1916 by Morgan Llywelyn
$6.99
$5.59 from Amazon.com
I have a confession to make at the very beginning of this review. I admire the scope of this author’s writings and I consider her historical novels of Ireland to be an asset to Celtic literature. However, I just don’t find the magic and music in her style that other reviewers seem to see. I’ve read a few of her books: Brian Boru, Pride of Lions and The Elementals. I found them very informative, albeit dry, reading. This one, which is a retelling of the Irish rebellion at the beginning of the twentieth century, is the most compelling of the lot. The author’s research is impressive and her skill in creating believable characters who behave in disappointingly human ways, remarkable. But even given my interest in that period of Irish history, I found myself growing sleepy after just a few pages. I persevered however, and feel quite victorious about it. The book is a good representation of what those times must have really been like. It was rather like being back in school and doing the required reading list. At the end, I had the knowledge of the events that I needed to pass my test, but I had to plod to get there.
Scottish Love Poems edited by Lady Antonia Fraser
$14.95
$11.96 from Amazon.com
Yes, there were other Scottish poets before and after Rabbie Burns. And although several of his better poems are included in this collection, it is the writings of the unknown Scottish poets that I have enjoyed most.
Like this excerpt from one poem entitled The Confirmation by Edward Muir:
Yes, yours my love, is the right human face.
I in my mind had waited for this long,
Seeing the false and searching for the true,
Then found you as a traveller finds a place
Of welcome suddenly amid the wrong
Valleys and rocks and twisting roads.
And this one by Sydney Goodsir Smith:
Och, we shall never want, witch, you and I,
The gowd that is hairt’s richest treasorie –
Come aa the hazards that on Eros tend
We hae a gowden hoard put bye
These love poems require care in their reading, and a willingness to succumb to the laments, joys, jealousies and mysteries that are endemic to Scottish and Celtic nature. One cannot read these poems shielded; they are to be embraced, experienced and treasured.
The Chalice and The Blade
by Glenna McReynolds
$6.50
$5.20 from Amazon.com
This is a fantasy set in twelfth century Wales. The author blends her obvious knowledge of Neo-pagan lore and law with an impressive foundation of historical research. There’s also a battle for love. With a potion like that simmering in the Cauldron, you’ll soon be caught up in the taste of this steadily spiraling cone of powerful writing.
Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist
ISBN 0553277839
Publisher: Bantam Spectra $6.50
$5.20 from Amazon.com
This is a good against evil fantasy, but it's the best I've read.
It's the story of a family who moves to the country and then discovers that the world of faerie is intruding on their property lines. Or is it the other way around? And guess what? The faeries aren't necessarily those sweet little creatures from Disney. Unknowingly, the Hastings family has stumbled into an ages-old battle that the human race just may lose.
Faerie Tale is a terrific bedtime read if you keep the lamp on all night. It's one of Feist's best books, written with musical rhythm and emotional imagination. One of the few books I don't loan out.
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
ISBN 0812544501
$4.99 in stores
$3.99 from Amazon.com
If you studied literature at all, you are familiar with the story of TamLin, the ancient Scottish fairy tale. No? Sigh. Okay. It's about a maiden whose lover is snatched away by the Queen of the Faeries one night as the fairy band are out "rading". (I love a woman who goes after what she wants!) The maiden sets out to win him back, but of course she must encounter several obstacles. The story has always been one of my favorites.
However, at first this version of TamLin made me feel slightly conflicted. On the one hand, I love it when fantasy authors like Dean and DeLint set old legends in modern times. But the flavor of this fey story seemed thin early in the supping. I wondered if Dean was remembering her own frolicking college days and projecting them onto her heroine. The allusions to Shakespeare and the literary puns that dominate the book were annoying at first and then I realized that this was all part of the traditional winding path mortals must tread to get to the underworld (remember? Three times 'round the church widdershins?) I got into the spirit of the game and allowed Dean to test my resolve to win through the maze.
Once I submitted to her tale, I began to enjoy it. The plot develops quite slowly and there is a satisfying sense of atmosphere throughout the book. If you are rooted solidly in the modern/instant gratification world of eat-it-now, don't try to read this book. If, on the other hand, you are one of the devotees of Faerie, and enjoy a leisurely journey through the twists and turns of magic -- then you must buy it.
After all, it's only prudent to assume that as the outer world has changed, so have the fey folk. Reading TamLin just might help you to see through their modern disguises.
Kilcaraig by Annabel Carothers
Publisher: Mandarin
ISBN: 0-7493-1618-7
This is simply the most emotionally satisfying book I have ever read. It is set on the Isle of Mull and encompasses the fictional history of a family called the Lamonts from 1913 to 1975. I am not a fan of epics, sagas or generational tomes. This book is the exception to my rule.
The back cover blurb says it better than I can: "…a saga as turbulent as the breakers of the broad Atlantic and as warming as the peat fires of the Hebridean crofts."
According to information from Amazon.com, this book is out of print. Try an order anyway, I’ve had wonderful success with Amazon.com in getting hard to find books. I know this one was available in Scotland in 1996. I bought it at the Inverary Jail too.
Song of The White Swan by Aleta Boudreaux
Publisher: Laughing Owl
ISBN: 0-9659701-6-7
$10.00 US
Do you love priestess fiction? Druids? Native American lore and myth? Ever wanted to know what kind of man would become a Templar Knight? Does your most secret self yearn for spiritually romantic quests? This first novel by one of the most talented new authors of the decade serves up all these ingredients. Song of the White Swan is one simmering, smoldering bronzed cauldron of myth, history and fantasy, guaranteed to re-delight you with each re-reading. Devotees are impatiently awaiting the sequel. For same day service, you can order it from the publisher, www.laughingowl.com
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