The Book of Kells [Mass Market Paperback]

R.A. MacAvoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1985

An unusual and original work of fantasy from the acclaimed author of Tea with the Black Dragon. A contemporary man, John Thornburn (a meek, non-violent and unpredictable artist) and woman, Derval (his tough, confrontational, strong and warrior-like lover) time travel to ancient Ireland to avenge a Viking attack. Packed with fascinating details of historical time and place in Irish history and delicately balanced on the border between realism and fantasy, the story centers around one of the most famous and beautiful illuminated manuscripts in history, the legendary but entirely real Book of Kells. Celtic history blends with magical fantasy for a strange and immersive tale of adventure.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (July 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553252607
• ISBN-13: 978-0553252606
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Book of Kells

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not MacAvoy's best, but enjoyable. The title is misleading., November 12, 2005

By 

Esther Schindler (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Kells (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved R.A. MacAvoy's writing since I first read Tea with the Black Dragon. That story is terribly dated now -- it essentially takes place in the world of the personal computer before DOS took over -- but it's engaging, well-written, and (for its time) a believable fantasy. That is, I could easily buy into the author's view of the world.

R.A. MacAvoy wrote several other novels, of which the Damiano trilogy is most memorable. While rating them so that Amazon could give me ever-more-useful recommendations, I realized that I owned the Book of Kells, and I knew that I'd read it... but I could no longer remember what I thought of it. I grabbed it off the shelf, realizing that I'd first read the story in the late 80s, when it came out. And I found that it made a great paperback to take along on a plane trip to a conference that was just a little TOO real.

An easy summary, in a way: our hero is a distracted artist in current day Ireland, accompanied by his sometime lover, a university professor. By a curious device (hey! a literal use of an artistic license!), he opens a portal back to the Ireland of 985 just when a sweet young thing is escaping a horde of bad guys. Hero and Heroine end up back in 10th Century Ireland, and they do their best to (a) save the heroine's honor and (b) find their way back home.

It's all very predictible, really, but MacAvoy makes the tale an enjoyable one, throws in some authentic history, and brings these people to life. The artist is a little bit of a wuss, and the professor is a bit too bitchy at times; it slowed down my engagement with the book, but I still did finish re-reading it in only a couple of days (with a conference mixed in there, too).

Unfortunately, the one thing that the author (or her publisher) screwed up was the title. The Book of Kells is only vaguely related to the story, and it doesn't show up until the final act. Even then, it's far from the linchpin to the story. If you've found this book because you love that piece of art or history... well, I won't say that this isn't the book for you (you'll still like it, I think), but you'll be annoyed and wonder, "where the heck is the Book already?"

Even though it's a reflection of its time, I've re-read Tea with the Black Dragon at least five times in the 20+ years I've owned that slim little paperback. Somehow, I never got around to re-reading this one until now. It'll go back onto my shelf, not into the giveaway pile; on the other hand, I'm not going to press it into the hands of a friend who simply MUST read it.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical tour of ancient Ireland!, September 23, 2000

By 

Mary Carol Scherb (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Kells (Mass Market Paperback)

John Thomburn was a quiet man, drawn to Ireland by its mystery and majesty, and by the solitude it gave him for his art. But then one day, as Celtic pipes played, John opened a portal through time to an Ireland a thousand years earlier, an age of magic, turmoil and bloodshed. There he lost his' heart to Ailesh, a lovely young woman who had seen her family and village ravaged in a Viking raid. Accompanied by Derval, a friend and sometime lover from the present, and Labres MacCullen, a roguish but gifted poet from Ailesh's time, John embarked on a quest for justice that would take him from a miraculous encounter with an ancient goddess, to the barbaric splendor of the court of the King of Dublin, to a holy place at the edge of the world where he would discover an awesome destiny. Filled with vivid history and magical wonder The Book of Kells is a stunning, resounding work, at once earthly and divine, a towering tour-de-force by one of the most acclaimed new names in fantasy.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well thought out tale of time travel to ancient Ireland, June 23, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Washington State, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Book of Kells (Mass Market Paperback)

Similar in context to the Dragonfly in Amber series, this tale involves time travel from modern Ireland to 10th centery Ireland. The main characters are a dominant female Irish professor and a demure Canadian associate instructor in which she is involved. The story begins as John takes a rubbing from an ancient celtic cross. This "portal" throught time allows these two wonderfully mismatched people to go to the 10th centry. What is appealing in this story is that it is written with a keen eye to the detail living of both modern day Dublin and 10th centery Ireland. The author has apparently done her homework. I fully enjoyed this book and wanted a sequal that never came. Fortunately the Dragonfly in Amber series was similar in context that scratched that particular itch.