Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Nora Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Circle Trilogy, Book 1 | Publication Date: October 31, 2006

In the last days of high summer, with lightning striking blue in a black sky, the sorcerer stood on a high cliff overlooking the raging sea…        

Belting out his grief into the storm, Hoyt Mac Cionaoith rails against the evil that has torn his twin brother from their family’s embrace. Her name is Lilith. Existing for thousands of years, she has lured countless men to an immortal doom with her soul-stealing kiss. But now, this woman known as vampire will stop at nothing until she rules this world—and those beyond it…

Hoyt is no match for the dark siren. But his powers come from the goddess Morrigan, and it is through her that he will get his chance at vengeance. At Morrigan’s charge, he must gather five others to form a ring of power strong enough to overcome Lilith. A circle of six: himself, the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one he’s lost. And it is in this circle, hundreds of years in the future, where Hoyt will learn how strong his spirit—and his heart—have become…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Romance institution Roberts dives into her first paranormal series with the first book in the Circle Trilogy. In 12th-century Ireland, sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith does battle with a centuries-old vampire named Lilith, who has turned Hoyt's twin brother, Cian, into a fellow bloodsucker. Unable to defeat her, Hoyt is visited by the goddess of battle, Morrigan, who charges him with the task of leading a battle, "the greatest ever waged," against Lilith and her demons. Hoyt must gather five others to fight alongside him: "the witch, the warrior, the scholar, the one of many forms, and the one you've lost." He travels in time to present-day New York, where he encounters his vampire brother, Cian, and Glenna, a beautiful red-haired witch. Two more warriors, Moira and Larkin, join them back in the Mac Cionaoith ancestral home. Romance ignites between Hoyt and Glenna as enemies emerge from the shadows, and the "circle of six" prepare for the big showdown with Lilith. This well-plotted, finely detailed paranormal adventure is driven by richly developed characters, making it a cut above others in this subgenre, and among Roberts's best. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Another enticing paranormal trilogy from the ever-versatile, prolific, and much-loved queen of romance. Irish sorcerer Hoyt Mac Cionaoith tried but failed to destroy Demon Queen Lilith after she ruthlessly turned his twin brother, Cian, into a vampire. Lilith gradually recovered and immediately set about amassing an army of vampires with the intention of destroying all humans so that she could rule the world. The goddess Morrigan chooses Hoyt and five others to stop Lilith, sending Hoyt 1,000 years into the future. In twenty-first-century New York, he starts to build his team, enlisting Glenna Ward; his brother, Cian; and Cian's employee, King. Traveling back to Ireland, the three pick up new recruits Moira and her cousin Larkin, both of whom have traveled through space and time from the Kingdom of Geall. Demon-hunter Blair Murphy is the last to sign on to the circle of six. Now a sorcerer, a witch, a warrior, a scholar, a shape-shifter, and a lost soul must find some way of working together as a team if they are to have any hope of stopping darkness from overcoming all that is good and light in the world. Best-seller Roberts' Celtic-flavored Circle trilogy features superbly crafted characters, three passionate romances, and a bewitching blend of magic and myth. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Jove; First Thus edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515141658
• ISBN-13: 978-0515141658
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Roberts, Nora

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bleed out...., January 3, 2007

By 

Deborah Verlen "Deborah" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

As a Nora Roberts fan, I of course look forward to new books by her. However, this one totally missed in terms of a worthwhile read. That said, I would personally have preferred that she had made Angels Falls a paperback and taken this trilogy and put more effort into it and made it a hardcover. Books one and two of the trilogy were rather boring in my humble opinion. You could see a relationship building between the tortured Cian and the future queen Moira--the development made the third book satisfying, but one and two were not. The pairings (Hoyt/Glenna, Larkin/Blair) seemed forced and there wasn't enough foundation to want to see these folks succeed as couples. The teasers were there to make the pairings powerful, but the reality was that the books were too short, too much of a fluff adventure to allow it to happen.
I also would have liked to have seen more information about vampires--historical and "factual" (whatever that means). It seemed like Ms. Roberts was trying to combine the vampire, time travel, romance and general fiction genres all in this trilogy.
If you gave up the series at this book, my advice would be to read all three with your focus on Cian and Moira. Both characters develop well in the trilogy. The other two pairings do not. You can see glimpses of development, but suddenly Hoyt and Glenna are a pair and you think "Did I miss something here?" How and why did they suddenly with weeks fall madly in love in the "I can't live without you as you complete me" framework. Just wasn't enough information in the book.
Again, I think this would have made a far better hardcover with some additional writing and depth in it and a focus on Cian and Moira who to me are the most interesting of the six major characters.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing novel, January 2, 2007

By 

Heather L. Mina (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Disappointing. My first hint that the writing wouldn't be great was that the entire back cover of the book was a portrait of Ms. Roberts. I opened the front cover to see the list of prior publications, and it covered two entire pages in a tiny font. The story is compelling - but it suffers by lack of attention to the craft of writing. If you aren't bothered by clumsy constructions or overused words and phrases, then you will probably find the story engaging and not even notice these. But if these little details grate on your nerves, then I recommend passing on this trilogy. I won't be reading the other two books in the trilogy.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment!, September 14, 2006

By 

Lisa (Maryville, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a devoted Nora Roberts fan and have bought and read nearly every thing she writes. If it has her name on it, I only stop to check to make sure I don't already have it before I buy it.

I'm rarely disappointed. Her characters, particularly in the trilogies, are well developed and make you want to root for them. Her descriptions are evocative and poetic.

But Morrigan's Cross just didn't delight me as most of her books do. The characters were not engaging, the plot was predictable, the prose was so-so.

I enjoy her forays into fastasy and sorcery, but maybe it was the vampyre which turned me off.

I've had to force myself to continue to read (eventhough I stopped in the middle to re-read Chesapeake Blue!) and I'm still not done. I usually stay up all night to finish a NR book, but it's been nearly a week and I still haven't finished this one.

I'm not sure if I'll buy the rest of this trilogy. We'll have to see.