Customer Reviews

Druids

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I hope this book is the start to a wonderful sweeping epic series. The characters have found a home in my heart and mind where they now rest waiting for their lives to continue. It was sometimes tough reading of the pain and suffering of Rhonwen yet it kept me spellbound and turning the pages all the way though.

Galler-Smith and Langston have written a well-crafted book that combines obviously painstakingly researched history with a touch of magic and mystery. The characters of Rhonwen and Mallec are strong and well realized, and the story draws the reader in from the first page. Set in the first century BCE, the book details the conflict between the Celts and the rapidly expanding Roman Empire. The plot sweeps the reader along in a great ride, start to finish. If the book has a flaw, it's only because the two main characters don't meet. But that merely leaves open a terrific opportunity for the sequel, which can't come too soon.

Actually, I'm not a fan of fantasy but I love ancient history and I LOVED this book! I would never have chosen it but my book club did and I was prepared to struggle through. The first chapters WERE a struggle because the names are difficult and the places are unfamiliar but these characters simply jump off the page and grab you. The authors have done a wonderful job of research (much of the book is based on fact...the major Roman characters were factual). And, boy have they created fantastical Druid characters to interact with the Romans!

Because the setting is really really ancient Spain (96 B.C.), the magical and mythical elements work very well. I find it easy to suspend belief when the time period is one which I know so little about. Everything about that time period seems pretty mythical to me.

My major criticism is that the book lacked a map which would have helped a great deal. The second book in this intended trilogy does have a map.

I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially if you like a little fantasy mixed in!

Druids follows the stories of two Celts, Rhonwen, a healer, and Mallec, a seer. Their lives are separate, yet interconnected through their relationship with the elder Orlan. He is Rhonwen's uncle and Mallec's mentor, and the wise Druid teaches them both part of what they need to learn in order to eventually rise to the same respected position. The ancient lands of the Celts are pressed under the heavy thumb of Roman oppression; Rhonwen and Mallec must not only find their way among the Celtic peoples, they are forced to do so while enduring the constant threat of Roman interference.

Druids is a compelling, character-driven novel. Rhonwen, an independent and strong young woman, is plagued by her mother's misplaced bitterness and suffers the demands this places on the aspiring healer. In desperate times, Rhonwen's strength and determination are required, though her fortitude unfortunately comes with a dear price.
Mallec is a gifted seer born to a tribe of warriors. He escapes his early, torturous circumstances and ventures to the island of Mona, the famed centre of druidic education. It is there that the clever and inquisitive Mallec finds Orlan, who takes the young seer under his wing. Unfortunately for Mallec, he finds that life at the great institution is otherwise not so much different than back with his clan.

After Orlan uncovers a forgotten druid rite that has the potential to restore health and potentially grant the power of immortality, this magic becomes crucial to both Rhonwen and Mallec. For Rhonwen, it holds the promise of vindication and freedom; for Mallec, it has become a sacred knowledge entrusted to him, one that he must foster and protect from the schemes of others.

Infused with equal parts history and fiction, the story grows more intriguing with the turning of each page. Every chapter is headed by a tract of druidic history recorded by past, ancient leaders, which draws the reader further into the tale. In this humble reader's opinion, the only missing element is a map; it would be very interesting to have seen roughly where the Celtic tribal boundaries or even settlements were established. Chalking this point up to personal preference, though, the absence in no way affects the overall quality of the story or the satisfaction one will surely get in reading Druids.

The Celts were a diverse people who, at the height of their expansion, spread from Portugal to Asia Minor. They were loosely held together by a commonality of language, and more strongly bound by religion. The priests of that religion were the Druids; but Druids were also healers, teachers, poets and judges--much more than just priests.

As the Romans burst the bounds of Italy during the First Century BCE and began their conquest of Europe, they found the Celts to be a tough enemy.

The conflict of Rome with the Celts is the unifying thread of Druids, an exciting and engaging new novel by Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston, both prize-winning writers. Their careful research has provided a convincing background against which they present characters--some historical figures, some fictional--about whom the reader comes to care deeply.

Central to the story is Rhonwen, a young woman who earns the right to be called a Druid. A healer, like her mother, she becomes entangled with the Roman general Sertorius. This contradiction of cultures, Celtic and Roman, provides a rich structure for a convincing plotline.

A parallel character is Mallec, another young Druid who had been trained as a warrior in his youth. His story is told separately from that of Rhonwen, and it is the fact that he never meets her in this book that is the strongest hint that a sequel is to follow. It is through Mallec that Druid magic, first demonstrated by Rhonwen's uncle, becomes more than metaphor.

The best stories are those that focus on interesting characters, and such focus is a real strength of this novel. The book is peopled by Rhonwen and Mallec, of course; but also by Quintus Sertorius, the general; Rhonwen's uncle Orlan, another Druid; Marcus Perpenna Vento, a historical figure from the same mould as Rasputin; and well-chosen and well-developed others who are both interesting and important to the story.

In short, Druids is a novel well worth reading. While it can be read as a stand-alone story, it is sure to have the reader hoping for the sequel that is so strongly suggested by its ending.

This book was a delightful return to a genre I hadn't sampled for a long time. Some writers of historical fantasy do great description but spoil it with stilted dialogue, and I was so happy to find the dialogue here natural and the rest of the prose smooth and clear. The characters are fleshed-out very nicely, with both internal dialogue and action to establish them. Sertorious was a great disappointment to me, in a good way. The authors made him admirable to start with, then slowly revealed his real character, or lack of it when viewed with our cultural biases. Rhonwen is, as certainly intended, a hot babe and a lot more. I've always admired writers who are willing to hurt their most likable characters in terrible ways, thereby adding to their depth. Stephen King does that and [SPOILER ALERT] I began to suspect these writers were going to do it to Rhonwen, then felt sure when they had Rede held separate from her with the other children who were to be killed.

The structure of the story, interweaving Rhonwen's story with that of Eban Enclave, worked to keep me wanting to move through the book. The authors broke the stories off at places that made me want to get through the next part to see what was going to happen in the storyline I had just left, then I would get sucked into the storyline I was in so that when it broke, I wanted to get through the next.

One of the things I enjoy about good historical fiction is the use of real people and places. I didn't do any major research, but looked up a couple of places and people, and enjoyed seeing they were real.

Dear Authors: hurry up and get the next in this series published so I can find out what happens to Rhonwen and to the Ageless Man, and especially to that delightfully villainous Dierdre. Surely bad things will happen to her, right? Please?

From start to finish, Druids keeps you moving through the pages. It is both unique and exciting throughout. I truly hope that there is a part 2, part 3 and many parts to come as the characters and the storyline kept my interest the whole time. I give this book my strongest endorsement and you will be very happy that you took the time to enjoy the 'ride' it gives you !

Druids is a carefully-crafted historical fantasy that has all the elements of a modern epic. The story describes the conflict between the Celts and the Romans as the Romans plunder Celtic lands to expand their empire. What kept my interest throughout the novel was the authors' use of parallel development of the two major characters, Rhonwen and Mallec, who don't interact with each other, but are compelling and believable. The story was well-paced, the chapters tightly written, and the suspense factor was high. There were many times I did not want to put the book down. I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well as the imagined look at life in 90 B. C. This book demands a sequel; I'm looking forward to it.

Historical fiction is definitely a favorite genre of mine and it is especially pleasurable when an engaging story, such as Druids, also surprises and educates. This book did not disappoint. These authors have done an exceptional job of integrating the real historical figures, places, and events into their intricately woven tale of engaging and interesting characters. Druids is full of surprises and is rarely predictable. An exceptionally valuable attribute of this book is the superb development of dialog . It is totally believable and easily makes the reader feel like the characters are interacting in an honest, plausible way. Such dialogue makes you genuinely care about these characters and share their passions and sorrows; it makes you livid at the villains and it makes you love and respect the protagonists. I can hardly wait to see what happens to these characters in the next one. I'm exceedingly glad to know that there is another one coming and pleased that these talented authors have applied their talents to one of my favorite genres.

This book is an engaging imagining of the life and times of a wide variety of peoples who inhabit the regions of Iberia, Gaul and Eastern Europe during the time of Sertorius, a Roman General who attempts to build an alliance of the various tribes of the region. Noble ideas, Truth and Justice wage an epic struggle with petty motives and personal prejudice as the lives of Druid priests, Clan Chieftans, Roman Officials, and baser common players are fleshed out. The action is fast paced , gripping the readers attention and challenging them to keep a multitude of characters in mind. Elements of fantasy are integrated so well into the story based on historical facts that the reader readily accepts them as highly possible. All too soon, the end of this tale arrives and leaves the reader wanting to pick up another book and continue with the lives with which they have become so intimately involved. Hopefully a sequel, or dare we hope a trilogy, is in the works and will soon be available.