Celtic Books

This book promotes an effective, fruitful church model. It, not St. Patrick, won over an entirely pagan society. Contrast that with the Constantinian church model the Catholics and most Protestants use that leaves the churches vulnerable to infiltration by paganism!

The other two church models that are fruitful are the Wesleyan church model and the New Testament church model.

Hunter knows Evangelism and his explaination in this book is positive and detailed when dealing with past ways of Christianity. I read Hunter because he get the heart of the matter quickly in English I can understand easily.

"The Celtic Way of Evangelism"

I just finished The Celtic Way of Evangelism by George Hunter. I'd highly recommend it. Hunter explains how Patrick and friends engaged the "barbarians" of Ireland, moving from what they already knew to what they had no clue about, the God of Scripture. Also significant is how the missionaries used community to evangelize the Irish. The people found belonging before believing. In other words, they were committed to the church and the community they experienced there before they were actually converted to Christ. Interesting about this short book is how much the missionary ways of Patrick, Aidan, and others sound like what is needed in today's postmodern times. Also striking is how the Roman church swooped down and killed the entire thing, because they didn't know how to handle aggressive, indigenous missional movements. If you are on the frontlines of mission, trying to engage postmoderns with the gospel, this historical study will be very helpful to you.

I am deeply relieved, encouraged and challenged that the "kingdom life" of Christ and the sharing of that life has been done so lovingly, incarnationally, and effectively in the communal spirit of Jesus' own ministry... in a time other than the first century AD. I needed to hear that what I and others are prayerfully working toward has been done before.

We are those who love Christ but no longer fit in the institutional church. We have come to accept no vain substitutions for His kingdom. We have come to want no lesser form of outreach than His own demonstrated love, power, and life-changing presence in the midst of His people among the broken. We are struggling against the dominant culture of western, consumeristic, Christian individualism. So was Saint Patrick... and the results of his unbending devotion to Christ and those He longed to redeem were staggering.

For all Christ-followers already on the postmodern journey of awakening, this book is a dynamic help rooted in both history and humility. It's a powerful reminder that we are not a "revolution" but rather the continuation of generations of others who have imitated Christ's own intentional example on earth in spite of the dominant secular culture.

This book has opened up my eyes to knowing the history of evangelism! To long have i've been influenced with evangelizing "The Roman Way" This is my second time around reading this book and has great practices for building relationships. I highly recommend this book.

Manda Scott gives us an exciting and heart-wrenching beginning to her Boudica series with "Dreaming the Eagle." These characters are real and believable and true Celts portrayed with archaeological detail and immense emotional depth. The dreamers and warriors who inhabit their world with bravery and wonder are amazing characters you won't soon forget. The whole series is as wonderful as this first book and your love for Breaca, Airmid, Ban, and Caradoc will only grow as you travel through their difficult times and uplifting relationships with them.

While sub-titled "A Novel of Boudica, the Warrior Queen," this book is as much about her brother, Bán. In fact, Breaca nic Graine doesn't become Boudica (She Who Brings Victory) until the final chapters. The book - the first in a quartet - covers the early years of her life from about age 12 to 23 (32 - 43 A.D.).

As Scott explains at the end, there is little primary evidence about Boudica and her tribe. Much of what we know comes from Roman accounts, accounts based on oral history and written centuries later, and archaeological interpretations. Thus, to this end, the story is truly a work of fiction.

It is, however, beautifully written, compelling and credible. You envision the life of the Eceni (Boudica's tribe), their culture, beliefs, and way of life. You come to understand and accept the dreamings and their significance.

Through circumstances often beyond their control, Breaca and Bán (about 4 years her junior) lead different lives. And while one of them makes the "right" choices, the other does not. The ending is heart-breaking and sets the tone for the next book in the series (Dreaming the Bull).

The story is not a quick read. While beautifully written, it requires a lot of focus. It introduces at least 3 characters - Breaca, Bán and Caradoc (Breaca's lover) - important to the story. Because of circumstances, their story's often run parallel to one another rather than intertwined. Consequently, I found myself having to re-read parts from time to time.

A highly recommended 5 stars.

I'll admit, not many 13-year-olds are going to be reading this book, especially considering that it is an adult book, but it is an amazing piece of literature!

True, the plot may be slightly difficult to understand, at least for me, but it is really, really good. It took me about three months to read, and usually a book of that size takes me a week, max, but that was because, for it to really pull me into it, i needed some time, as in an uninterupted hour or more, to read it. (Sorry for the run-on sentence!)

Some of the content may be considered "for adults only" by many people, such as when, towards the end of the book Breaca sleeps with a man to whom she is not married, but we all know enough about that by the time we turn 13, and if we don't, then we need to learn.

Altogether, I say that this is a book well worth the price and time it takes to read and I say we should all propose a toast of long life to Manda Scott for writing this beautiful series!

I was given this book for my birthday and since I like historical novels, I thought I might enjoy it. Oh, well! I was incredibly bored for the first 400 pages. The main focus seemed to be more about the attachment of Ban to his mare than anything else. The story finally got going right at the end. Maybe the author or the publisher realized they better get readers interested again or no one would buy the sequel. If you're willing to wade through four hundred pages of plodding plot, a dubious interpretation of the life and times of a celtic villager 2000 years ago, plus characters who all seem very similar and unrealistically mature for their teenage years, this is the book for you. Ms. Scott's writing itself is polished and enjoyable to read, but I think she should have written a fantasy novel, which she seems good at, instead of trying to pass this half-baked story off as historical. There are much better novels written about this period in time.

I really loved the premise for this book. What could be better than the life story of a warrior queen who defended her people from the Romans? I expected this book to be somewhat like the Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie, and so I was excited to read it.

Unfortunately the book proved to be a disappointment.

This book, quite frankly, is boring. Nothing that happens in it is described in a way to be exciting and the culture of Breaca (Boudica of the title) is never really explained, the author just seems to expect the reader to know a lot about pre-roman British culture.

Which of course the average reader does not.

Because of this the book is confusing and vague at times and just plain boring at others. Other complaints: way too much time is spent talking about how much all the characters love their horses, and the romance is never really explored that well.

I still may read the next book in this series, but only if I can get it cheaply. Over all, if you want a good book about a warrior woman fighting back against Rome, read The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie.

Confused tone, modern narrator voice with ancient setting, is not convincing. Also, there is confusion between who is speaking as the narrator. Is it the young Maeve, the older Mary Magdalene, or the author herself 2000 years later looking back. (Are we supposed to believe that the narrator is Maeve/Mary living 2000 years after the story occurs?)

The story tries to be a comedy at times, a drama at others.
Warning: In the midst of a humorous section, there is a violent rape and incest scene, wherein the main character is violated. This contradictory tone failed for me and ruined the entire story.

I also didn't buy the notion of Jesus and Mary meeting up as children in Celtic Britain. This is myth, and it makes the dramatic portions of the story less credible as an attempt at alternate history.

The concept and technique (story-within-a-story) appear clever, but they ultimately don't work. I agree with Publishers Weekly that this book misses its mark. This is another among the plethora of stories along the lines of the Da Vinci code fantasy. There are some good ones, but this isn't one of them.

Since zero is not available, I justify giving even 1 star, for the author's ability to get the book published.
Don't buy this book; check it out from the public library.

This is the Magdalene.org review: "Daughter of the Shining Isles" is the first part of an ambitious trilogy by Elizabeth Cunningham. She takes us to the Celtic-speaking world of 9 C.E. where the main character, Maeve Rhaud, is born and raised by eight weather-warrior witches on the island of Tir na mBam. There, she has a startling vision of her cosmic twin, Esus, in a back alley of Jerusalem: he is relieving his bladder.

If this is a startling image for you, then you should avoid the book. Cunningham's Maeve Rhaud is a headstrong, earthy character with no qualms about speaking of bodily functions, and she does so with great frequency. They are, in fact, important plot points in the story. This was a great drawback for me when I first started the book, and it wasn't until I was halfway through it that I decided the story was entertaining enough to compensate for Cunningham's Celtic witches' apparent scatalogical fascination.

A majority of the story takes place at the legendary Druid college of Mona, where Maeve Rhaud undertakes bardic training. The author accounts for the "lost years" of Jesus (Esus) by placing him in the college with her. He has a difficult time believing that his cosmic twin is someone so "unclean," and they have frequent theological arguments about monotheism versus her polytheistic ways. Maeve is constantly in trouble with the faculty of the college, clashing with personalities and breaking taboos. It is in this setting that she falls in love with the 15 year old man from Jerusalem and pledges her life to him.

Cunningham's novel is narrated by Maeve, who uses modern metaphors to describe the events in her tale. In spite of this chronological inconsistency, the story is extremely entertaining and told with good humor. It moves along quickly, and the main characters are well developed. If you are familiar with biblical accounts of the life of Jesus, you will be amused by the references to how his legend was shaped by people after his death.

If you're able to laugh at bawdy humor and don't have an easily tweaked sense of the blasphemous, this book will leave you satisfied and waiting eagerly for the next novel in the series.

Hark fellow pagan wymen ! Here be a tome of most rightious truth and beauty, consistent with the guidance of the Goddess! Herein all honor is given to the sacred moon-time flow. Blessed Be!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I don't usually enjoy first-person fictional accounts; however, this was an exception. There are a couple of reasons why I didn't give it five stars, however:

1. The protagonist occasionally wanders off on tangents in the middle of some of the premier events during the story. I do expect some tangents, especially when a book is written from a first-person POV; however, it seems like these could be a bit shorter to make the story more powerful.

2. The menstrual blood thing was kind of...strange. It didn't bother me the first time, and it at no point disgusted me, but I thought that the differences between the protagonist and the way other women were brought up were quite marked without the incident with the menstrual blood while she was at the druid college.

In all, I loved the story and am very much looking forward to reading the next one in the trilogy.

Three cheers for Elizabeth Cunningham and `Daughter of the Shining Isles'.

While weaving a picture of the ancient cults - their mysteries, their ceremonies, and their assumptions - this novel defines the concept `incarnate' like nothing I have ever read.

Between the lines of a dramatic love story, (I'm not a fan of love stories, so believe me, if I was yanked in, anyone who already likes them will be swept away.) Cunningham shows us how Roman civilization collided with the long established culture of the Celts. The feminine side to our understanding of `deity' is clearly explained through parable, and I for one was in awe as the balance was struck in page after page.

Quotable quotes: Maeve, speaking of Esus: `To lay on him a geis of danger and destruction was an act of sheer redundancy.' (I cannot define this word, `geis' accurately without context)

If her earthy indulgences seem offensive - the pissing, the fornication, the bleeding, and all that, you must chalk up your discomfort to the fact that you are being whisked away into ancient history by a pro. The symbolism of earth goddess to earthly existence is intricately layered as only a writer with complete authority over her subject matter can do. While she is wooing you with mundane metaphors, you are actually being set up for the lighting strike.

As with all great works, Cunningham's humility is the fiber holding irony and discovery at one.

I'm sold.

-Moe Dickson (author of Atlantis Continued...)

I understand that Your Own World Books (Marshall Masters) holds the copyright to The Kolbrin Bible. However, I do not understand how the copyright works. For example, why does the Kolbrin Bible - a Sumerian manuscript plus an English/Celtic manuscript, both ancient - have so few translations in circulation? It seems that over the years many different translations would be in print. Is it not like the Bible or any other set of ancient transcripts that are either impossible to copyright or that the copyright has expired? Shouldn't it be available to all interested in publishing their interpretation/translation? Even if the motive is solely to make a profit - after all doomsday mongering is a profitable business. However, one would hope the motives would be altruistic. Is it simply apocrypha packaged to reel in cash by praying on people's most fundamental fears? - Is it just a money making hoax? . Given the marketing style, that is my conclusion. If my reasoning is wrong, please educate me, as I would like to know how copyrights like this work, as well as where these books came from and if their authenticity has ever been established.

In this confusing world it should be a against the law to knowingly disseminate false and misleading information as there are genuine seekers of truth who waste valuable time by sifting through false and misleading information. I have emailed Mr. Marshall and I waited for a response. I have not received a reply.

I JUST WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH!

I initially purchased the Kolbrin Bible due to the interest I have in the returning of Planet X in 2012, and thought that this Bible would be a good source of information to previous passings of Planet X. But upon reading this Bible, I have found so much more.

History is always written by the winners, and with this Bible, you get the stories without the pride, and one sidedness of todays more standardly accepted Bibles.

This has been an enlightening read into previous civilizations, (written by the Egyptians, and the Celtic people following the great flood, and the Exodus), and in it you find many references to their contact with alien life forms, and learn many secrets of these civilizations that modern science poo poo's as "superstition", or "mythology". In all mythology lies a truth, and here you get to relive these tales, and gain a spiritual understanding that is not all wrapped up in any particular religion, or religious tunnel vision.

I greatly suggest that anyone interested in Egyptology, or the general study of past civilizations, and the coming of Nibiru, Planet X, look into this book, as it offers insight into all these topics, as well as countless others.

This is the other side of the story in a sense, to what we now call the Holy Bible. At the very least, contrast and compare.

This work is not only significant, but it's historic importance cannot be overstated. How it can receive less than 5 stars "after reading it" is way beyond my level of understanding. The publishers and all the previous keepers of this text have my heartfelt gratitude. The work and dedication that has gone into preserving it has to be appreciated. In my humble opinion, there is no other more important literature relevant to the current status of humanity.

Now, if I've got this right, this is a 3,600 yr.-old Sumerian manuscript plus a 1,900 yr.-old English/ Celtic manuscript that were subsequently transcribed onto bronze scrolls which survived, within a copper-clad box, a 12th-century fire that destroyed the Glastonbury Abbey and then found their way into the hands of the Culdian Trust in New Zealand where the collection was kept in hiding over the past 800 years or so, only to come to light in full-blown modern English now that the "2012 cataclysm" is in vogue. It warns of a red comet/Planet X/dwarf-brown twin star to our Sun that is on a 3,600 yr. orbit which will swing it by here within four years, and of the physical and spiiritual preparations (a la New Age) that we must take to prepare ourselves.

Hmmmm...

Is there something wrong with this picture?

The original Kolbrin was kept in hiding by the Culdian Trust in New Zealand. Since they released it, others have taken these important texts without copyright or other permission, and altered them.

For more information on the Kolbrin, listen to the radio lecture by physicist James M. McCanney of Dec 20 2007.

I liked this series so much, I have tried to get my hands on every book Stephen Lawhead has written.

In the first two novels of this trilogy Lawhead narrates the tales of Murdo and then Duncan, Orkney Lords on pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

The final novel opens with the death of Duncan, and it is left to his plain headstrong daughter Cait and her flighty and beautiful sibling Thea to avenge him.

The now familiar Brother Andrew guides Cait in the theft of a letter which promises a prize beyond value, which can only be the Holy Grail (lets face it, the family already have the holy lance and the cross - what's left?).

Cait borrows from her fathers experience and travels to Damascus, where she randsoms a band of Norse knights who have been captured by the turks. Then they travel from one end of the Islamic world to the other, to Moorish Spain. Racing all the way to defeat the evil schemes of the corrupt Master of the Knights Templars, the book races to a thrilling conclusion. Will the Evil Renaud De Bracineaux get his filthy hands on the Grail, which he wants for himself, or will Cait save it.......for herself.....? I'm sure she deserves it. Something to do with keeping it safe until it is needed. Never did understand that twist in the plot.

The use of a female protagonist sets this novel out from the previous two, and makes for a good conclusion to the series. It is not the Da Vinci Code, so everyone lives happily ever after except for the bad guys. But it is a fun read, and the research is good, so you get a good feel for the world of the Crusades.

Usually when reading a trilogy, the first book is the best, and the series begins to lose steam as one goes on. Not in this case. This is by far the best book of this trilogy.
Caitriona, daughter of Lord Duncan of Caithness, visits Byzantium with her father and sister, on her way to trace her father's footsteps during his sojourn (if you can call it that) in the Holy Land of many years ago. Here their trip goes awry, and chaos begins. Duncan is assassinated inside Agha Sophia, in the heart of Byzantium, by the evil Grand Master of the Knight Templars.
What follows is a witty and entertaining tale of adventure in exotic places, lead by a woman both vulnerable and strong, whose destiny has been traced long before her journey has begun.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction. I fully enjoyed it.

After reading some of the other reviews here I had to voice my opinion. I am just grateful that I read the book before these reviews!!! Maybe the action is a bit slower in this final book of the series but what it lacks in action it makes up for in plot... Only Lawhead could give us a story of this depth set in this era!!! Maybe it's not the Pendragon Cycle (of which I am a huge fan) but it is still Lawhead and I was not disappointed!!!
I really identified with Cait (the heroine). She struggled with herself and her world and was won over in the end by the God that had been chasing her throughout the story. The reemergence of de Bracineaux was utterly brilliant and true to his character from Rood only much more developed. And the ever present Cele De story was... well, let's not give that away, just know that our veiw of Murdo, Duncan, and Caitriona from within the Cele De was reconciled at last and beautifully. I felt he crowned the Celtic Crusades with gem!!!
No one, and I mean NO ONE does historical fiction/fantasy the way Lawhead can... who else can wrap those 2 genres up together and make you like it?

Here is my review of "The Mystic Rose," the concluding volume in "The Celtic Crusades" by Stephen Lawhead. It's a good conclusion to a good series.

This is the third volume in the Celtic Crusades series and I would rate this one as "not as good as the first, but better than the second." All of the books in this series are very good. The characters are well-developed, the plots are good and there are many interesting sub-plots. My only gripe is that the first two get started a little slowly, but if you hang in there for the first 50-75 pages then the action gets going well.

The Mystic Rose does the best job of the three in grabbing your attention at the beginning and holding it. Within the first few pages an event happens that sets the tone for the rest of the book. The heroine, Caitriona sets off on a quest to avenge her father's murder and capture Christendom's most sacred relic. In fact, capturing Christendom's most sacred relic is integral to her plan for revenge. This sets up a dicey moral dilemma that is resolved nicely at the end.

I find things like this moral dilemma to be one of Lawhead's strengths. In so much Christian fiction the heroes are cookie cutter Christians who seem to rise above all of the sins and temptations of the common man. Lawhead's heroes, and Caitriona in particular are very earthy, and very sinful people. The upshot of this is that he tells a story that leads one to believe that God, in his mercy, is the real hero of the story, not the protagonist of the book.

At the end of this story, Caitriona is less conquerer and more conquered by the love and mercy of God. This is a very gospel based story line.

All in all, the entire series is a worthwhile read.

I first came across this book in the mid-90's and just recently bought it in a used book store for about five dollars. I wish I had kept the receipt. This work distorts its source materials to fit into the author's deluded notions of a European Shamanism. The writing is erratic, and disconnected from one point to the other. The author makes a point about paleolithic cultures of Europe, and then seeks to extend same ideas to much later Gaulish invaders. Bad scholarship, distortion of sources, and a whole lot of "core shamanism" crap all in one binding.

Mr. Cowan... if you ever read these reviews, please send me my money back.

Despite debate, if one approaches this book with an open mind, one finds alot of evidence supporting the idea of Celtic Shamanism. This is a remarkable cross cultural survey as well of shamanism. It's well researched and presented. I love it so much, I am on my third copy. It's a classic of this admittedly narrow field.

...but that doesn't mean that this isn't a top notch book. I found it to be an exceptional source of information about shamanism in general and celtic shamanic beliefs in particular. I highly recommended it to all with an interest in such subjects. IF, however, you are looking for a "how to" book, this is not what you are looking for.

Lots of good solid information here. I must admit I like his writing style as well. Excellent material, well presented!

On my shelf of shamanist titles, this one sits prominently figured. Cowan presents the traditional fantastic experiences of the shaman in an amazingly receivable framework. His experience of archetypes in well-known myths and legends opens one to the ability to read all things symbolically, thus, as the dynamic spiritual presences that they are. To that end I regard Cowan as a shapeshifter of symbols, not an interpreter of them. His telling of olde tales connects their spirit with a modern audience.

In this book his love and connection to the Celtic path is evident, though it is not necessarily rooted in what we know of Celtic history, itself. I feel it is important to make that distinction, as Cowan is cultivating the opening of the shamanic experience of metaphor in a Celtic context. He is not a Reconstructionist, thus this work offers, rather, an experiential opportunity in a Celtic framework.

This book is a must for anyone interested in Celtic Art. It is not an easy book to learn the art from so if possible I would also get a book called Celtic Knotwork by the authors son. But do get this book because it has so much detail in it and explains the history of the work.

THis book is the most helpfull i ever seen. You buy this, and you need no other book to draw celtic knots.
You start with no knowledge and you really can make extraordinery things after a feel training. Its really works.
I strongly recommend.

This book was just what I needed. It has lots of ideas and how to make them.

How Bain has managed to come up with this method is beyond me, but God bless him for it! I have used his methods for creating cross stitch patterns, a complicated matter but well worth the results.

Acknowledging the complexities of this book's approach to Celtic Knotwork, Iain Bain, George Bain's son, has published a much more approachable introduction in his Celtic Knotwork, Constable, London 1986. It was reprinted last in 1992 but is unfortunately out of print. Used copies are available and I would stongly recommend Iain Bain's book as a most helpful place to begin. The senior Bain's book is however an informative reference, a far cry above the usual "picture book for colouring" approach.

A serious research into the Faery faith. Many one on one interviews with older citizens of the United Kingdom seeking stories, tales, and personal encounters with the little people. Interesting for those seeking to ferret out the truth about the origins of the Faery legend. Not for children or the "Tinkerbell" crowd. No cute and cuddly pictures.

I have to agree with those who posted one star ratings on these newer editions. I would also avoid the edition by NuVision. Both of these publishing companies seem to have the same errors. Maybe they share the same bad editing department and computer program.

I finally found an older edition that seems to be much better. This edition is from the Citadel Press - Carol Publishing Group, published in 1990. The older versions are far better and worth the trouble of tracking down if you can find one.

The New Page edition of this book is a true piece of cr*p! Every single page has multiple typographical errors, obviously deriving from shoddy proofreading of the text they scanned. I thought I could deal with it, but it reached the point where it was distracting, so I ordered the Dover edition instead. I was an idiot not to get that one in the first place. Don't repeat my mistake!

I pulled this volume out of the library several years back and devoured it; then I bought it, because there is a great deal of fascinating and well-written information here about the old belief in fairies. Mr. Evans-Wentz traveled around Great Britain, Brittany and other locations, gathering the stories of the old folks who still believed in fairies, as well as the stories their children and grand-children were willing to entrust to him. I think this is possibly the most accessible book to describe the REAL fairy faith that has been written. Unlike modern ideas of the benign fairy, this book outlines the fact that people were often fearful of the Good Folk and set out to propitiate them in order to avoid their wrath. A must-have for those interested in folk-lore, fairies and the history of the Celtic countries.

I wanted a cheap edition to mark up with notes- but I had no idea that this publisher would be so careless as not to proofread or quality check the work. There were typos- sometimes several to a page, such as "Foik" or "Fdk" for "Folk", periods randomly placed in the middle of sentences, lines that would shift up a fraction of a line (as if they were superscripted but the font size remained the same). It was a headache to read. On top of this, Pages 443/444 and 453/454 (which are the same sheet of paper) were torn clear across the bottom half, yet sewn into the book as is- so I can't even read those pages!) I had already been reading and note taking up to this point so I don't think I could return it now, even though its obvious on inspection this damage happened in the assembly of the book.

Simply horrible!
I can't imagine this entertaining any one.
That said, I suppose it has a small niche out there, some where.

It's The Mabinogian, you have to love it. It's really great for anyone, but especially good for anyone in Celtic Studies. Every Druid I have ever known had a copy too.

Let me agree with a previous reviewer who commented on the change in translation style between the "Celtic" and "Arthurian" stories. It's quite pronounced and not commented on in the book. Still, this is a great collection of tales, perhaps a little unpolished.

I'm a fan of tradtional Germanic epics such as Beowulf and hte Saga of Burnt Njal, as well as a fan of other medieval literature, including Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzifal," which tells the same story as some of the "branches" (stories) of the Mabinogion. So I had high expectations for the Mabinogion.

Unfortunately, the book failed to live up to them. Out of the eleven mostly unrelated stories included in this volume, only a few really held my interest. In a work like this you expect an episodic, somewhat repetitive story, but the Mabinogion takes this to the extreme. A few of the stories are practically parodies of Arthurian romance; for example, "How Culhwch Won Olwen." In this story, the hero meets the heroine and is told that he must complete thirty-nine tasks to win her. The rest of the story consists of an account of the completion of these tasks, most of which don't rate more than about a sentence; plus a five-page list of all the knights of Arthur's court who helped him. Expanded to full length, this might be interesting, but as it stands it's about as exciting as reading Cliff's Notes. In addition, the Mabinogion's humor often falls flat, especially when compared with the Icelandic epics.

The Penguin Classics edition seems to be well-translated and well-annotated, but the book itself didn't hold my interest. Unless you're an Arthurian completist or a Welsh history buff, I'd give this one a miss.

An excellent collection of Welsh tales from the high Middle Ages. Like the contemporary Gaelic mythology it leaves one pondering the meanings of so many of the storys' details long after they finish reading it; I think the significance of so much of their content is lost on us modern readers, and probably even on the men who initially wrote them down in the 12-14th Centuries. Overall, this version of the Mabinogion is a worthwhile look into the Medieval Welsh imagination, and a good book for anyone interested in Arthurian mythology.

A worthy addition to the Avalon series written in Bradley's style. I didn't notice a change in authors.
This particular title takes us back to the time when Druids where still on Mona and through most of Boudicca's life. It visualizes the events leading up to the Mona masacre, as well as Boudicca rebellion. Particularly dear to me is a story behind Lhiannon. Lhiannon, a young priestess, is very different from Lhiannon, the High Priestess in later novels. The novel gave me a very welcome glimpse into why and how of Lhiannon's later dettachment, while High Priestess.

I think it is ridiculous to keep attributing books written by others to Marion Zimmer Bradley. They must think that the reading public are a bunch of simpering idiots. Or- could it be? She is communicating with Diana Paxton via spirit medium or ouija board! Pls, give me a break! Authors, create your own darn worlds. Stop trying to co-opt MZB's - you do not measure up.

This is a wonderful addition to the Avalon series. My mother said it was one of the best she had read so far...and that says loads!

This book gives a deeper meaning to The Forest House and a further understanding of the Ravens.

I was a little disappointed to discover Marion Zimmer Bradley did not write this book, but Diana L. Paxson continued the Avalon Saga very well. As a former Latin and Roman History Instructor, I enjoyed reading the story of a great leader of Britain with the factual information enriched by fantasy fiction set in the Roman occupation of what came to be called Britain.