Customer Reviews

The Horseman

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"A gripping epic of passion, politics, spirituality and more." That is what the back cover promises. And this is precisely what this magnificent book delivered. From its mysterious beginning, it traces the journey of a young girl leaping toward womanhood, at a dizzy pace that is at times in it self, breath-taking. Set in Turkey in the turbulent 60's, I was immediately immersed in a kaleidoscope of rich culture and intrigue, that slowly started to burn inside me as if I were there as witness, until at last I was nearly consumed. The rich pageantry and insight of a little understood culture comes to life between the pages of The Horseman, taking you on a break-neck journey of romance, passion and self discovery, as well as the realization of past life experience. Fragile alliances, mysterious dreams of the past, action and adventure intertwine into an excellent tale both realistic in its scope, but powerful in impact. As the story travels full circle to the twist in the end, the hint of a greater twist to come inspired me to grab the next book of the series, "The Scorpion Child," And ride off into the sunset......

Ariadne, a blond American teen living with her parents in Turkey, suffers a prophetic vision while on her way to an archeological dig. Sometimes the vision is of an ancient past, and sometimes of a cruel future. In every case, though, she is caught in a love triangle.

When she's rescued from a kidnapping by a handsome Kurdish nobleman, Ariadne believes she may have found her great love--and certainly Mehmet Ali falls for the beautiful and energetic teenager. Although she does love Mehmet Ali, though, Ariadne is obsessed with the crusading journalist Burhan Kayhanoly--who falls for her the moments she walks into his office to interview for an internship at the newspaper where he writes a regular column.

Burhan exposes Ariadne to the poverty and ignorance that, he believes, are holding his beloved nation down. Ariadne is especially sympathetic with the poor conditions for women--a sympathy made much stronger when Mehmet Ali's sister weds a much older man--and then commits suicide. She dreams of a life with Burhan, together stomping out the corruption that is such a blight on Turkish society and politics.

Award-winning author Kristina O'Donnelly mixes past-life regression, tarot, and traditional Turkish magic with sensual passion and with adventure as Mehmet Ali, Ariadne, and Burhan sometimes cooperate and sometimes battle over the path to be taken by their nation (or even whether there should be a nation of Turkey rather than an independent Kurdistan). O'Donnelly blends in the past-lives over which these three have carried out their eternal triangle of love and dispair.

If you're looking for a sexy romantic thriller with a fascinating setting, plenty of action, and a touch of magic, you won't go wrong with THE HORSEMAN.

'The Horseman' is a gripping novel that will sweep you in to its characters' lives before you realize you've been caught. Highly descriptive in its imagery, the tale guides the reader through worlds both ancient and contemporary with compelling characters, intriguing story line, and cultural/political clashes too richly detailed to resist. Magnificently illuminative of the ongoing conflicts between Turks and Kurds, 'The Horseman' is as much a pleasurable geographical/historical journey through ancient lands as it is a tale of the strengths and weaknesses within the human condition. Romance, political intrigues, cultural bridges, betrayals, faith ... it is timely and very much alive. O'Donnelly reveals a great depth of knowledge on many levels including the traditions & mores within the Muslim world, the Irish Catholic experience, and even Celtic mythology. Highly recommended to any reader who craves a good tale enriched by trans-continental adventures, historical insights and skillfully applied literary gifts of the author.

I enjoyed learning more about the culture and people of Turkey through this book. There was lots of romance and adventure to go along with the history. However, the book needed to be edited by a native English speaker. I could always understand what the author was trying to say, but there were many grammar errors that kept the book from being a smooth read.

The characters were interesting and I enjoyed meeting them. I found myself detaching from them, however, as the book developed; I think because I had more trouble understanding the motives for some of their actions, which at times seemed random and out of character.

I was looking for a book that would help me understand recent Turkish history better. The Horseman did give me more insight into the Kurdish situation as well as the social justice and political issues in Turkey.

Kristina O'Donnelly has written a powerful novel, and not surprisingly, she has won two awards for this.
The Horseman is one of those stories that stay with you long after you have finished reading the book and placed it aside.
As a native of Ireland, of course I enjoyed the parts in the Old Sod, after all the heroine's father Patrick O'Neill is a jolly Irishman, a loving father and husband, open-minded, and a fearless entrepreneur, whose work as an architect has taken him to Istanbul, Turkey.
But of course what was most intriguing in this novel is the intimate look I gained about the heroine's triumph and tribulations in Turkey, and the various issues she grapples with. Ariadne, the heroine, has two loves, one of them is an idealist of Kurdish origin, whose name is Mehmet Ali Mesut, a Sociology Professor in Istanbul, a man who wants to bring land-reform to his fellow Kurds who are under the feudal yoke of his uncle (who is a Senator of a conservative political party). Later Mehmet Ali runs on the platform of the Labor Party, in his hometown, Tarsus. And Ariadne's other love, whom she marries, is Burhan Kayhanolu, of Turkish origin, liberal newspaper columnist, later Labor Senator.
Ariadne (our heroine) is connected to these men through a past life, from a Neolithic town called Chatalhoyuk, in Central Anatolia, a town or call it a city, that thrived about eight-thousand years ago.
Burhan and Mehmet Ali are two friends in contemporary Turkey, but used to be brothers eight-thousand years ago, who had loved and battled over the same woman, Treebranch, Daughter of Acorn. One of the brothers was a warlord used to getting everything he wants, and the other, a charmer, dreamer, with a special touch of handling animals. The evil brother kills the good brother to take his wife. Well, so here is a bit of a Cane and Abel situation, dating to 8,000 BC, showing we really have not changed in all this time.
These two brothers, named Wolf and White Roebuck, have returned to slug it out in the 20th Century. The moral is: whatsover a man soweth, so shall he also reap.
Another intriguing part of this novel is the neolithic settlement, Chatalhoyuk. Kristina O'Donnelly has written about life in this era, in the mists of pre-history, quite knowledgeably, I would call her the Mother of Chatalhoyuk :-).

Ariadne is a Catholic, and she weds a Muslim, even ends up traveling to Mecca on a pilgrimage. Her husband is a liberal, secular Turk, but as it is shown while he thinks about God and mosques and churches (as he sits on a bench in the garden of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Ireland) he has known himself as a Muslim from the moment he has known his name is Burhan. But his beloved Ariadne's mother will not consent to this marriage unless he weds her in the Church.

I am not a very good critique writer, I mean this is not my profession and I don't think I can do this novel justice.

The best I can say is that buy it and read it, you will be intrigued as I was.

The Horseman is so elegantly and beautifully written! Its smart style and the richness of details will bring you right in the middle of the action, you'll become the protagonist herself. You'll ride with the flow of events and believe me the ride is a real roller coaster!
It is the fascinating, ultimate epic that will immerse you through the midst of Love, Kharma and political intrigues. It will make you travel all around the world and will open windows of awareness in cultures that are more than often misunderstood.
The author is a well of knowledge in an array of topics and she generously offers it to you in an unusual and entertaining way.
I was so taken by the Horseman than when the enchantment was ending I had to read its following book "the Scorpion Child".

I have a new author I must tell you about.

Her name is Kristina O'Donnelly.

The first book I have read of hers is "The Horseman".

First in a series titled "Lands of the Morning".

This book is listed as a Romance novel. (something that would not be my normal category).

The description of the book at Amazon.com caught my eye and I thought I would give it a look.

This book is not only Romance but also Adventure, Thriller, Mystery and more.

Kristina O'Donnelly takes you on an around the world trip from Turkey and Mecca to New York, Ireland and points in between.

Her writing is beautiful and has a depth that few others have. You are hooked from the first page.

It is a must read and a book that you cannot put down.

I have already purchased the sequel "Clarion of Midnight".