Rating: Summary: From start to finish, amazing Review: Morgan Llywelyn never disappoints. I picked this book up accidentally because I enjoy Celtic lore, and I couldn't put it down. Excellent history, brought completely and convincingly to life. If you ever wished you could have been there for the conquest of Gaul, forget about reading Ceaser's account -- this book is your ticket! Word of warning though: don't start it if you have any pressing obligations in the very near future. You'll want to read this one all the way through immediately.
Rating: Summary: Anti-Climatic, Anti-Appealing Review: Morgan Llywelyn's book "Druids" is an unappealling, Anti-Climatic. Following the story of the Gault Celts while painting a picture of Pre-Roman Europe. Llwelyn's novel follows the exploits of one particular druid priest named Ainvar as the reader watches him grow up to see his world be devoured around him by the ever threatening Roman Empire that at first seems just a distant untouchable beacon on the horizion then steadily looms closer as the story goes along. Llwelyn handles the Roman threat and the fear and panic and sheer power beautifully though it leaves a bit to be desired ultimately, switching rather erratically between the growing Roman threat to the main characters exploits. Starting out the novel with strange scene more resembling something from a Science Fiction novel that abrutply thrusts the reader into the novel without truely touching on the scene again. Llwelyn though an excellent writer fails to caputure ones true sympathy for the main character of the novel who though grows up in a world where men are obviously domininate in a lot of ways the true sympathy and affection that she be bonded between the reader and the main character are never there. Though not much is known about Celtic life or their true nature as most Celts were bred out and lost during the centuries Llwelyn takes a random stab at how Celtic mistic life worked. Also handled beautifully for being such a hazy subject to begin with. The bad things about this book are the unsympathetic main characters and hints and other plot devices that could have been used and gone far but are merely dropped. The solitary POV of Ainvar, also provides one interesting side of Celtic life but perhaps a multiple view point, even one from the view point of Roman and it's opinion on the Celts would have given the reader and more thorough picture. One of the most dissapointing The 'special gift' for raising the dead was used only once in the novel then is entirely dropped and never used again though stated as one of the books main appeals and is never truely explained. It seemed as if Llwelyn wished to take a slightly supernatural approach to her novel yet dropped off leaving a dead end for fear of moving away from the 'Historical Fiction' genre label on the novel. Over all I truely wanted to like this book, but just found I couldn't. Lacking elements and loose plot ends that could have been resolved as well as a less narrow point of view for the story might have saved it.
Rating: Summary: Engrossing and Absorbing Review: Ms. Llywelyn's DRUIDS is a tour de force of historical fiction, wrongly classified under "science fiction" or "Sword and Sorcery." If there is any magic portrayed in Ms. Llywelyn's books, it is subtle and not accompanied by pyrotechnics. DRUIDS relies on a very strong storyline to provide its magic. It is the story of Ainvar ("He Who Travels Far"), a young apprentice Druid in pre-Roman Gaul (France) who is sent, true to his name, to the far corners of his country to report on the growing menace of Julius Caesar and his legions. Ms. Llwelyn is a Celtic scholar, and paints a masterful portrait of life among the European Celts, the aboriginal people of Europe, whose contributions to world history are, sadly enough, little known. While much of Ms. Llwelyn's storycraft is necessarily invention, it does have the powerful ring of truth, and her gifted weaving of historical personages such as Caesar and Vercingetorix, the king of the Gauls, into this true to life and very detailed story of an advanced and settled culture on the verge of cataclysmic change, only underscores what was lost when "civilization" reached the "barbarians" of Europe. DRUIDS is a pleasure to read. It reads more like an actual memoir than fiction, and is written with humor, sensitivity, and pathos. DRUIDS sheds light on a little-known portion of history, and for those of us dissatisfied with the "official" brand of history sold to us in most books, DRUIDS is a refreshing and very successful tale of the meeting of cultures, and the rise and fall of civilizations, told from the perspective of one observant but imperfect human being.
Rating: Summary: A Rollercoaster Ride of Emotions!!!!! Review: Never before or since have I read a book with such an ability to evoke every possible human emotion! Druids is the best book I have ever read. It will upset you, draw you into the action, and make you cry all within just a few pages. This book is a masterpiece of historical fiction. My being a scholar in the area of Druidic history, I am struck by Mrs. Llywelyn's ability to so eloquently weave the story of Ainvar and Vercingetorix around solid historical facts. AND...to top it all off, she is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet, as I had the pleasure of eating lunch with her one summer in Ireland!
Rating: Summary: Its a great book!!! Review: Seeing as the Celts didn't believe in writing anything down, it's really hard to know exactly what it was like to be a member of their civilization. Llywelyn's vision of a society living in harmony with nature isn't so much New Agey as it is an intelligently woven tapestry composed of our best guesses about this once-prosperous people. Despite it being historical fantasy, it's still one of the best texts I've ever read on the subject of the druids.
The characters are extremely likeable, and the story is infused with the very magic that the main character/narrator weilds. It's also got a fair amount of excellent spiritual and practical wisdom as well as a fair amount of accurate historical data. It's a book that you regret finishing.
To me, this book is special in many ways. I've read it many times, and it never fails to instill in me a sense of awe at Morgan Llwelyn's powers as a writer and sadness that the Gods of Corruption and Currency triumphed over the druids and their Celtic civilization.
Rating: Summary: It ought to be a trendy book.... Review: Since neo-pagan beliefs and Celtic history have become trendy, why hasn't this book been a best-seller? Maybe it's marketing. Maybe it's the rather new-agey cover art. Maybe it's just the one-sidedness of this story. Morgan Llywelyn is not a bad writer. However, neither is she a great writer. Although she can make a hardcore skeptic like me wistfully sigh in contemplation of a theoretical afterlife and immortal soul, she can't make the Romans looks like anything but rat bastards. Although the Celts exude heroism, humour, and hearty, good living, the Romans ooze out an oily discharge of bribery, poor sportsmanship, and deceit. I believe this is the, well, perhaps not fatal, but definitely wounding, flaw of Druids. Had the story been a bit less "Ra! Ra! Ra! Celts!" and more "you know, Romans were just foreign folks," we would have had a much more enjoyable read. After all, an awful lot of people root for the underdog. Where's the fun of the villain isn't worthy?
Rating: Summary: Totally Absorbing Review: Spiritual book which left me wanting more. Well written with believable characters and a storming story.
Rating: Summary: Great psuedo history lesson Review: The book is psuedo history on events based on the roman invasion of Ireland. In usual Llywelyn style we follow one character from early childhood to death - which brings satifaction to the reader. This is one of those rare books that is a page turner.
Rating: Summary: The battle of Rix & Ainvar to save the Celtic people. Review: The Druid's of the Celtic tribes are greatly accented in this novel. The story of how RIX became leader of all FREE GAUL is excellent. This book is so great that one of my proffessors used it in her class. I have been studying the Celtic culture for 4 years now, and this story has made the era near "the change" my favorite. This book was a great read even before I had to read it again for class.
Rating: Summary: A masterpiece, a classic, a book to be read and re-read Review: This book entertained me, enthralled me, captivated me. It made me laugh, it made me think, it talked directly to my spirit. The Druids also challenged some of our basic cultural assumptions, which I always delight in. And it taught me something of the Druid religion and the history of the roman invasion from the Celtic point of view. It made me want to read everything about the Celts, and everything Morgan Llywelyn ever wrote. This is the kind of book that made me fall in love with reading in the first place. My only regret is that I can't find more books like this one. To be perfectly frank, the book spoke to me as only a handful of others have done. A remarkable achievement. Dear Ms. Llywelyn, can we please have more?
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