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58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Medieval fiction of the highest quality, January 9, 2003
This review is from: The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet: Comprising Sunrise in the West, the Dragon at Noonday, the Hounds of Sunset, Afterglow and Nightfall (Paperback)
Set in 13th century Wales, this book reads like an legend of King Arthur packed with tales of chivalry, gallant heroes, ladies imprisoned in castles, characters with "the sight", kindly monks and many, many battle scenes. This is the fictional account of Llewelyn, last Welsh prince of Wales, told through the eyes of Samson, Llewelyn's chronicler and closest friend, and Samson's own personal history of mysterious parentage and his love for the enigmatic yet evasive Cristin. The stories of Llewelyn's struggles with his own brothers, especially dark and wild David, his battles with the English (Norman) kings, Henry III then later his son Edward, & the alliance with Simon de Montfort in the English civil war were all familiar to me through the works of Sharon Kay Penman, but I enjoyed "The Brothers of Gwynedd" considerably more. Penman's style, to use an expression several other reviewers have alluded to, is too much like a Harlequin romance, gushing with characters that belong more in the 20th century than in medieval times. "The Brothers of Gwynedd" was pure enjoyment to read with great attention to detail and physical descriptions, it seemed to me to have a more authentic medieval feel to it and was as beautiful to read as a fairy tale. This is a long book but a real page turner, one of those you'll wish could keep going forever. The way the English appropriated the lands of the Welsh, through legal trickery, divide & conquer tactics and outright aggression made me think this was practice for treatment of aboriginal peoples in the newly "discovered" worlds to come. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys medieval fiction or is interested particularly in stories about Wales and it's princes, Simon de Montfort or the Plantagenets.
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68 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great great book, October 17, 2001
This review is from: The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet: Comprising Sunrise in the West, the Dragon at Noonday, the Hounds of Sunset, Afterglow and Nightfall (Paperback)
This book moved me very much. It's been one of those books that I hate to finish. I am going to miss going to medieval Wales every night. I truly feel a sense of loss. I read this book slowly over three or four months, and by the time I got to around halfway, I was so intrigued I could hardly put it down. I had read SK Penman's The Reckoning and found it not nearly so fascinating. To me Penman's way of writing is not so deep, nor so profound, as well as smooth, flowing, and knowledgeable as Edith Pargeter's. She manages to transport you, through the trust she inspires with her quiet, inobtrusive knowledge of the medieval world, and by her authenticity and honesty, into a dream-history world. And, as another reviewer said, it is refreshing to read a historical novel with no harlequin-romance characteristics. It drew me in, gradually, until I was spending much too much time reading, staying up late at night, and now that I am done with it, I find I can't quit mourning for David, and for Llewelyn. I keep thinking about them, in their castles, up in the mountains, trying so hard to maintain their culture and their independence, striving to do what is right, and I feel so drawn to this sad, proud story. . I never even knew ANYTHING about this story of Wales until now, and I am 37 years old. This tale of Edward taking over Wales reminds me in a way of the Americans' treatment of the natives (Irndians) in the history of America. This author did a GREAT job of telling this story. I want to write a letter to her but have heard that she died recently? A very moving, informing, fascinating story, the kind I love to find. I will never forget it, I feel like I knew and loved these characters. Her portrayal of David is particularly moving to me, he is so very loveable, with his faults and his up and down emotions, his jealousy and love of his older brother, and his heartbreakingly true love for his wife and their children. I want to know more about these people!!! I really loved this book. I know I will read it again sometime. It's got to be one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read MANY books. I prefer this book by Edith Pargeter, as well as her Heaven Tree Trilogy, to her popular Brother Cadfael mysteries, but all of them are excellent. I wish I could meet her. She must be a fascinating person. After reading this book, I am more determined than ever to get a chance to see Wales.
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47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ahh, take me back to the grand ole days of Wales, March 18, 2003
This review is from: The Brothers of Gwynedd Quartet: Comprising Sunrise in the West, the Dragon at Noonday, the Hounds of Sunset, Afterglow and Nightfall (Paperback)
I have read, no, I have lived, this book.It is a story and book to love for life and read and reread every few years. It is a big fat book and has to be to tell properly the long, exciting and ultimately tragic story of the Prince of Wales, Llewelyn ap Griffith and his attempt to unify Wales in the 1200's. Since I finished it (sniff, sniff) I have been searching everywhere for other sources to see if Miss Pargeter's view of this part of Welch history coincides with others' views and my belief, so far, is that she is probably close-although there is one camp that insinuates that Llewlyn imprisoned his brothers for more sinister reasons that Miss Pargeter (and I, loyal-lover-of-his that I have become) believes. One thing I am confounded by is that there isn't more about this part of Welch history on the web and that the Welch sites appear to be strangely silent about their LLewlyn -a bigger-than-life hero of theirs. If you are looking for Cadfael-well this is history and not mystery so keep that in mind. If you love beautifully-writen historical novels-the sort in which you can immerse yourself and really feel intimately involved with a differnt time, an exciting place and people you will forever feel you know through and through then please do yourself a favor and join Llewlyn at his place-and please give my love to Samson, too!!
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