{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T162306Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/161373154X?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"161373154X","authors":["Rosemary Sutcliff","Scott O'Dell"],"book_id":"9781613731543","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/the-mark-of-the-horse-lord-161373154X","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781613731543.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","description":"“There was a smell of blood mingling with the smell of burning that still clung about scorched timber and blackened thatch, and a great wailing rose from the watching crowd. The old High Priest dipped a finger in the blood and made a sign with it on Phaedrus’s forehead, above the Mark of the Horse Lord.” So began the ceremony that was to make young Phaedrus, ex-slave and gladiator, Horse Lord of the Dalriadain. Phaedrus had come a long way since the fight in the arena that gained him his freedom. He had left behind his old Roman life and identity and had entered another, more primitive, world—that of the British tribes in the far north. In this world of superstition and ancient ritual, of fierce loyalties and intertribal rivalry, Phaedrus found companionship and love, and something more—a purpose and a meaning to his life as he came fully to understand the significance of the Mark of the Horse Lord. First published in 1965, The Mark of the Horse Lord , set in second-century Britain, has been acclaimed by many readers as the finest of Rosemary Sutcliff’s many novels, imparting true insight into the nature of leadership, identity, heroism, loyalty, violence, and sacrifice.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781613731543","publication_date":"20150701","publisher":"Chicago Review Press","slug":"the-mark-of-the-horse-lord","subtitle":"","title":"The Mark of the Horse Lord"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"FIC027140","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient-World Romance","score":0.7395,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical YA - Ancient Worlds","score":0.7369,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC014020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Medieval Historical Fiction","score":0.7276,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"FIC027140","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient-World Romance","score":0.7395,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Historical YA - Ancient Worlds","score":0.7369,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC014020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Medieval Historical Fiction","score":0.7276,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"YAF001000","confidence_band":"high","label":"YA Adventure","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024020","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historical YA - Ancient Worlds","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"YAF024050","confidence_band":"high","label":"Historical YA - Europe","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Ancient-World Romance","score":0.7395,"slug":"ancient-world-romance"},{"label":"Historical YA - Ancient Worlds","score":0.7369,"slug":"historical-ya-ancient-worlds"},{"label":"Medieval Historical Fiction","score":0.7276,"slug":"medieval-historical-fiction"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Ancient-World Romance","Good for fans of Historical Fiction","Good for readers who enjoy Ancient-World Romance and Historical YA - Ancient Worlds."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Rosemary Sutcliff","Charles Keeping"],"book_id":"9780374482442","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780374482442.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":10.1449,"title":"Warrior Scarlet","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780374482442"},{"authors":["William Dietrich"],"book_id":"9780061744808","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780061744808.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":8.8278,"title":"Hadrian's Wall","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780061744808"},{"authors":["Scott O'Dell"],"book_id":"9780547406305","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780547406305.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.7125,"title":"My Name Is Not Angelica","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780547406305"},{"authors":["Scott O'Dell","Unknown Author"],"book_id":"9780547053196","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780547053196.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.6524,"title":"Black Star, Bright Dawn","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780547053196"},{"authors":["Tessa Afshar"],"book_id":"9781496458223","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781496458223.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.6511,"title":"The Hidden Prince","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781496458223"},{"authors":["Sarah Underwood"],"book_id":"9780063234529","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063234529.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.6293,"title":"Gentlest of Wild Things","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063234529"},{"authors":["Madeline Miller"],"book_id":"9780062060624","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780062060624.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.6252,"title":"The Song of Achilles","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780062060624"},{"authors":["Kate Quinn"],"book_id":"9780425238974","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780425238974.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-18T23%3A16%3A50Z","score":6.599,"title":"Daughters of Rome","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780425238974"}],"topics":[],"what_you_get":["Reading lane: Ancient World Romance and Historical Ya Ancient Worlds.","Publisher: Chicago Review Press."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":250,"goodreads_ratings_count":1034,"goodreads_reviews_count":127,"quality_score":0.9276}}