Customer Reviews

A Land Beyond Ravens (The Macsen's Treasure)

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In Britain's Dark Ages, Marcus ap Iorwerth is a master spy and swordmaster who manipulates kings, warlords and the church to keep his family and his people safe as well as saving Britain as a whole.

Claerwen, Marcus's wife, has the sight and what she sees haunts her every day as she tries to decipher the dreams before it's too late.

This is the fourth book in the Macsen's Treasure series and my first book from Kathleen Cunningham Guler. Though it is true I was able to pick up the book and get the gist of Marcus ap Iorwerth and Claerwen's story, I think I would have preferred to read the series from the beginning. This would have allowed me to get to know the characters much better and truly understand what they were going through.

With that being said, I found this to be a thoroughly researched and intriguing book about the rise of King Arthur told by the people around him. The pronunciation guide/glossary at the beginning was also very helpful for the many Welsh names and phrases.

Thank you to Kathleen Cunningham Guler, Review Direct and Bardsong Press for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

A rousing and fresh tale of the Arthurian legend, told with compelling characters. There are interesting plot twists which give new life to the old legends. Told from the view point of master spy, Marcus ap Iorwerth and his seer wife, Claerwen, who together fight for the future rise of Arthur to the throne. This is the fourth book in the Macsen's Treasure series. Well worth the read. Other titles include: The Anvil Stone (Macsen's Treasure, Book 3)Into the Path of Gods (Book 1 of the Macsen's Treasure Series) (Macsen's Treasure Series/Kathleen Cunningham Guler)In the Shadow of Dragons (Macsen's Treasure, Book 2) (Book 2 of the Macsen's Treasure Series)

The light at the end of the dark ages is almost in sight. "A Land Beyond Ravens" is the fourth book and the conclusion in the Macsen's Treasure series, which is set in Dark Age Britain. Kathleen Cunningham Guler has created a highly entertaining and intriguing take on the elements of historical fiction and Arthurian legend. "A Land Beyond Ravens" is an enthusiastically recommended read for fans of the series, and will encourage readers to seek out Guler's other works.

This is not just another Arthurian Tale. The main characters in the story are Marcus and his wife Claerwen. Marcus is a master spy working for the high king, among others, while his wife Claerwen's haunted by troubled dreams of young prince Arthur's future. Marcus and Claerwen must both work hard to help keep Britain safe from the Saxons. It's not an easy task with all the plots of those who would seize the high king's power. The story's well written and engrossing giving one a glimpse into fifth century Britain. It's an enjoyable read.

In 5th Century Britain, King Uther is physically failing! A ruler who never took hostages has now become suspicious of his trusted spy, Marcus ap Iorwerth, who has held pivotal secrets protecting the realm and now is being treated like a foreign enemy! Into this mix arises the presence of Uther's son, Arthur, who appears to have a design to defeat the encroaching Saxons, a plan that Uther has been slow to accept in spite of failure and in spite of the fact that the lords under Uther are divided in their support and rejection of his ruthless ways. Add to that mixture the rising influence of the Catholic Church, whose loyalty and power appear to sway with whoever is victorious, a changing tide from day to day!

Marcus and his wife, Claerwen are determined to do all in their power to work for freedom, loyalty and love of Britain but are heavily burdened by all of these conflicting forces working for self-gain and destroying the kingdom in the process. Marcus is haunted by the devastating loss of a dearly loved one, and the machinations of Claerwen's sister brings fear and treachery to the home of Marcus and Claerwen, a place of peace, trust and deep respect for the old Druid ways. Their deep love, however, is the force that enemies fail to calculate and one that strengthens them for the deepest of challenges.

Merlin the Enchanter has prophesied that one day a phenomenal King will rule Britain and usher in a new, unprecedented age of glory and honor. He is everywhere that matters and is relying on the allegiance of Marcus and Claerwen, even after Uther tries to divide this dedicated couple by taking a cherished family member a prisoner to guarantee Marcus's obedience. Who will prevail? It isn't so obvious and the confusing battles make the reader doubt whether goodness will prevail.

Kathleen Cunningham Guler possesses a particular gift of blending history, adventure, mystery and passionate love into a story so engaging that one can't stop reading and yet dreads the end of such an engaging, riveting story! Unsure whether there will be other stories to follow in this dynamic, wonderful series, this reviewer believes the end of A Land Beyond Ravens holds forth the possibility of another book to follow in this multiple-award-winning series, which is a great thought, indeed!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on September 18, 2009

This book was neither here nor there for me. It took me a while to get into the story; the first 150 pages or so seemed to really drag on. But once I got a feel for the author's writing style, the characters' personalities and their back stories, I started enjoying it more than I had in the beginning and started looking forward to learning what twist Guler next had in store.

I certainly learned a lot reading this book. My field of historical fiction "expertise" lies with more modern history--I've read a myriad of novels set between the 15th-19th centuries--so it was refreshing to read an historical novel so deeply steeped in earlier historic myth and legend. The book takes place in the 5th century AD, just as Roman Christianity is beginning to truly take hold over Britain, and while many still practice Celtic Paganism and Druidism. Such is the religion of the book's protagonists, Marcus ap Iorwerth, spymaster, and his doting wife Claerwen, who is afflicted with premonitions, or "fire in the head". The two are charged with a dangerous secret: the fact that the high king Uther Pendragon has a living son, Arthur, who was prophesied by Merlin the Enchanter to one day rule over a kingdom of greatness. Until the road to kingship can be made clear for Arthur's safe ascension, Marcus must carefully navigate the treacherous path of war, political ambiguities, and constantly changing loyalties, all while under the vengeful eye of Uther, who is dying and grows more suspicious of Marcus every day, although Marcus has proved himself to be nothing but Uther's faithful servant for years.

I've read that A Land Beyond Ravens is one of the most historically accurate of all the novels set in Arthurian Britain, and though I don't have much knowledge of this historical period to verify or refute this claim, I can appreciate the author's obvious passion for Celtic and Welsh historic culture, as evident by her bits of insight into the religious mysticism and her incorporation of many Welsh wording and terminology. I also like that the author included an Author's Note at the end, separating the fact from the fiction of the book. The mystical elements of this novel did not bother me, as there wasn't rampant spell casting taking place throughout the book or anything, and the author only mentioned magic as it related to a character's religious beliefs. For example, Claerwen's fire in the head was something that many historic 5th century Celtic pagans truly believed they actually possessed, that it was a message from the gods. The religious facet of the book was actually the most interesting aspect of the story. My favorite scene in the book took place between Marcus and a Christian priest, who are debating religion and its usage by the government to manipulate the masses. The conversation inadvertently gives the reader a brief history of religion throughout the Dark Ages, which I found very entertaining, especially as being discussed between two such opposing points of view.

Something that bothered me throughout the entire book was the author's constant use of questions, either mixed into the characters' thought process or directly from the narrative point of view. Example: "With little time to aid the Decangli, he had thought it worthwhile to try to pound some decent reasoning into Cadwallon. Now he needed to find another way. But doing what? And where?" I understand that the author was using this technique to try and build up anticipation and suspense, but I found it overdone, to the point where it became, frankly, annoying. Some people may like this style of eliciting suspense, but for me, it was distracting, and I found myself mentally counting the number of questions crammed into each page. Also, there were some elements of the book that just seemed pointless and forced. Certain characters seemed to be there just to pass the time, creating a sense of unnatural drama. For those who have read this book or plan on reading this book, I am referring particularly the character Drysi. I don't think her inclusion in the story was at all necessary; but Guler clearly wanted someone to play the snooping, catty female archetype whose presence was a constant thorn in Claerwen's side.

I found the end of this book to be very much anti-climactic. With all the build up that preceded it, I was expecting fireworks! Each time I thought the story was picking up, I felt let down by a predictably mellow result. I know there are many people who thoroughly enjoyed this award-winning series, but A Land Beyond Ravens, while well-written and informative, was simply not my favorite cup of tea.