Consumed In Freedom's Flame : A Novel of Ireland's Struggle for Freedom 1916-1921

Rating:
Summary: A powerful and provocative work of historical fiction.
Review: Consumed In Freedom's Flame: A Novel Of Ireland's Struggle For Freedom 1916-1921 by Cathal Liam is a powerful and provocative work of historical fiction. Written from an Irish point of view, it encompasses rebellion against injustice and the inward-turning flames of slow destruction. Consumed In Freedom's Flame is profound and irresistible reading.

Rating:
Summary: Must try harder.
Review: I thought this book was absolutely terrible. The main character is extremely handsome, intelligent, a crack shot and a brilliant strategist with women swooning all around him and historical figures such as Pádraig Pearse showing up to clap him on the back and tell him how great he is. In other words, dull and wooden. The book is dull and riddled with stage-Irishisms and inaccuracies. It reads like "Tintin's Fight For Irish Freedom." I've listened to many veterans of the War of Independence speak of their experiences, but I've never heard the British refered to as "Redcoats."

Rating:
Summary: Must try harder.
Review: I thought this book was absolutely terrible. The main character is extremely handsome, intelligent, a crack shot and a brilliant strategist with women swooning all around him and historical figures such as Pádraig Pearse showing up to clap him on the back and tell him how great he is. In other words, dull and wooden. The book is dull and riddled with stage-Irishisms and inaccuracies. It reads like "Tintin's Fight For Irish Freedom." I've listened to many veterans of the War of Independence speak of their experiences, but I've never heard the British refered to as "Redcoats."

Rating:
Summary: Fact, fiction find balance in 'Flame'
Review: Set against the Irish struggle against Britain for national freedom during the turbulent years of 1916 to 1921, Cathal Liam's Consumed In Freedom's Flame weaves fact and fiction around the chronology of events surrounding the 1916 Easter Rebellion and the ensuing Irish War of Independence. Gripping, highly recommended reading from first page to last, Consumed In Freedom's Flame offers characters as memorable as the events they created and were caught up in.


Rating:
Summary: Fact, fiction find balance in 'Flame'
Review: The Irish have always had more history than they knew what to do with. This fact is at its most obvious in their ongoing attempt to understand the seven-day uprising of April 1916 and the ensuing struggle against the British which ultimately led to the Irish Free State, a civil war and formation of the current Ireland. Essayist and poet Cathal Liam has entered the ranks of previous Irish fiction writers such as Morgan Llewelyn and Liam O'Flaherty by assembling a comprehensive and intelligent piece of historical fiction for the general reader, as well as for those who can recite "The Bold Fenian Men" at a moment's notice. THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL, July 22, 2001