Customer Reviews

The Shining Company (Sunburst Book)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this book for my 7th grade son who is studying Medieval times at school. When I scanned the first few pages and found references to the Spartans at Thermopylae (I'm a Greek history buff), I started reading in earnest--and didn't stop. The author creates characters that are achingly real, involved in compelling situations that breathe life into ancient history. This is the best kind of historical novel; one that builds a realistic world that reveals culture and creates a "feel" so that you can understand it.

The people in this book seem very alive. They act consistently with the natures the author has created for them, and they are people one would want to know. Their way of speaking, customs, clothing, food, names--everything is couched in an impressive amount of historical detail that is soaked up by the reader without apparent effort.

I enjoyed this "juvenile" book thoroughly. I would have devoured Ms Sutcliff's books if I had found them younger, and--since the best children's books can hold their own with the best adult books--I will enjoy devouring them now!

Good books need lots of great reviews to persuade converts. =) I picked this up as Celtic/medieval literature for a college class and wondered whether this "juvenile" book would contain enough depth, but found myself immediately intrigued. Sutcliff's writing is consistently true to the era she portrays, and is often poetic, as well. The characters are refreshingly real; I care more about their development as individuals than how the battles will turn out. So far, I'm totally happy to rate this book 5 stars. I can't wait to finish it!

As I was reading The Shining Company I was thinking this is the best adventure book I ever read. I also couldn't keep my eyes off it and a number of times my teacher kept telling me to put the book down and pay attention. At first I didn't want to read it but I did and it got better and better until I couldn't stop reading it. It's also the first Rosemary Sutcliff I've ever read and I will probably read more.

It is 600 AD in Britain, the dawn of the Dark Ages, when the Roman presence was but a memory generations back--an almost wistful time preserved in odd names and stone ruins. Saxon invaders from across the ocean have been steadily encroaching on Celtic Lands--spreading their rough culture like a virus from the Southeastern Coast in all directions, ruthlessly destroying what little remained of the native cultures. Alas, there is no Artos, the Bear, with his gallant cavalry to crush them as he did at Badon Hill, so the Sea Wolves arrogantly push the Celtic Belt to its westward extremity.

King Mynydogg the Golden summons 300 of his finest warriors to his palace in Dyn Eiden (Edinburgh) for a year of serious training for the inevitable challenge to the beer-drinking Saxon churls: the ultimate battle to determine the cultural fate of Britain for a thousand years. The defenders depend upon the The Arrowhead formation, which involves one warrior with his two shield bearers. But the local kingdoms are stiff with suspicion, and struggle to join forces against a common invader.

When the book opens we meet Prosper, the young protagonist, a slighted second son. For his 12th birthday he receives from his stern father the gift of his own bondservant, a dark lad stolen by slavers who raid Eiru (Ireland). In the course of the next 5 years the boys forge a close bond, although they both love the same young lady. While Prosper plays at warriorhood, Conn is drawn to the forge, where he hopes to learn a blacksmith's trade and create shining weapons for the freeborn warriors. A chance encounter with a magnificent white hart in a distant forest cements the kinship of the 3 young people.

But the day comes when Prince Gorthyn arrives, inspiring Prosper to promise loyal service to him when he matures.
Eventually Prosper is old enough to be summoned; from then on his life is changed forever. Willing to endure great trials and pain, he anticipates the day of the great battle against the Sea Wolves. If only this special Company of 300 can count on the aid of other distant chieftains, to help drive the invaders back into the sea. What is his fascination with the shimmering Archangel dagger, which is owned or entrusted to a foreign merchant? It shines despite the black days which sweep across ancient Britannia. Young Prosper comes of age, learning both the value of friendship, trust, warrior fidelity and the glory of belonging to a truly Shining Company. The wise bard, Aneirin, is charged with fashioning a song to preserve the details of the bloody saga for a thousand years. Let no native of the British Isles ever forget!

This is the first book by Rosemary Sutcliff I have read, but I assure you, it will not be the last.

I was captivated by this book from the begining. It is rather long, (or at least, seems long, though it's really only about 250 pages) and every night while I was reading it, I hated having to put it down and go to bed, wondering what was going to happen to Prosper next.

I loved the way Mrs. Sutcliff built the book around the story of the Gododdin. The main plot is an excellent story in the first place, and this book did a worthy job of making it into a story with real people who we can relate to.

The characters are also excellent. There are quite a few of them, but they each have unique, individual personalities, and are quite alive. The main character, Prosper, is an interesting narrator, even though at first there doesn't seem to be much to make him stand out among all other warriors and shieldbearers.

All in all, this is a very good book, I would especially reccommend it if you have interest in British history, battles and armies, or just good stories.

As I started this book I didn't have high expectations so I may not have gotten as much out as some people. It had a few exciting parts but they were scattered. I didn't feel connected to the characters so when they died, I said, "Who was that?" I gave this book only two stars because I did not think it was very exciting.

I found this book to be a greatly entertaining and informative work. It is based on the "Gododdin" (pronounced Godothen), the oldest written tale to come out of northern Britain. It is written as a narrative, told by a shieldbearer in the service of an aging king. This king wishes to reform the "Celtic Arrow", an elite fighting force consisting of 300 knights and their respective pair of shieldbearers in order to repel the encroaching Saxons. If you like history and/or tales of the sword, this is a must read...Enjoy!

I began this book with high expectations; sadly it did not meet them. Though better than The Silver Branch, this book can hardly touch Eagle of the Ninth or The Lantern Bearers. It begins with beauty, but loses it. Though every bit as real as always, Sutcliff failed to grab my attention. I could not get into the characters. For most of the book, you are waiting for the climax; however, when you finally get there, it is thoroughly depressing. When characters died, I failed to grieve. Perhaps it was the numbness in which their deaths were told, perhaps it was that I was never very attached to them in the first place. I think it was partly due to both. The ending satisfies, but just barely. It is very bittersweet. Truth be told, I think that I would have rather read about what happens after the story ends than when it began. Well, alright, so I did like parts of his childhood. The other thing is that, though supposedly in the same series as the before mentioned books, The Shining Company never mentions the Dolphin Ring or the Eagle (though I didn't really expect it to mention this last item.). If you are a Sutcliff fan, I would still recommend reading it; just come warned.

**Edit**
I found out that this is not actually part of the Eagle of the Ninth series; that series is a trilogy. I guess people tend to group this book with that series because they're all for the same age range, and this book does come after The Lantern Bears historically.

The Shining Company is for people who like a little bit of guts, blood, and brains here and there.The Shining Company has some Lord of the Rings things; there is a object that the main character is attached to, and there is war. But it's a true event. This book is about the Anglo Saxsons going to war. It's also about how the main character copes with war and travels to war. I loved this book because I love Lord of the Rings and gore.

This book has told me that history can be fun. and i think Rosemary Sutcliff has a art for history, and i think everyone should read it.