abducted, he would kill her before the Empress could enslave her again. It’s a pet peeve of mine when arguments ensue from high and mighty men who think they make a valid point but are actually missing the whole point! Can you tell I’ve come across this situation in novels before? You should see my Kindle notes on them!

In Conclusion

At the end of the novel, you find out there are six more books in this series, which I can’t wait for! Banet, at least with her other series, has been very prompt with her releasing schedule; in fact, the next book in the series, The Mercenary’s Bounty, is out in April! I’m very interested in how Mave’s Mayara will manifest: who will be her next romantic interest? There’s also a hint of foreshadowing in The Gladiator’s Downfall that the circumstances surrounding Mave’s kidnapping are not all what they seem, which is a mystery that I cannot wait to unfold! I know it seems like my reviews always focus on the negatives, but that’s just because I enjoy picking at my annoyances in novels.

If you love high fantasy The Gladiator’s Downfall is the definition of what I love about the genre: great world-building, kickass heroines, men that aren’t afraid of a strong woman and the promise of more to come!

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