New Book Alert: Hag of the Hills (Bronze Sword Cycles Book 1) by J.T.T. Ryder; Epic Fantasy With Misleading Title Shows The Graphic Making of a Warrior

 New Book Alert: Hag of the Hills (Bronze Sword Cycles Book 1) by J.T.T. Ryder; Epic Fantasy With Misleading Title Shows The Graphic Making of a Warrior

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

A thousand apologies for my lateness, the end of May and beginning of June have brought troubles. My heel hurt and I couldn't concentrate on anything but pain. Then I had a migraine from an approaching cold front and our WiFi messed up.

It's all good now but I am playing catch up.

Spoilers: I can't fault J.T.T. Ryder's Epic Fantasy, Hag of the Hills for much. The book is set during the La Tene period between 400-200 BCE in the Isle of Skye and captures the setting and especially the Celtic mythology rather well. The Reader sees various legendary figures like fairies, goddesses, and selkies, and many human characters who invoke the gods for success, healing, revenge, and other things. It has a strong lead character and the suspenseful plot shows the graphic violence that can change one from a naive nervous kid into a strong warrior and leader. 

I can't fault it for much except for one thing. The title.

The title the Hag of the Hills refers to a mysterious woman, possibly a goddess named Chailleach Bhear, who is portrayed as a hag who delivers winter. She appears before the protagonist and gives him his call to adventure. The protagonist leaves and occasionally he sees visions of her, but only a few times.

 For a title character, Chailleach Bhear is barely in it. While she serves an important part and her presence is strongly felt throughout the book, she really doesn't appear very much. The book could have easily been called Warriors of the Hills or even The Bronze Sword (the latter is the name of the series) and it would make more sense. The supernatural divine aspects are present throughout the book. The main focus is how a young man is strengthened by his loss to become a violent man thirsting for revenge and embracing the warrior code in which he had previously paid little attention.

Brenn is the youngest in a family that boasts of warrior blood. His parents are dead and he is currently in the care of his older brothers, Bodvic and Fennigus. He knows his place in this clan and is soon to marry Clodagh, the neighbor's daughter in an arranged marriage. He also fancies Myrna, the chief druid's daughter though she is above his station. His sexuality may be more complex than we are led to believe.

The entire novel is a giant epistolary to someone named Luceo. We have yet to physically meet Luceo in person, but Brenn keeps referring to him in endearments like "my dear" and "beloved." The book is almost a confessional to this person who is clearly important to Brenn's future. He tells all about his past so there are no secrets between them.  

Even though Luceo has yet to appear, it's clear that Brenn is close to him on a physical and emotional level, possibly a soulmate. It will be interesting to read when Luceo is introduced, why he deserves to know so much about Brenn's past.

Anyway, returning to the main plot, Brenn hears voices to go up the Slighan Hills. When Brenn goes, he meets Cailleach Bhear taking the form of an eccentric old woman named Cally. In one of the strangest but also beautiful chapters in the book, Cally invites Brenn to come and have tea with her  and her companions.  Her companions are sidhe, or the faire folk. They seem to come from thin air or out of the ground. They blend into their natural surroundings. It's a moving tribute to the Celtic pagan pantheon and the close connection that spirits have with nature. It also shows the concept of fate and destiny. After his encounter with Cailleach Bhear, Brenn has the power of seeing sidhe. This comes in handy when he and his companions are attacked by such creatures, including a selkie.

Cailleach Bhear leaves such a memorable impression that I wish she was in the book more, especially, since she is the title character. She only appears here and there in other scenes, but her presence and motives are unclear. After he leaves Slighan Hill, Brenn's village is attacked by enemies from the hill. At this point, Cailleach Bhear seems to switch alliances and dances with glee at the violence. Is she on the side of the Hills, but why  does she give such an awesome power to Brenn to give him a distinct advantage? If she is on Brenn's side why is she dancing with delight at their defeat? Or is she more than likely the living embodiment of death and darkness, the winter of life? She knows that humans will do what they do, fight and kill just as she foresees? She is on her own side, the side that knows death and loss is on its way.

Brenn's village is attacked and his friends, family, and neighbors are either killed, wounded, or kidnapped. Brenn finds himself kidnapped by a group of raiders. He eventually fights his way into joining and then ultimately leading them. He was once very young, naive, and accepting of the warrior life, though not really a part of it. Through the book, he gains physical strength and begins to develop the lust for blood and fighting that other warriors have. He is stripped of his earlier naivete, coddled life, and boyish ideals. He is even stripped of his name and is called Vidav by the warriors.

There are many times with Vidav's new more weathered angrier outlook at the world, his morals become more questionable and less cut and dry. He sees the shades of gray that his youth never allowed. In one heart wrenching passage, an elderly druid begs Vidav to kill him. Later his wish is granted in the most violent way possible.

Vidav also considers selling a female companion to a monarch for a stronger army and safe passage. With Vidav ascending into adulthood and becoming a hardened warrior, he has to be awakened to tough decisions and actions that he would have never done before or once considered repellant if he had.. Right or wrong, it is a part of adulthood to make choices that could be immoral for a chance to survive. It's certain that Vidav's character will get darker the more the plot continues.

The Hag, Chailleach Bhear, may leave an unforgettable presence and had the  title but the truth is, this is the kid, Brenn's story as he becomes the warrior, Vidav.

Weekly Reader: The Circle of Ceridwen (The Circle of Ceridwen Saga Book 1) by Octavia Randolph; A Strong Feminist Start Cannot Save Over Long Historical Epic Romance

 

Weekly Reader: The Circle of Ceridwen (The Circle of Ceridwen Saga Book 1) by Octavia Randolph; A Strong Feminist Start Cannot Save Over Long Historical Epic Romance

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There is nothing worse than a book that begins so promising that falters towards the middle and disappoints so much by the end. It's worse than a book that is bad all the way through, because there was such high hopes in the beginning that are deflated by an underwhelming end. The Reader can feel hurt and betrayed.

Such is the case with The Circle of Ceridwen, Octavia Randolph's historical epic novel. It begins very well with two strong female leads and carries a powerful theme on how similar enemies at war really are and only property lines and country names keep us from realizing it. Then it changes into a generic romance and threatens to become a standard good army vs. bad army conflict. It could have been so much more.

Ceridwen is the daughter of of a deceased warlord of Mercia. She has been raised in an abbey to read, write, and fight if need be.  At the age of 15, she is supposed to take the veil and become a nun. However, she doesn't feel the calling and has no prospects for marriage. With the abbot's blessing, she goes out in the world to seek her own path. 

Significantly, this is usually the start of a man's journey to seek their fortune. That a woman is doing this shows how slightly subversive the writing can be within certain tropes.

While stopping, Ceridwen encounters a procession that is carrying Lady Aelfwyn of Wessex who is heading for Lindisse, an area controlled by the Danes. Aelfwyn is arranged to marry Yrling, a Danish lord in an act of conquest and to bring about peace. Ceridwen and Aelfwyn bond so much that Aelfwyn instantly makes the younger woman her companion and the two become best friends.

The book develops Ceridwen and Aelfwyn very well. Ceridwen is more self assured and bolder than her friend while Aelfwyn is nervous and uncertain about her new role as Lady of the Danes. She is upset with being used as a prize and that she had to leave the man that she really loved, Gyric son of Godwulf of Kilton in the Kingdom of Wessex. Ceridwen reminds her that she can do much 

good for the people and become a shining beacon for those in war. She subtly reminds Aelfwyn that since she will be in a position of power, that there are more people involved than just her and she needs to put her hurt emotions aside because she has a job to do. 

One of the strongest moments of what this book could be is when Ceridwen and Aelfwyn visit the people of Lindisse and see many widows, orphans, and disfigured veterans. Aelfwyn is touched particularly, by the status of the women who live without choice and are under the thumb of societal standards and dominating husbands. She finally understands what her role is and she and Ceridwen talk about changing things in Lindisse. 

There is a lot of change in the beginning, especially towards Ceridwen and Aelfwyn. Before they, especially Aelfwyn, saw the Danes as an ignorant enemy that they didn't want to know. Yrling is gruff and set in his ways, but Aelfwyn comes to care for him to the point of worrying when he goes into battle. Ceridwen becomes the center of attention between two of Yrling's nephews. One, Toki, repulses Ceridwen with his aggressive sardonic behavior but Sidroc and Ceridwen develop a mutual understanding and friendship as they share stories as children of war.

One of the moments that show real understanding is how Ceridwen alters her spiritual path. At first, she was raised in a Christian abbey. While she didn't necessarily fit in with the life of a nun, she had preconceived notions of pagans because of her influence. She and Aelfwyn saw them as barbaric and backwards. 

However, Ceridwen begins to see the freedom that the pagan path offers for women. It's a nice departure from Christianity which insists that all women are vessels of sin because of Eve. It gets to the point that Ceridwen has a religious experience where she speaks to a figure that might be Ceridwen, the Goddess and her namesake. 

It's such a good book in the beginning that it is extremely upsetting that it changes during the halfway point. Ceridwen volunteers to free Aelfwyn's imprisoned former lover, Gyric. The two go on the run to Gyric's kingdom of Wessex. Along the way,they become lovers.

On paper, it's not a bad idea. Ceridwen shows a lot of strength and determination and takes the lead in their adventure. Gyric had been blinded and wounded from his imprisonment and needs Ceridwen to guide him home.

However, the plot really devolves. Among the reasons that the second half isn't as good as the first is the departure of Aelfwyn and the decline of the friendship between her and Ceridwen. 

The book seemed to be more about a friendship between the two female friends. They could have been lovers, but more importantly they were best friends who brought out the best of each other. It was a feminist stance that two women can lead and bring about such change.

Unfortunately, since Aelfwyn disappears the second half of the friendship is gone, relying on the standard male-female romance to propel the narrative.  I apologize, but it is nowhere near as compelling as the friendship that preceded it. One of the reasons is that while Ceridwen and Aelfwyn are dynamic characters that change because of their friendship, Gyric is the same static character throughout. Of course, he has been wounded and tortured and is suffering through PTSD, but that could have easily been a separate book. In fact, his and Ceridwen's subplot could have easily been a separate book and not tacked on to this one.

Ceridwen's story has been told and she has gone through great dramatic change, so that her and Gyric's story is unnecessary that it seems like filler. The plot just drags on and on when it would have had a better ending.

The Circle of Ceridwen is like a circle that starts with a strong beginning and just goes on and on instead of having a real ending. This is one circle that needs to be a lot smaller.

 

Weekly Reader: To Carry The Horn (The Hounds of Anwn) by Karen Myers; Brilliant Start To Fantasy Series Builds Epic Alternate World of Elves

Weekly Reader: To Carry The Horn (The Hounds of Anwn) by Karen Myers; Brilliant Start To Fantasy Series Builds Epic Alternate World of Elves




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews



Spoilers: Karen Myers's To Carry the Horn is the first book in The Hounds of Anwn a four novel and five short stories series about an alternate elven kingdom that exists alongside modern Virginia. It is a captivating start as it presents a magical world that is unique in the resident's influence from humans and still keeps their toes in their fantasy mythological roots.




George Talbot Traherne is a typical modern man who manages a software company and is a whipper-in for fox hunting trips. While chasing after a pack of dogs, in which he was in charge, George falls off his horse. When he comes to, he finds himself in a part of the woods in which he is unfamiliar with no cell phone reception, strange white dogs, and mysterious unknown riders in period clothing. Worst of all, he stumbles onto a dead body and a stern, but youthful authority figure called Gwyn Anwn who wonders what George is doing on his land.



George learns that he is in an elvish and that he is descended from Gwyn. He also learns that the dead man was Iolo ap Huw, Gwyn's foster son, and huntsman in their annual hunting expedition. They take their Hunts seriously seeing as how it's descended from The Wild Hunt of the god, Cernunnos from Celtic myth and legend. The Hunt determines their legislature as well as political structure so Gwyn stands to lose much if he loses the match. Iolo, their lead hunstman, is now dead under mysterious circumstances. They have no other huntsman declared and George has plenty of experience, so could he please, pretty please, be the next huntsman?




To Carry the Horn serves as our introduction to the elves' world and Myers does this by combining typical fairy lore with the modern world. These elves  hav portals all over the world including in Virginia, because like their human counterparts they traveled from Europe to the Americas (though unlike humans, they cooperated and worked alongside the local Natives.). Elves have had numerous encounters with humans and have even adapted to some of our ways as George realizes when he observes the elvish denizens dressing in Colonial period costumes and displaying electric lights in their homes.




Along with that adaptability comes a willingness to accept change. When George assumes the role of huntsman, he makes a few changes such as promoting lutins, house staff who prove to be good at hunting and handling dogs, on the hunting team and declaring Gwyn's feisty foster daughter, Rhian, as an assistant huntsman, a role she has wanted for some time. One would expect Gwyn to be an old school leader and argue against change. But instead, he shrugs and says it's alright with him. These exchanges show an old world that is willing to accept and even embrace new changes.




Myers plays with fairy lore by having characters dispell misconceptions. As we can figure out with Iolo, elves can die but they are very long lived. While youthful in appearance, Gwyn is revealed to be George's great grandfather and reappears every few years to assume the rule of the nearby human estate of Bellemore's lone heir human, at least in appearance, and using a variety of pseudonyms. The characters scoff at many of the human assumptions such as elves being vulnerable to iron. (They say that started because humans believed that fairies rejected Christianity or human encroachment. On the contrary, they insist, humans have their beliefs and they have theirs.)



Of course no fantasy novel starring elves would be complete without magic and Myers shows us exactly that by making them be an almost every day occurrence in the character's lives. There is a whiff of murder mystery in the air when George and co. investigate Iolo's body to determine the cause of death. You have to hand it to any novel that considers "death by magical means" to be a probable cause. (I don't remember any episode of CSI or Law and Order considering that possibility.)

Travel between sections of the elves' worl as well as between human and elven lands are done in places called ways. Ways can only be activated with certain devices called tokens and only specific characters have knowledge of where these ways are. There are some incidents where George learns that he has more power than he thought when he is capable of knowing the exact locations of the ways around Gwyn's lands, ways in which even he was previously unaware.

Shape shifting is also an important magical skill. It comes in handy when the characters want to follow or avoid someone, as a passage demonstrates where Rhian transforms into an an old woman right in front of an amazed George.

Myers clearly has fun not only describing the process of shape shifting, but the limitations that some have as well. Shape shifters can only change into something that matches their height or weight. Transforming into an animal or the opposite sex is possible but only by the truly powerful. There is also the possibility of getting lost inside the new form and finding it difficult to change back. In one spine tingling moment, George transforms in the presence of Cerridwen, a wise elder and historian, and takes on a more powerful and somewhat terrifying form.


The book isn't just an introduction to this elven world. It is also filled with rich characters that inhabit it. George is an impressive lead as he learns about this world and his new family while accepting his new role as lead huntsman. He is very observant and ks an excellent judge of character, as he shows when he promotes Rhian and others after he recognizes their skills and competence. He is also able to recognize a threat when he sees one and knows how to get rid of it without causing any damage to Gwyn's leadership. He does this by role playing an argument so an enemy spy, who was part of the hunting team, loses his position solely based on George's insistence and no one else. (So if the spy reports back to his employer then it won't be Gwyn, or anyone else, they will come after. Only George.)

There are some moments and discussions that will go over Reader's heads as the characters and narrative uses hunting terms and gets very detailed in descriptions of hunting. However, the Reader understands that George is proving his effectiveness as a good leader. He accepts advice and much needed information from others. He encourages his team to learn combat skills for self-defense and to work alongside each other to practice teamwork. He is also able to adapt and change by keeping what works and changing what doesn't.


Gwyn is also a well written character. He is more cautious and steadier than the big picture thinker that is George. At first, he is somewhat suspicious of George wondering who sent him and what this means for his rule. However, he sees that many of George's ideas make sense and ensures the survival of his people. Gwyn also bears a lot of guilt over the decline in his relationship with his sister, Creiddylad, who has become a bitter rival. One possibility towards Gwyn's acceptance of George is that Gwyn may feel his time is up and perhaps George is a potential leader for not only the hunt but for his part of the elven lands. Gwyn is doing his best to smooth the transition of power and helping George inherit a peacefully evolving kingdom.




To Carry the Horn is a terrific first novel that combines fantasy with the modern world. Hopefully, the rest of The Hounds of Anwn continues to develop this brave new magical world.










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