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Rating: 
Summary: The Summer of the Danes
Review: I found this a marvelous mystery, though, as in most of this author's mysteries, the mystery is not important. The important thing is the words, the well-developed characters, and the lack of stereotypical characters.
I have a question for the person who said that all Peter's heroes were tall, blond, and muscular. I would like to ask how many he has read, as it is actually rare that the heroes are blond. Take a look at Hugh Beringar, Torold Blund and Brother Cadfael himself for some examples! And in the Hermit of Eyton Forest, the protagonist is a child with many childish characteristics.
The books are very good in general, though there are one or two that are not up to par. This is not one of her best, however, so you might try A Morbid Taste for Bones or One Corpse Too Many, which are both very good. I recommend this series to anyone who likes medieval mysteries!
Rating:
Summary: Peters' Cadfael takes on a Danish role!
Review: It is not the summer of his discontent, washed by the sun of Yorke; however, it is the season for another Cadfael adventure and mystery! And Ellis Peters, in her usual intriguing way, presents us with her 18th Brother Cadfael episode in "The Summer of the Danes." The year is 1144--the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud still rages on--and Brother Cadfael is called upon to be an interpreter to the Welsh village of Saint Asaph. Cadfael is Welsh born and he welcomes the journey to his homeland as a pleasant break from his duties as a brother at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury. As it turns out--and naturally, as this is an Ellis Peters mystery!--a Danish fleet is sighted along the coast of Wales, a real menace, indeed. Then a young girl goes missing. Then a body is found. And Cadfael is off and running. So is the reader! Having read all the Brother Cadfael series, I found this to be one of my favorites. Peters wastes no time in developing her story and does not hesitate to flavor her plot with plenty of Welsh history and lore. Will the Danes invade? Will the murderer be brought to justice? Cadfael's expertise, once again, proves to be essential in the resolution of the crimes. Cadfael is the former crusader now turned monk who, while not solving murder cases, works as the Abbey's herbalist and is known throughout the area for his skills in medicine. The "Sunday Express" writes: "Cadfael...springs to life in her books, which are novels with depth. He is a man of warmth, humanity and engaging nosiness." Do not be misled by the British TV series of the Cadfael stories. While on the surface they are quite adequate (Derek Jacobi is an ideal Cadfael), the 50-minute recounting of any of Peters' books does not do justice to the novel, which is a pity, for there are great gaps of (mis)understanding that simply cannot be supplied in such short time. Stay with the books! They are well-worth the read. Cadfael is a character worth knowing! Billyjhobbs@tyler.net
Rating:
Summary: Peters' Cadfael takes on a Danish role!
Review: It is not the summer of his discontent, washed by the sun of Yorke; however, it is the season for another Cadfael adventure and mystery! And Ellis Peters, in her usual intriguing way, presents us with her 18th Brother Cadfael episode in "The Summer of the Danes." The year is 1144--the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud still rages on--and Brother Cadfael is called upon to be an interpreter to the Welsh village of Saint Asaph. Cadfael is Welsh born and he welcomes the journey to his homeland as a pleasant break from his duties as a brother at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury. As it turns out--and naturally, as this is an Ellis Peters mystery!--a Danish fleet is sighted along the coast of Wales, a real menace, indeed. Then a young girl goes missing. Then a body is found. And Cadfael is off and running. So is the reader! Having read all the Brother Cadfael series, I found this to be one of my favorites. Peters wastes no time in developing her story and does not hesitate to flavor her plot with plenty of Welsh history and lore. Will the Danes invade? Will the murderer be brought to justice? Cadfael's expertise, once again, proves to be essential in the resolution of the crimes. Cadfael is the former crusader now turned monk who, while not solving murder cases, works as the Abbey's herbalist and is known throughout the area for his skills in medicine. The "Sunday Express" writes: "Cadfael...springs to life in her books, which are novels with depth. He is a man of warmth, humanity and engaging nosiness." Do not be misled by the British TV series of the Cadfael stories. While on the surface they are quite adequate (Derek Jacobi is an ideal Cadfael), the 50-minute recounting of any of Peters' books does not do justice to the novel, which is a pity, for there are great gaps of (mis)understanding that simply cannot be supplied in such short time. Stay with the books! They are well-worth the read. Cadfael is a character worth knowing! Billyjhobbs@tyler.net
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow Story, no mystery and more
Review: The story is rather shallow and not intruiging at all. Although I`m very interested in medieval mystery storys I found this one particularly boring. There is no ambiente in this story, I never felt anything or smelled what it would be like to be in Wales in the 12th century. Much worse are the charakters. They are very poorly made and mere onedimensional. Also, like in an early Western one is to tell good from bad in a second. The good (or noble) people are blonde, tall, muscular, intelligent, blue-eyed and strong willed. The bad ones are dark, small, fat or skinny, dumb and dark-eyed. This, pardon me if it is not so, looks to me (a concerned Austrian)like Nazi- ideology and some kind of Übermensch- fantasy. It reminds me of the ideal Aryan: blonde, blue-eyed, tall and muscular. That is a subliminial message I couldn`t stand. Stay with Paul Harding (P.C.Doherty) or C.L.Grace instead for fun and charakters.
Rating:
Summary: Shallow Story, no mystery and more
Review: The story is rather shallow and not intruiging at all. Although I`m very interested in medieval mystery storys I found this one particularly boring. There is no ambiente in this story, I never felt anything or smelled what it would be like to be in Wales in the 12th century. Much worse are the charakters. They are very poorly made and mere onedimensional. Also, like in an early Western one is to tell good from bad in a second. The good (or noble) people are blonde, tall, muscular, intelligent, blue-eyed and strong willed. The bad ones are dark, small, fat or skinny, dumb and dark-eyed. This, pardon me if it is not so, looks to me (a concerned Austrian)like Nazi- ideology and some kind of Ãœbermensch- fantasy. It reminds me of the ideal Aryan: blonde, blue-eyed, tall and muscular. That is a subliminial message I couldn`t stand. Stay with Paul Harding (P.C.Doherty) or C.L.Grace instead for fun and charakters.
Rating: 
Summary: A good story, but no mystery
Review: This is a good story which Peters populates with memorable characters, but Cadfael is merely a passenger, albeit an insightful one, in this effort.
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