Rating: 
Summary: Still a fan...with reservations
Review: I have been an avid fan of the Keltiad since I first read The Copper Crown many years ago, and will probably continue to be. However, Blackmantle was quite disappointing, and The Deer's Cry was also definitely not one of the author's better efforts. I admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable with the vitriolic perspective on Christianity, but in all fairness, the Church has perpetrated some awful stuff over the centuries, and has usually been very successful in hushing it up, so it was very interesting to read a truly alternative perspective (even it did stir up some discomfort). My main beef with this book is one which has been evident in her others, but which is becoming more, rather than less, obvious: her characters are too black and white. They are either good/perfect/wonderful/admirable or evil/shallow minded/stupid. Let's face it: most of us are halfway in between the two. I think that Patraic would have been more believable had he been somewhat less hypocritical and less someone who deliberately and openly twisted facts for his own benefit (a religious fanatic who truly could not see the illogic of his beliefs is far more believable and would have achieved the same result); similarly Brendan would have generated more sympathy had the conflict been a little more evenly balanced. For one thing, if the conflict was as unsubtle as the author describes, why would the King and Queen have kept giving in to Patraic's demands? I think that the author's personal bitterness and anger is dominating more and more of her work, to its detriment.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much hate
Review: I have read all of her books, and this one reeked of hatred: toward Patric and towards Christians. I felt distinctly uncomfortable after the first 100+ pages. Perhaps as a Christian I just don't get it. Otherwise, it's a very good story, although not as rich as Blackmantle. I recomnmend it, but not as highly as the rest of her books.
Rating:
Summary: Very good story, but with a few flaws in the writing style
Review: I liked the story, and as a christian I was not put off by the author's interpretation of Patrick. Anyone who bothers to look at the history of the catholic church will know just how horrific they have been at times. The one thing that I didn't like very much is the way that the author's style is evolving. I didn't read Black Mantle, but this one and the Arthur trilogy were written from the view of someone in the story. There is far too much forshadowing of events that have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Who cares what will happen several thousand years into their future. And having to read through TONS of the narrarator's views on this, that, and the other thing got to be really tedious. The author should go back to 3rd person narration, and stop dumping so much of her opinions into the story. She should go back to the style she used in her first three books about Aeron.
Rating:
Summary: Biased view of Christianity
Review: I'm about 100 pages into this book and I'm already growing tired of Kenneally's obvious dislike for Padraic, who she views as ignorant, immature and closed-minded. I've read all of Kenneally's books since "The Copper Crown," which I devoured in one setting at age 12, and I will probably continue to buy her books because she tells a good story. But in her last four books, I've noticed fuzzy language, criticism of Christianity, and far too many references to her great love affair with Jim Morrison and the book she'll publish telling the "truth" just as soon as it's allowed. A note to Kenneally. The only books of yours I will not buy will be the ones about Morrison. I don't care.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: In my humble opnion Patricia Kennealy-Morrison can do no wrong. She has kept her incredible streak alive by weaving yet another page turning saga in a beautiful fasion that she has trade marked her own. I am eagerly awaiting her next novel!
Rating:
Summary: A heartfelt telling of the other side of the coin.
Review: Kennealy-Morrison shows us the convictions of a honest race of people. I found her book to be compelling, lyrical, and truly difficult to put down. Her handling of Christianity and it's pitfalls, was treated most fairly...I think this is a MUST READ......
Rating:
Summary: A tightly-packed tale of spirit, sorcery and Celtic magic
Review: Ms. Kennealy-Morrison returns to the first cause of her star-empire of Keltia with this full-speed-ahead tale of the conflict between the old religion and Christianity in ancient Ireland. Her description of the depredations and the manipulations of the old ways of the Gael by the former slave Patraic in order to subvert the loyalties of the Celts makes one wish for the old days, indeed. Characters are rich and powerful, and the pace is near breakneck speed, leaving one wishing for more.
Rating:
Summary: The Other Side of the Story
Review: Ms. Kennealy-Morrison tackles the Pagan side of the 'bloodless conversion' of Old Ireland. Speculative fiction at its best, planting the seed of thought that this scenario might not be entirely out of the realm of possibility, as all good historical fiction should do. St. Brendan the Astrogator rescues the followers of the Old Ways from conversion at the point of the sword, taking them entirely out of reach. Vibrant, singing prose that never talks down to the reader, only up, a delicious read for word and history lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Recovering, but not there yet
Review: The good news about The Deer's Cry is that it is far, far better than Blackmantle. The disappointment is that it is not as good as the Aeron or Arthur books, though the reason why may or may not be the fault of the author.The underlying premise of the book--the Danaans fleeing for their own and their culture's survival for the third time--has an enormous potential for development of characer and intricacy of plot. First the Danaans escaped a star going nova, lost Numinore (an hommage to J. R. R. Tolkien, who as a devout Catholic might or might not appreciate it); then Atland went under; finally they abandon Erith rather than fight it out with the new, competing religion and culture represented by Patraic. There is, as others have noted, a certain lack of nuance about Patraic's character, but history also notes Christianity's unrivalled record for persecuting other religions. You can't get much less nuanced than the crusading Bishop's order to Simon de Montfort, who wanted to know how to avoid killing Catholics along with Cathars: "Kill them all. God will know his own." It is not here that the book fails, but in the lack of character development and plot elaboration. We are told of Brendan's mourning for his son Rohan, but we never get to know Rohan for ourselves. Etain, Brendan's Sidhe wife, ought to be a major character, but she has hardly more than a cameo role. We know Brendan's fetch, the Faol Mor, better than we know his human/sidhe family. Similarly, there are paragraphs, even sentences, that beg to be developed into chapters--the invasions of newly settled Keltia, for instance, are passed over with barely a catalogue of foes. The problem throughout is compression. If you look at the list of proposed Keltiad volumes in either the Aeron or Arthur series, you will note that Kenneally projects The Tales of Brendan--TALES, three of them. For whatever expediency, those tales seem to have been shrunk down to this one Tale, and the richness of character and plot that the reader has come to expect of Kenneally is thereby rendered impossible. If this is Kenneally's way of sloughing off a segment of her Keltic history that no longer holds her interest, shame on her. The book would have been better unwritten. If, however, this short shrift is due to the publisher, shame on Harper's for a lack of trust in both author and audience.
Rating:
Summary: And it keeps getting better....
Review: The Keltiad is my most favorite series, and it keeps getting better with each new addition. The latest, The Deer's Cry, is no exception. Beautifully written, filled with masterful imagery, and packed with Celtic/Gaelic lore and information, this edition is proof that everything improves with age. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes well-written fantasy, but I reccomend even more the rest of the series. I'm anxiously awaiting the next!!
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