This legend of CuChullain is told in all its glory. The legendary tales of the great Irish champion come to life amidst the backdrop of pre-St. Patrick Ireland. The "Hound of Ulster" is undoubtedly the greatest Irish hero, and the Bardic accounts of his feats are collected into one book which is masterfully written. The Cattle Raid of Coolley is the centerpiece, where Ulster King, Conor McNessa, and his rival Mauve go to war in this lesson of greed . This is a must read for anyone who enjoys Irish folklore, or just plain enjoys a good book

I have not read a book yet that Morgan Llywelyn has not done an outstanding job on, but when it comes to a real bardic piece of literature combined with the legends of the past, Red Branch excels. I have read the stories in other places, such as The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, and passed over them as just another piece of literature. When I read the Red Branch it was transformed into a vibrant, living, pulsating story that wrenched emotion after emotion from the core of your being. It took Setanta, as a boy, and gave his passage into manhood a glorious path, that only when young would you feel so invulnerable, all for the sake of a short but long rembered life. Written for her son, I think she far exceeded anything she has done to date, in his honor.

Red Branch is amazing. Never has a book sucked me in like this one did. Unlike many authors who skip the details which make a story truly real, Llywelyn tells a tale that presents Cuchulain as both a larger-than-life hero and a real person at the same time. I felt the glory of living during that time as well as the pain. Truly a great book.

Finn Mac Cool is a young officer in the Fianna, the army nominally under the control of the High King of Eire. Finn is a great warrior, a teller of magical tales, and a man of vision. Rising to head the Fianna, and as such second in power only to the High King, he reshapes it in his own image, into an object of honor. But there is no "happily ever after" for Finn Mac Cool. Growing older, he finds that his body can no longer keep up the pace that it did, he begins to find it difficult to tell which of his own tales are true and false, and other people begin to reshape his world to his detriment. What should he do, and how should he do it?

I actually finished this book days ago, but have had to take the time to sort out my feelings about it. Ms. Llywelyn has written a powerful story. She has taken the old Irish legends of Finn Mac Cool, and retold them in the form of historical fiction. Finn is presented as a larger-than-life man, one whose peculiar talents can make him and can also unmake him.

This book is an enthralling read. It contains stories of action, and stories about life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Llywelyn weaves a wonderful tapestry of magic and history in this novel. Finn is brought to life as a real, feeling man while still heroic and larger than life. It's a brisk read and you'll find yourself pulled gently along for hours and you won't even realize it. It would have been easy to portray Finn as a figure of existential angst, not unlike Percival in Hunter's "Percival and the presence of God" (a very good book in it's own right), but Llywelyn allows the magic to manifest for both the reader and Finn so that we are never obliged to be skeptical of what we read. This book has fired me up to read more about Irish myths and legends. Definitely a fine novel!

This book continues the tradition Morgan Llywelyn has set with her other books on Irish legend. It brings the legend of Finn Mac Cool alive, interesting and exciting while providing an excellent glimpse into the lives and ways of the Irish during this time.

The story of Finn Mac Cool is one of a young man from one of the lowest classes of Irish society, driven by ambition and strength to rise above his birth and bring to his people new respect and status.

The legend of Finn Mac Cool is full of mythological elements, and Llywelyn incorporates these very well, so that the reader never feels as if they are reading a fantasy adventure.

There are many fascinating conflicts and layers in this book and within Finn Mac Cool himself. Finn's constant battle of wits with the king, his enemies, and the wise but dangerous Goll Mac Morna serve to heighten his inner struggles over race, class, and success.

For the casual reader, this book will serve as a rousing tale of Irish lore. For the more serious reader, or lover of Irish history, it will serve as a fascinating character study and glimpse into Irish past.

...none of "The Horse Goddess" takes place in or anywhere near Ireland. The context clues alone are enough to tell you the story is not set in Ireland, but just in case you don't pick that up, read the Afterward. It is here that Llywelyn gives us more detail on Epona's alpine home - Hallstatt, in the Austrian Alps.
More than anything this book shows just how far ranging the influence of the ancient Celts was, long before the word "Celt" became synonymous with the word "Ireland". While not as good as "Bard", "Lion of Ireland", or "Finn MacCool", "The Horse Goddess" is a good book - well worth reading, if for no better reason than to get background for Llywelyn's later books.

I am an avid fan of Morgan Llywelyn's books, and I've not yet read one that disappointed me. Her stories are exciting and her characters live and breathe and truly draw you in. THE HORSE GODDESS is no exception. Still, there is something missing from this novel that makes me rate it a step below works like DRUIDS (the best!!) and BARD. It may be the odd rhythm of speech she gives the Scythians, no matter what language they are supposed to be using. It may be the one sidedness of the story; Llywelyn usually weaves several plots and points of view into one grand tale, but in THE HORSE GODDESS, she sticks to a single narrator's vision of a single chain of events. It leaves the story a little bit flat in the literary sense, but no less exciting for all that. Like her other books, I read THE HORSE GODDESS straight through in a day, carried away into an adventurous past by Llywelyn's incredible talent.

Morgan Llywelyn has done it again with this wonderful book. This book is set in the great celtic days of ancient lore. It was a time when magic, nature, and humans all meshed together.

This is another wonderfully written book that keeps you interested from start to finish. While it's a love story at heart it is a book that everyone can read and enjoy.

In her follow-up to the wonderful "Lion of Ireland," Morgan Llywelyn picks up where she left off, spinning the tale of Donough, Brian Boru's eldest surviving son. Her vivid style and talent with words continues the legend she brought back to life with her previous novel. The battle in which Donough, his troops battle-ravaged and starving, face their enemies as hundreds of CuChullains will bring chills to your spine as you read. However, although the novel starts off with the potential to live up to her previous triumph, the book comes to an all to quick and unsatisfying ending.

From the towering heights of Brian Boru to his Son Donough is enough to give your stomach a flip or two. This book is sad in that it expresses so clearly a boy and his destiny. Especially following his famous father. As hard as he tries to do what he can he is predestined to never again repeat the victories of his father, but in addition when he does find his own peronality he then adds critical elements that make this story one that leaves you feeling sad, for his attempts at recreating the past, and not succeeding.

Another incredible hit from Llywelyn. Once again she has done her research before writing this historically accurate novel.

Reading this book makes me proud to be Irish! It tells of the family of Brian Boru, the high King of Ireland.

This is an absolutely brilliant look into the daily lives of the ancient Irish and kept me reading from start to finish!

This is one of the earlier historical novels by the author, the copyright date being 1978. This novel is based on the life of Edyth, a grand-daughter of Lady Godiva and the wife of King Harold II, and is written in a narrative text, i.e., a story as told by Edyth. The writing style may not appeal to all readers. It is written from a woman's viewpoint (example text - "Brothers are intended by God as a sort of plague, like floods and locusts"), and is consistent with the position of women in society at that time. It was a time when women were used as bargaining chips to arrange alliances. A woman could be sent into a marriage with a man she had never seen, and had to hope for the best. If she was lucky, she might get a husband who was young and handsome. But he might be old, ugly, and battle-scarred. This was also a time when people did not bathe on a regular basis, and many people had rotten teeth. Edyth enters into her first marriage with Welsh Prince Griffith (Gruffydd) ap Llywelyn, neither having seen the other, hoping for the best. After Griffith's betrayal and death at the hands of the Saxon English in 1063, she becomes part of the spoils and is forced into a marriage with King Harold II, a short-lived marriage as he was killed at Hastings in 1066. The book seems historically accurate. It includes details of Welsh Law and customs, and contrasts that with the Saxons. The author ends the book immediately after the battle of Hastings and does not provide an afterward to indicate what happened to the various people who survived (it is known that Edyth's daughter, Nest, later married Osbern fitz Richard; that a daughter of Harold II and his mistress, Edith Swan-Neck, later married Grand Prince Vladimir II of Kiev; and that Edyth's brother, Edwin, married a half-sister of Griffith and obtained a Welsh title in her right). For a novel concerning later generations of Welsh princes, see "Circle of Stones."

I have no idea if this woman ever truly existed and I have no knowledge of the history of England during this time period. Until now, I've focussed on Arthurian legends. This book seemed to be a nice, short diversion to another time period in English history. It was that and more. The characters interest you from the start. Aldith's qualms over being used as a political pawn by her father and sent to an uncertain future as the bride of Griffith was well done. Most other accounts of this marital arrangment seem to be simple compliance by the woman - never any questioning as to the reason for it. Griffith was a real person in this story - someone I came to like just as Aldith came to like then love him. Likewise, her relationship to Harold mirrored my impressions of him. I also hated him at first only to eventually share her mixed feelings toward him and to hope for his victory in the end. The story is extremely well written and has added Morgan Llywelyn to the list of authors I intend to read more avidly. If you want a sweeping saga of historical fiction in less than 300 pages - this is the book for you!

This is a great book. It is great fiction, and great fact. Harold II's character is very intriguing. He's both a dominant warlord and high-minded genius at the same time. I loved his relationship with Edyth. The book is worth buying.

I picked this book up on a whim at a book fair. I was enormously lucky to find four such gifted story tellers together in one book. This book is a must for those who love the Ireland of yore. This was one of those books I read cover to cover in one sitting. After each story, I was worried that the next would be a disappointment, but that never happened. These tales weave together to give you a sense of Irish Magick as its best.

Wonderful stories of magic, romance, and irish lore. If you like to curl up at night with a short story, this is a great book for you. I was delighted with this book and with Irish Magic.

I'll just say that I have quickly become a fan of Morgan Llywelyn's books, having now read all of them. I just can't give this one 5 stars because it's not as good as her "5-star" fare, including 1916 and 1921. But rest assured, if you're interested in Irish folklore, this is a great one.

This was a very easy read, and keeps in line with the rest Of Morgan Llwelyn novels.. This is nice because it is a break from her lenghtier novels.. I enjoyed very much, and would highly recommend it to any one interested in Myth, Legend, History or just plain enjoyment...

I agree, this was a book that kept me on edge. The historical content was excellent, and the story line kept the book all too real, to the point that I felt geniune angre and heart ache through many portions of the book. I too would very much like to continue the story, and I am quite anxious for the next bit of history! As I told everyone about this book, it feeds my passion and stirs a hunger!

I am astonished at PW's thinking this latest work of Llywelyn's went into too much detail. I just finished 1921 and found it every bit as fascinating and compelling, as unforgetable, as 1916. She takes a very complicated situation, many historical events and by using Henry Moody as an observer, helps to clarify what happened, why it happened, the motivations and feelings, the fears and the almost incomprehensible tradgedy of the civil war. Henry Moody serves as a continuous thread, and helps bring a cohesivness to the story; but more than that he helps the reader to understand the very important emotions, and men that drove so many events. I had recently read a bio of De Valera, and thanks to 1921, I was better able to "fit" him into the total picture. I found it both fun and helpful to find the places on the map that were described. I think she pulls it all together and still manages to encompass a magnitude of historical events and the people involved. Tedious? Hardly!! The only ambivalence I felt was not being able to put it down, yet at the same time not wanting it to end~~~~I cannot WAIT for her next one!

In this sequel to her powerful novel, 1916, Morgan Llywelyn revisits the Irish struggle for independence. Although Ned Halloran, the main character in 1916, continues to be an important character in this book, this is the story of the events of 1916-1922 as seen through the eyes of Ned's friend, journalist Henry Mooney. Via a journalist's eyes the reader is treated to a very personal view of the events in the aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising and Ireland's struggle for independence.

As a journalist, Henry is privy to a lot of private information - some he isn't even able to print. In 1921 the events become more than just dates and places and the people involved more than just names. They become very real to the reader as Henry finds himself smack dab in the middle of much of the action. His friendship with Michael Collins is at the forefront of the story, but as Henry tries his best to remain neutral after the treaty is signed, it is clear it is going to be very difficult for him to do so.

There's romance for Henry as well. He falls for widow Ella Rutledge, an Irish native of English ancestry, a protestant whose family allegiance lies with the British. Will he ever find true happiness with the beautiful, intelligent young woman when her family feels like they do?

I was surprised to see that Llywelyn used Henry as the protagonist instead of Ned, but I applaud her for doing this as in so doing she was able to give a more objective point of view - something that might appear very difficult to do.

Even though the reader may be aware of many of the historical events, he/she is still stunned at the brutality and the atrocities of war in a story which it is difficult to know which side to sympathize with as horrible, unspeakable acts of brutality were carried out by both sides. It becomes clear it isn't as simple as Catholics vs. Protestants.

By the time the reader finishes these two novels (1916 and 1921) they are certain to have a better understanding of today's Irish "Troubles" -- although understanding doesn't mean condoning the violence.

One can only hope that Llywelyn is planning to continue this series as has done such a spectacular job and as Henry tells Ned, "History tells what happened; literature tells what it felt like."

While I do not consider this to be one of the greatest books I've ever read, it certainly is a good one. It has it's flaws, yes. Every book does.
I was a little surprised that Llywelyn actually included human sacrifice in her portrayal of the druids, considering that the only source of "witness" to such practices were the Romans themselves, who, being the enemy of the Gallic Celts, were known to create various lies to plant fear of the druids in the minds of their followers. Note that I am not deducting any stars due to this, though, because there is very little we know about the Celts and their lives and one cannot be absolutely certain.
However, I feel the need to defend this book against some of the reviews, because, frankly, many of them were down-right stupid.
Take, for instance, the reviewer who deducted a star merely because it had a "sad ending". How many books have sad endings? Some of the greatest books of all time do! It has nothing to do with the quality of the book, so don't deduct from the average star review for such a stupid thing as that! He follows up with an "Oh, well, that's history" attitude. So why deduct the star at all?
Oh, and the person who complains about the central character being "egotistical"...So what if he ever showed any signs of egotism? That's his character! Once again, that's a part of the story. And then you spoke of the Romans being "exaggerated". That's because it was from the Gallic Celts' point of view. Of course they're going to portray the Romans that way! It's their point of view! Oh, and if you're going to bash a book, at least use something resembling good English grammar so you don't look like a complete fool. There's a difference between typos and not using anything resembling capitalization, punctuation, etc. When talking about the Romans, use the plural form of the word. "of Roman" does not cut it.
And there was another man who said the characters were too "sophisticated" for him, because the Celts are shrouded in such mystery. You're right, there is much we do not know. But the author has the license to guess. She seems to have done a fairly good job at remaining as historically accurate as possible. What do you want her to do? Have paper-thin, 2-dimensional characters? Come on! She has to breathe life into them somehow! And there is hardly a reason to believe that the Celts didn't have the vocabulary to express concepts such as "professional jealousy."
Sorry for ranting like this, but I'm tired of stupid, trivial reviews complaining about stupid things. Reviews such as "this isn't what I was looking for", so the book itself is terrible because "I was unaware of its true content".
Like I said, this wasn't a perfect book. I give it four stars because I believe it deserves that much for it's fluidity and presentation. It reads pretty well. But it lacks something.

I usually have trouble reading novels based on historical events, mainly because the outcome is obvious. Nonetheless, I found Morgan Llywelyn's 'Druids' a delight to read.

The plot is fairly simplistic and easy to understand. We follow the boy Ainvar as he has his first awakening when he somehow revives his grandmother from death at a Druidic ceremony, to his eventual role of Chief Druid, and advisor to one of the greatest Celtic warriors.

The characters are all very carefully woven, and interesting to watch develop. If you think you know a character, then they will often suprise you with new aspects surrounding their personality.

Finally, this book is quite emotional. There are many heart-breaking events, but they all seem to be handled in a wonderful fashion, and they aren't used as useless plot points.

The romance may bother some, 'Druids' doesn't preach monothesic relationships by any counts. The main male seems to get himself involved with about three women at the same time. This didn't bother me however, and it is written in a 'classy' style and not in a fashion that would insult a woman.

I reccommend this novel to practically everybody. (Except, perhaps, historians who could probably find many errors) Read this if you want an engrossing tale.

I have read this book 3 times already and am planning to read it again! You never tire of the story of the Druid Ainvar and all the pain and triumphs he goes through in his life. The book is mystical, romantic, enthralling, captivating, engrossing, and I could not keep my hands off it till I had finished it the first time! You really get a feel for the Ancient Druids from this book. I did a speech this year on the Celts of Ireland and many of the things I know about them came from reading this book. A great story and great historical accuracy!

Llwelyn captures a period in contemporary Irish history integrating fictional major characters with those who fought for Home Rule in Ireland. It's a compelling story which makes setting aside the book a difficult challenge. Ned and Caitlin bring to life a story about being Irish, being Catholic, being separated by the Atlantic, the loss of parents on the Titanic, and fighting for a free Erie. While we know, from history the outcome of the fight for freedom, the story rivets our attention because the all characters capture us and our emotions. The best book read in 1998!! You'll love it, whether you're Irish, Catholic or not.

If you are at all interested in the events leading up to and during the 1916 Easter Rising, (and don't particulary like to read conventional history books) - then this is the book for you. It's excellent. You will be immersed in the whole affair, become well acquainted with the brave leaders, and most importantly you'll understand the events that led up to Easter rising, the rising itself and the importance of it all in the Irish getting their independence from Britain. The only bad thing (and it's minor) is the little fictitious story set in NY, that's going on in the background - it's not necessary. Other than that this is a GREAT read.

This book is probably one of Llywelyn's best. Taking the reader into history, it provides the emotional background and commitment of the characters found in the history books. The use of Ned Halloran as a vehicle to visit and get into the minds of the leaders of the uprising in 1916 was inspired. Anyone interested in the Irish independence movement, past or present, should read this book.

By the end of the novel, I did not want to put the book down and hope that Ned's experiences will be continued. After all, the story of Irish independence did not end in 1916.