Customer Reviews

The Book of Kells

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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.

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.

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.

My copy of this book (published 1985, ISBN 0-553-25260-7) is so full of typos that it initially made the reading very difficult. Add to this the many variations on names - especially Derval O'Keane, who is sometimes referred to as the daughter of "Chadhain" and sometimes the daughter of "Cuhain" and various other things...Luckily the context is pretty straightforward in most of these cases. Anyway, I first read this book when it came out, and have reread it about once a year since then. It's a good read and a quick one.

The only flaw in the story is that MacAvoy frequently writes commentary that is like unexplained foreshadowing (and it's never something that's resolved). For example, John draws a picture of a woman and a bird in a decorated missal, and everyone in the room "wondered if there were something ominous or at least portentious about the sketch." That's the last reference to this drawing (and no, it's not in the Book of Kells). If this event is some subtle reference to a part of Irish history, it's too darned subtle for me. There are 3-4 of these sprinkled throughout the book. I suppose Irish scholars might get it.

Way back in the 1980's, I picked this up at a grocery store for a relaxing beach read. As a teen, I was a cynical bookworm, so I didn't expect much beyond the typical paperback fluff. Hence, I was more than surprised to find this a thoughtful and entertaining novel. What a fun and intelligent romp through Irish culture and history! It's so descriptive, that you can almost smell the pungent characters and surroundings. Very few books make it onto my list of those worth a second read, but I can't even count the ridiculous number of times I've read this book. MacAvoy's balance of adventure, action, horror and humor makes this a novel that keeps me up until the wee hours of the morning every time I read it. If I'm down, it always picks me up. Very realistic characters make this fantasy feel nearly plausible. I don't typically enjoy fantasy, so that's a high compliment from me.

I read this book years ago, borrowed from a friend, and have been looking for my own copy for some time now. I am now re-reading it and loving it as much as the first time. It gives a lovely taste of the distant past of Ireland, with glimpses into a period when invaders from the north were still landing on the rough coasts of the island. I won't go into plot, just want to add my own enjoyment of the book here so that others can taste it for themselves.

This is a superior time-warp fantasy. If you can get one at your used book store, I'd highly recommend it.