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Bending the Boyne: A Novel of Ancient Ireland [Paperback]

J. S. Dunn
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 17, 2011

Circa 2200 BCE: Changes rocking the Continent reach Eire with the dawning Bronze Age. Well before any Celts, marauders invade the island seeking copper and gold. The young astronomer Boann and the enigmatic Cian need all their wits and courage to save their people and their great Boyne mounds, when long bronze knives challenge the peaceful native starwatchers. Banished to far coasts, Cian discovers how to outwit the invaders at their own game. Tensions on Eire between new and old cultures and between Boann, Elcmar, and her son Aengus, ultimately explode. What emerges from the rubble of battle are the legends of Ireland s beginnings in a totally new light.

Bending The Boyne draws on 21st century archaeology to show the lasting impact when early metal mining and trade take hold along north Atlantic coasts. Carved megaliths and stunning gold artifacts, from the Pyrenees up to the Boyne, come to life in this researched historical fiction.

...A useful fleshing of the bones of an interesting archaeological story.
William O Brien, PhD, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.

...Bang-on with the latest archaeological debates.
Peter Clark, MIFA, Director, The Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Canterbury, Kent, UK.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

...Boann is vivid and powerful and is perhaps one of the greatest strengths of this book. She is a full- fledged character whose nuances create a relatable and realistic rendition of a young woman in the Bronze Age. ...overall, Bending the Boyne succeeds in creating a seamless text where historical research and imagined worlds interweave effortlessly. This is a superb novel that will be of particular interest to readers of historical fiction as well as those with a keen interest in archeology and mythmaking.
--Foreword Review

Winner, Next Generation Award 2011, historical fiction.

...Thought-provoking and entertaining.
--The Irish News, June 2011

...Bending the Boyne is a masterful weaving of myth, prehistory, and modern reality that reads faultlessly.
--Nancy Lorraine, Senior Reviewer, MBR Bookwatch

About the Author

J.S. Dunn resided in Ireland during the past decade, and from there pursued early Bronze Age culture and marine trade along the Atlantic coasts of Spain, France, Wales, and Ireland.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 350 pages
  • Publisher: Seriously Good Books (March 17, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0983155410
  • ISBN-13: 978-0983155416
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,628 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.S. Dunn resided in Ireland during the past decade, and continues to pursue the Bronze Age along the Atlantic coasts of Spain, France, Wales, and Ireland.

Dunn has a second novel of the Atlantic Bronze Age in progress, and an excerpt may be found in the Gaslight anthology (Chamberton Publishing, 2012).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm Irish and, on being lured by the blurb of this book, was a little afraid that I was going to find just another tale written about old Ireland from an outsider's point of view.

However, since reading it I have found it winding itself around my memory and my heart. It's different from anything I've ever read before on the ancient history of Ireland. In fact, while there are quirky bits of history inserted like pebbles into the landscape of the story, it concerns not mere history, but the myths and legends that are deeply rooted in our past.

The many and varied characters make no concession to their place in this mythical/historical setting. They live their lives as they would have all those years ago, uncaring of the modern reader. That is not to say that the story is disdainful of readers, but that it is uncompromising in its pursuit of the mythical truths that underlie all really good historical novels.

The Boyne of the title is the river that winds through the heart of Ireland and its history. It was at the Battle of the Boyne that the forces of the Catholic King James and Protestant King William met in a clash that echoes down the centuries and has left its mark on the whole society of Ireland, north and south.

J. S. Dunn's delightful novel shows the sowing of the first seeds of conflict between invaders and native Irish, or those who preceded them. It harks back to a time when myth and history were one, as they remain in our subconscious to this day. The natives are shown to be thoughtful, wise astronomers, with their eyes firmly fixed on the skies for signs of the modern Ireland that must surely have appeared to them in visions and dreams. Yet they will not yield their land to the more down-to-earth and less wise invaders, who seek gold not for its relationship to the sun, but for the power and earthly wealth it can bring them.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Bending The Boyne: finger prints from the past June 6, 2011
Format:Paperback
Just read 'Bending The Boyne' what a great blend of fiction and current achaeological thinking. Also, some great concepts about the foundations for what became some of the later Irish mythologies. It alludes also to the manner in which the social views, outlooks and cosmologies of one culture are assimilated in part at least, by later cultures, collectively creating what today we would regard as a national identity. The story cleverly weaves these ideas together, and the characters are invariably metaphors for the concepts

So good to read something about ancient Ireland that does not resort to modern, usually misinformed, obsession with Celts!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a researcher into ancient Irish history myself, I found a lot to admire in Bending the Boyne. The characters are well-developed from accurate historic and sociological sources and overall, is an excellent take on the Gaelic invasion of early Ireland. The implementation of the use of metals by the invaders is a good plot carrier, and the research into early bronze age metallurgy pays off in seamless passages and very interesting narrative of the Western European trade routes first accomp0lished by the Phoenicians. I also was quite caught up in the astronomy of the ancients as portrayed through their mature, observed spirituality. While the book might have benefited from a few footnoted references when the author freely adopts phrases from W.B. Yeats' poetry within the text,overall I recommend it for anyone with an interest in ancient Ireland and pre-Christian Western Europe. The traditions of these ancestral people, though now mostly lost, came as a result of many more thousands of sun-cycles than our own culture and should be revered. Much more research needs to be undertaken. Books like Bending the Boyne help preserve this largely unused legacy fresh in our imaginations.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars I tried, really I did
I really tried to like this book, especially when it's historical fiction set in a time period I love and a place I'm fond of, there are just so many things that didn't really jive... Read more
Published 1 day ago by Kasey Sinclair
3.0 out of 5 stars Not For Me
It is a slow paced and somewhat meandering novel. Would not suggest the book for the historical-novel appetite. Read more
Published 1 month ago by PHILIP
5.0 out of 5 stars Do You Love Historical Fiction...?
...then this is a book that you will enjoy adding to your reading collection. I stumbled across this book during a promotion and was fortunate to purchase it for $. Read more
Published 2 months ago by miffdb
2.0 out of 5 stars IBending the Boyne
I ha ve not read this book yet. I started it, but switched to another and will get back to it soon.
Published 3 months ago by Helen Demin
4.0 out of 5 stars Bending The Boyne
I really wanted more. It was a fascinating read but I really hope this author is planning in this series
Published 4 months ago by Rose Avera
5.0 out of 5 stars Will read again
Ancient cultures are always a draw for me. Thoughtful and imaginative regarding ancient relics/beliefs. I will read again, it is rich in lore and thought provoking.
Published 4 months ago by Stargazer
5.0 out of 5 stars Bending the Boyne
Bending the Boyne is a good read whether or not one is Irish. It is a good insight into very early Irish history going back centuries. Read more
Published 4 months ago by lucy
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read - especially if you are Irish, love History and a great...
If you love anything Irish, you will love this tale of ancient Ireland and the Boyne River area. We were at Newgrange and marveled at it and how it was built along with where the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by MotherIrish
3.0 out of 5 stars Bending the Boyne
An interesting novel of what life could have been like in pre-historic Ireland. I started, then put it down, then finished the story, did not grab me immediately. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sweepea56
4.0 out of 5 stars Bending the Boyne
J.S. Dunn takes on an unusual time in history in Bending the Boyne, 2200 BCE Eire (Ireland), which was a draw for me. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Darlene Williams
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