Red Branch [Mass Market Paperback]

Morgan Llywelyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 1989

"Powerful . . . A lusty, poetic and legendary world based on Ireland's mythical warrior-hero Cuchulain." The New York Times Book Review
In a land ruled by war and love and strange enchantments, Cuchulain -- torn between gentleness and violence, haunted by the croakings of a sinister raven -- fights for his honor and his homeland and discovers too late the trap that the gods have set for him in the fatal beauty of Deirdre and the brutal jealousy of King Conor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The rich trove of the Red Branch literature, the heroic Irish tales known as the Ulster Cycle, is mined creatively by the author of the bestseller Lion of Ireland . In recreating the life and times of Cuchulain, legendary warrior of the bardic era, Llywelyn works a massive canvas, peopling it with larger-than-life characters, yet shaping them with intimate insights, as she did so effectively in the earlier book on Brian Boru, Erin's first ruler. Chronicling the legendary exploits of Cuchulain, a boy of mysterious, magical parentage, a fosterling of King Conor, Llywelyn conveys the rage and strength that earn him the sobriquet "The Wolfhound of Cullen"Cuchulain. His life's journey is mystical and sensual, filled with curses and blessings as he fulfills the unrelenting destiny of a champion. Whether motivated by the kidnaping of Deirdre, whose beauty destroys men, or by the cattle raid organized by doughty Maeve of Connaught, the ancient Gaels were in constant competition for supremacy. This movement is captured in an epic novel drawn from colorful and treasured legends.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

"Powerful . . . A lusty, poetic and legendary world based on Ireland's mythical warrior-hero Cuchulain." The New York Times Book Review
In a land ruled by war and love and strange enchantments, Cuchulain -- torn between gentleness and violence, haunted by the croakings of a sinister raven -- fights for his honor and his homeland and discovers too late the trap that the gods have set for him in the fatal beauty of Deirdre and the brutal jealousy of King Conor.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (December 30, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080410591X
• ISBN-13: 978-0804105910
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bored, dull life, THEN Read this...., March 8, 1998

By 

"tonyclark" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Branch (Mass Market Paperback)

I have not read a book yet that Morgan Llywelyn has not done an outstanding job on, but when it comes to a real bardic piece of literature combined with the legends of the past, Red Branch excels. I have read the stories in other places, such as The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, and passed over them as just another piece of literature. When I read the Red Branch it was transformed into a vibrant, living, pulsating story that wrenched emotion after emotion from the core of your being. It took Setanta, as a boy, and gave his passage into manhood a glorious path, that only when young would you feel so invulnerable, all for the sake of a short but long rembered life. Written for her son, I think she far exceeded anything she has done to date, in his honor.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strands of the Ulster cycle woven together seamlessly, January 7, 2006

By 

Siobhan Olaoghaire Sannes "Art Does Not Apolo... (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Red Branch (Mass Market Paperback)

This book weaves together the many stories that comprise the life of Cuchulain and the other warriors of the Red Branch. Llywelyn, as usual, shows great skill in telling this story, as well as injecting the book with a feel of what Ireland was like during this long ago time.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hound of Ulster Rocks!, October 24, 2004

By 

Avid Reader (Willow Springs, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Red Branch (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book. Before picking it up I knew absolutely nothing about the story of Cuchulain, the legendary Hound of Ulster. I found myself enthralled by the story, the characters, the myth, and the setting of this novel from page one. This was the second of Ms. Llywelyn's novels that I'd read -- Lion of Ireland being the first -- and I think it's ranks as one of her best. By the end of the novel, even though you know that it cannot end well, you've become invested in the characters and it's sad when it finally ends. The novel has a lot to say about love and war, what motivates men (and women), and a curious historical tie-in to the modern troubles of Ireland. A great read for anyone interested in ancient Ireland's legendary past.