Pros: A fantastic insight into the Celtic world. Epic in proportion and well written.
Cons: Not for a younger audience, and a working knowledge of Ireland helps.
The Bottom Line: Not for anyone younger than a teenager. Extremely well-written. Great for Gaul or Celt scholars as well as people who enjoy a good yarn.
As you turn the first few pages, you are instantly plunged into the darkened form of the Sacred Grove of the Druids, and the terror in a young boy's heart. Ancient history tells us of the human sacrifices which the Druids made, and where else to start a story than at the end of one?
Young Ainvar begins the story by being tucked into bed by his grandmother, and when he thinks that she's soundly asleep, tiptoes from his home to go and watch the secret rituals of the Druids, not knowing where it will lead him. By accident or by divine guidance, he ends up in the middle of this ceremony, and then in training as a young initiate to the group himself.
Magic and mystery lies in wait, sure. But it's realistic. After all, the author, Morgan Llywelyn, has been heralded as the 'High Priestess of Celtic Legend'... and that's mostly true. In this book, as in others she has written, she brings the ancient tales of the Celts to life.
This particular one is on the Gauls, the Druids which formed the basis for their tribal religion, and the early struggles with Germanic tribes and the Romans. Ainvar, the main character, meets with Vercingetorix at the ceremony which makes them both men in the eyes of their two separate tribes. Vercingetorix becomes a great war leader in time, and a High King to his people, whereas Ainvar becomes a leader of the Druids. Both figures are in ancient legend, and their stories are known, if not well.
But not in this detail, and not with such passion. You truly feel the drives of the Gaulish tribes, the life and love for their land and for their way of being. You feel the hatred of the Romans, led by Julius Caesar, as they head towards their homeland. You almost smell the wood fires, feel the bronze torc on your neck and the rough wool against your skin, and know what it truly means to be of the free people of Gaul.
Llywelyn has, with this book, brought history to vibrant life before our very eyes, and some fairly obscure history at that... and made it a book, a story, worthy of being reread a hundred, nay, a thousand times. And with each reading, you will discover some subtle nuance, some tiny hint of meaning or of history, which you did not notice before, some character which stands out in your mind above the others.
Sadly, it is not for a younger audience, because the book is based on fact, and Llywelyn pulls no punches. When someone dies in battle, they die as they would have. There are sexually-oriented scenes, although they are more romanticized than graphic. While there is little modern foul language, there are curses which would make your toenails curl were you indeed of a Gaulish tribe or familiar with them otherwise. The youngest age range I would recommend would be a teenager, and an older teen at that, if only because some of the subject matter requires a rather nimble mind to grasp, and a child's mind, while nimble, does not possess all of the necessary understanding or knowledge.
However, for those who are interested in the Gaulish culture, in Celtic history, in Druidic belief structures, or in just a simply good tale of love and war, religion and politics, this book is indeed for you. You will laugh and weep, live and love and die fighting for the Gauls and the Sacred Grove, and you will enjoy every moment of it.
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