Customer Reviews

When Women Were Warriors Book I

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"All the women of my family had gone to war... Now my turn had come...So it is the custom that a free woman leave her mother's house to bind herself and those of her blood to a neighboring clan, either by the sword or by the cradle." Set in the British Isles during the Bronze Age, thus begins the tale of Tamras, just sixteen, as she leaves her home and everything she knows to continue the custom of her clan and journey to become a warrior's apprentice. The story is told from the perspective of the main character who has led a quite sheltered life prior to this point.

From the title the reader would expect simply a tale of battle and blood, but this story instead surprises and mesmerizes one in its wonderful intricate weaving of words that become a delicate fabric of story and feeling. Words flow like a gentle meandering stream and one is swept up in the actual thoughts and emotions of the main character as she experiences growth and change when she enters the world of a warrior's apprentice. The battles in the first book of this trilogy are few and are not the main focus of the story.

I am a book lover and have been an avid reader of many genres for over fifty years. I do enjoy a good story just for the sake of the story while often thinking that the writing is simply mediocre. Seldom, however, do I read a book where I feel that the actual writing drives the book. This book is a true gem not to be missed. There are so many books out there to be read, but a limited number where the telling is as good as the tale. This is a book for those who love the smooth feel of words on their minds as a story progresses rather than just the action driving the book.

Note: Because of the imposed segregation of the women in this society of warriors, this story does have a couple of scenes of female sex.

This title would never have attracted my attention, however I saw an offer on "kindlekorner" for a free copy of Book 1, so I took advantage of it. When it arrived I was in the middle of reading "Blind Man's Bluff". I decided to put it aside and just read the first few pages of "When Women Were Warriors". It really caught my attention so read the first couple of chapters. At that point I could not put it down, as I was consumed in the story and continued reading until the end. Then I finished the book I had been reading. I just purchased book 2 & 3 and have already started reading book 2. I am so happy I saw the free offer for Book 1, because reading it really expanded my horizon. This author really paints a clear understandable picture in these three books. Excellent read!

On vacation with my trusty Kindle, I happened to notice this book was available for free download. Got a sample, was intrigued, ordered the book. Read through it in two days and was so taken with the characters that I actually ordered - and paid for! - the second in the series. I've just bought the third, and am completely engrossed. Yes, perhaps not as detailed as Rothfuss or Martin - she's a new author, hey! - I found I didn't miss any of the detail at all. Reminiscent of early Valdemar (Mercedes Lackey) stories. Worth reading.

_When Women Were Warriors_ attempts to create a mythology based on female power to both give and take life. The setting is a traditional feudal culture based on herding and trading--and stories and family ties. The narrator and heroine is a girl aspiring to become a warrior who learns from her many teachers many skills of physical, psychological, and spiritual self-control. All in all the book is a sensitive exploration of ties that bind and the process of growing up. I think it could be a good book for girls learning themselves.

Since getting my Kindle I've read quite a few self-published stories and books, and while some of that stuff is so bad as to be unreadable I've had fairly good luck with picking fiction that is at least decent, even if somewhat flawed. Usually the flaws show up in lack of editing and proof reading, but often times the writers show a lot of promise or talent.

When Women Were Warriors by Catherine M. Wilson is an exception in that it's a very polished, professionally crafted book by a self-published author who as far as I can tell doesn't have any traditional publishing credits. I ended up being very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing and the book.

Wilson's writing is very smooth and she does an excellent job of creating intriguing characters with depth. The story is slow in unfolding, and yet the pacing is just right so that it doesn't drag. The book kept me interested all the way through, even though there really isn't any action to speak of or major exciting events. Which again points to the skill of the writer. The story is primarily about the experiences and internal changes the characters undergo.

I would label the book as fantasy in that it's medievalish in what appears to be more a made up world than historical. But it's not traditional fantasy, in that it's only kinda swords and without the sorcery. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a well-written, character-driven story about female warriors within a predominantly female setting.

Here's a quote from the book I really liked:

"I tried to remember how I had felt at home when I was looking forward to seeing someplace new. Everything there was so familiar that I longed for something different. Now I longed for just one familiar thing. I felt like a bird, caged all its life, set free by an open window and cowering upon the windowsill."

Kindle Note: The Kindle edition is extremely well done.

I am disappointed the 2nd and 3rd Kindle books in this trilogy (at the time of this writing) are priced at ten bucks each. That's the price I expect to pay for new ebooks from traditional publishers released at the same time as hardcovers. I'm willing to pay five to six dollars for self-pubbed ebooks of this quality, which is the equivalent of buying a backlist or new paperback release title from a mainstream author. But as it is I won't be getting to see how the story continues and ends with this pricing scheme.

My opinions about pricing are not reflected in my rating of the book as I don't believe that's appropriate. Books should be rated and reviewed on their own merits. But I included the comments because pricing is part of some people's consideration as to whether they want to read the first book or not. The end of the first book does leave the reader hanging a bit.

The author takes us into a world where women are charged with the duties and responsibilities that our society traditionally imparts on the men. While the women are rewarded with privileges in return for their sacrifice, we are shown that sometimes the sacrifice is considerable and the benefits small by comparison.

Tamras is welcomed to the home of Lady Merin to train in the use of arms and to serve the Lady. She is assigned to be companion to Maara, a warrior but a stranger who comes to the Lady from places unknown. Tamras learns much of statecraft, friendship, loyalty, and duty from Maara, Merin, Sparrow and the other companions, apprentices and warriors of the household; mostly, she learns what she wants most in her own life.

Well written, a pleasure to read. On to Book 2!

Bought the book for my Kindle on a fluke (couldn't resist the 99cent price). And what a surprise. Great writing, engaging characters, robust story line. I was enchanted. Bought book 2 and 3 and read right through the weekend. The books are the best kept secret in the lesbian reading world. But I hope the word spreads. This is a writer worth following. Lets not keep the books and the author secret anymore.

This is one of the most unexpected books I have ever read. It surprised and delighted me. It's an epic tale of deceit, betrayal, warfare, quest, and everything you have grown to expect out of an epic. It compares to the Illiad or Beowulf. The plot is amazing and there is a tender love story cradled within it like a shy subplot peeping out from behind the hero.

From beginning to end I could not put the book down. My first read of it was in the middle of the night and around 100 pages or so I finally told myself I needed to get some sleep, but believe me if my body allowed I would have read it into the morning. I have been searching for a book(s)/story such as this one. I've longed for a story that had a women I could look up to and admire as a women of many strengths... I've found this book simply by accident on this very site and a few pages into the free read I was allowed to explore I bought all three books immediately. I cannot say enough good things about this book and how much I love it. The characters and setting do stay with you and for me when I read the book there was such passion and an intensity so real for a story I was drawn in and even brought to tears while I read. Enough of my rant, go read it and love it as well!

This book is about a Bronze-Age heroine's search for her place in her world and for an understanding of everything she is and can be. Central to her story is her love for someone else, who happens to be a woman. You must make of that what you will.

Yesterday I read the first of this trilogy. Today I've just finished the second and third. Catherine Wilson, thank you. It reminds me of Le Guin, of Cecelia Holland, and something of Rosemary Sutcliff.

It made me feel as I did when I was a child reading authors like those (except Holland, who I came to later): my adult concerns--I don't mean everyday life, I mean the awareness through which we (or at least I) read with as an adult--melted away. Once again I was in a magical place woven by someone else's words and dreams and labor. It's been many years since I felt that.

I very much admire the clarity of style. It's polished but in that Zen-river-stone-worn-smooth way.

What I like most is the humanity of the writing. It seems to me that writing about lesbian or gay love is somewhat fraught: it appears incredibly hard to do so without making it the big-T Theme, where the characters are defined by their sexual orientation rather than by their underlying humanity. I understand (or at least I think I do) some of the reasons why that's so in our current culture but the conclusion I've come to is that all humans search for love, honor, and an understanding of our place in existence, and that sexual orientation is just part of our individual expression of that. It was lovely to feel that affirmed in such beautiful writing.

If you love Ursula LeGuin, Mary Renault, or Cecelia Holland, this book is for you.

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