Rating: 
Summary: get hooked on the others of the keltiad not this
Review: I have read all of the Keltiad produced to dae and found this one very disappointing. If you are new to Patricia's work start in one of her other books. Black Mantal gives some more background to characters we meet in Aeryn and Arthur's trilogies; however, the characterization in this book is incredibly weak. Start with The Copper Crown or another one of the books of the Keltiad and return to this book later so you aren't so terribly disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: get hooked on the others of the keltiad not this
Review: I have read all of the Keltiad produced to dae and found this one very disappointing. If you are new to Patricia's work start in one of her other books. Black Mantal gives some more background to characters we meet in Aeryn and Arthur's trilogies; however, the characterization in this book is incredibly weak. Start with The Copper Crown or another one of the books of the Keltiad and return to this book later so you aren't so terribly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Boorrriiingg!
Review: I have read MANY books in this genre, being a huge fan of high fantasy, medieval/historical fantasy and any type of fantasy basically, but this book was painful to wallow through. I also agree with the other reviews that it was largely bitter and autobiographical on the part of Patricia Keannely(?) Morrison regarding her relationship with Jim Morrison. Many of the characters are undeveloped (Morric for one!) This book has potential, if it is rewritten! It is slow, and info on the back cover description doesn't even happen until the last third of the book, and I kept waiting and waiting....I hate to not finish a book but by now I don't care and pretty much can figure out how it will end. My main gripe is that the overall writing is so bogged down by complicated language and formality it's hard to get through and figure out what is the main point in all that flowery language, and I have read a lot of fantasy with Celtic influences and such, so am no stranger to language differences and complexity. The only plus for me reading this was the references to the Goddess and thier religion in the course of the book, being a Pagan myself.
Rating:
Summary: A major disappointment.
Review: I made it to page 200 before giving up. At that point, I was still waiting for the action to begin! Entire battles and supposedly "epic" campaigns are never described, but are simply talked about as already having taken place! Hello?!? Narrative summary is no replacement for actual scenes! This book was very disappointing, especially since the first books of the Keltiad (Copper Crown, Throne of Scone) were quite good. I hope the author does not make this type of lazy writing a habit.
Rating:
Summary: Ah, sweet catharsis...
Review: I put down this book with some mild queasiness and an uneasy feeling, similar to when I read "Strange Days." This book had the possibilities of a fantasy classic, but is bogged down by Ms. Kennealy-Morrison's past and present....
"Blackmantle"started out with great promise--the events of Athyn's childhood and youth are simply dazzling, such as when she is asked for help by a lord of the Sidhe. But the moment Morric comes onto the scene with Amzalsunea, the thing starts to come apart at the seams. It becomes painfully clear (honestly, was Amzalsunea REALLY necessary, except as the author's way of getting back at Pamela Courson if she couldn't in life?) that the book is a retelling of the romance of Patricia Kennealy and Jim Morrison--only with Athyn determined to resurrect her hubby.
Athyn herself is supposedly an honorable and admirable person, but she strikes me as over-angry and determined for vengeance. (Can there please please PLEASE be a heroine somed!ay who is a warrior AND not off her cadooba?) Many of her actions in the book strike me as being part of the catharsis for the author, acts of violence against people she knew.
Morric is the same--he's difficult to define. He's also described as admirable and noble, but I found him a bit... well, manufactured. He's Jim Morrison with a great deal of his personality amputated, the manipulative and sometimes irrational parts.
Normally, this would only take one star from the book overall, but I was disturbed by two things that notch it down to two overall. It was kind of disturbing to read about Athyn and the other Kelts driving off the Incomers, whose main crime appears to be that they aren't Kelts (frankly, I didn't see a single reason other than the ugly cry of bigotry)
Second, I was horrified to read the descriptions of what Athyn does to people after Morric's death. If they'd had some part in his death, I would not have complained. But de-boning a live ma!n? Killing people for unfavorable reviews? Eww...
If the above paragraph does not trouble you, then you may wish to read this book, as Ms. Kennealy-Morrison has her usual excellent style and descriptives.
Rating: 
Summary: Patricia and Jim transported to Keltia
Review: I read all the comments here before starting Blackmantle, and I must say I generally agree with them all, good *and* bad, particularly the one about the "heaving bosom" cover. The book looks like a Harlequin romance, for heaven's sake! They're not even wearing the most important jewelry mentioned in the book. Blackmantle *is* Kennealy's retelling of her relationship with Jim Morrison, except set in Keltia. That was fairly obvious even to me, and I haven't read any of her non-fiction about that relationship. That said, it did not interfere a great deal with the story, in my opinion. The weakness of this story was not its basis in Kennealy's life, but the lack of action, too much tell and not enough show, and the complete underdevelopment of almost every character that wasn't Athyn, and that includes Morric. I couldn't tell you anything much about any of Athyn's friends or siblings, since they were basically just a name and nothing more. On the positive side, I must say that this book has some interesting scenes about the faerie folk, the Keltic gods, and explanations for a few of the elements in the books that come later in Keltia's timeline. Also, I did enjoy it fairly well, despite its predictibility and lack of depth because it was meant to be a fable about true love and the length someone will go to to restore that love. Is it the best of her Keltia books? No, not by a long shot. It's probably the worst. But it's not unreadable. If you miss Keltia, visit your library and take it out.
Rating: 
Summary: worth the read!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Yes it has Patricia and Jim (Morrison) story woven in to it, but it also has hints of Eurydice and Orpheus against the world of Keltia the author has created through several books. It is an epic saga worth reading full of beautiful descriptions of characters and settings, proving the writer is at the top of her game. You'll be swept up by it, (even if you haven't read her other keltaid novels--which are great too) and you won't forget it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, but lacking some
Review: I recently read "Blackmantle" for a book report after borrowing it from a friend. I found it both exciting and romantic and loved nearly every page. However, I was somewhat upset with the ending, feeling that it could have had more. For those who are dissing this novel in comparison to other Kennealy-Morrison books, I cannot argue with you because this was the first novel of hers I have read. However, it does make me want to read more of her books; and isn't that the point of writing?
Rating:
Summary: Sad unraveling of author's personal bitterness
Review: I saw one review that concurs with my assessment. Let me start by saying as a child I read all I could get a hold of about King Arthur and druids and welsh mythology. I read Evangeline Walton's Mabinogion series and many others. When I discovered the first books on Aeron I was excited and pleased beyond words. They were great books, great characters with a profound knowledge of Celtic life, clan structure, spiritual tradtions and beautiful undertanding of magic. I strongly recommend all the Keltiad books save this one. I felt seriously scammed and ripped off. I wouls sell the book, but I would hat to subject anyone else to it. The book is a personal venting of Patricia's lingering bitterness and loss over her brief affair with Jim Morrison. Her trite anagrams of Oliver Stone and each of the Doors and entrourage as characters is sad. I recently read Ray Manzarek's wonderful book about Jim Morrison and the Doors, and he has one fleeting mention of Patricia. He has no harsh words to say about her in his book. Patricia creates a fantasy where the Doors are responsible for Jim's death. She revels in the dismembering of the band. Her hatred and bitterness are the sad signs of a brilliant women lost and poisoned by hatred. I pray for her and hope she recovers her peace, her talent and her strength in her Self, and her work independent of her love affair with Jim Morrison and her need to be recognized by someone (? who, why us?) as his wife.
Rating:
Summary: A good idea with a weak execution
Review: I think that, were the wishful parallels between the author and Athyn less clear, I might have liked this book better - but I might not. I wanted more story and less romance, more depth and less flash. The story is so over the top romantic that I almost felt like it was unhealthy to read. I really liked the author's Arthurian Keltiad books, and the books of Aeron (though I haven't read them in a long time), but halfway through this stand-alone I realized I was skimming more than reading. I almost felt like the book was meant to be skimmed - meaning that each scene was full of unnecessary things, even Morric's death scene. It could have been done with emotion but instead it felt like, oh, he's dead now, Athyn's going to be mad. Athyn herself wasn't the character she could have been. Actually, that's the root of my problem - this book wasn't what it could have been. It also would have been nice had there been a better sense of the passage of time. All of a sudden it was seven years that they'd been battling and here I was thinking it was a few months... I'll still be looking forward to her next one, though.
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