Circle of Stars

These are wonderful books and it is a wonderful story line. I have it from the Author that she has third and fourth written and the fifth in the works however she is waiting for publishers so please.... if you liked the first 2 goto AnnaLee's website and e-mail her agent asking when the next book will be coming out. The more feedback she gets that way the sooner we will get the next segment in the series.

Anna Lee Waldo writes very long books, and this one is no exception. There is a lot of repetitiveness for the first third of the book from Circle of Stones, but it was done from a different viewpoint. Circle of Stones was from Brenda's viewpoint, and this one is from her son Madoc's viewpoint. This book is wonderfully researched and the little introductory paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter reinforce that research has been done. Ms. Waldo builds very real fictional characters around legendary ones and actual historical facts so the book is like a very interesting history lesson. The primitive sea voyage taken by Madoc and his fellow druids is written with such description that it's easy to picture the tiny boats heading out on the vast Atlantic ocean. What an awesome and couragous feat it was for these Welshmen to undertake. The book is quite graphic as well, so potential readers should be aware of that. If you are a fan of sweeping historical fiction, you will love this book. If you like a good story masterfully told, you also will love this book. I know I did.

Anna Lee Waldo has done it again. She involves you from the first line to last. She has only written 4 books, all based on true accounts. Each one I read I think is the best until the next comes along. This is a very consuming subject that could entangle you in innumerous ways and side tracks. I think Ms. Waldo did a superb job in staying focused with the main story and continuing on with the last. (This is second in a trilogy)It has filled gaps from the first book, Circle of Stones, and leaves you hungry for the following book. Am anxious for it to come out!!!

This is an interesting book that fills in the legend of Madoc. As a Welsh American,it fills in historical nuances that are not covered in our education system. It is a good, readable fictional story of how it might have happened.I was pleased at how each of the chapters included a quote from a recognized expert who covered the accuracy of the historical facts used in that chapter. This made the story both interesting and enlightning.I have also read the precurser or this book 'Circle of Stones and all of the above would pertain to that also.

He was born to be a leader of the Druids, destined to save them and their way of life from the New Religionists by finding a new land were they could live and prosper. Madoc ap Owen Gwyneth does not know that his destiny was foretold before his birth because he was raised as the child of crofters who found him as a baby floating in the river. When he was seven they sent him to the Druid Colony in Ireland because his thirst for knowledge was great. Eventually, he traveled to Wales for further teaching. There he learned that his birth father was the Prince of Wales and that his mother was his mistress. When his half-brother poisoned his father and took up the mantle of leadership, the Druids were hunted down and killed. The Archdruid gave Madoc a fortune in jewels to build a floatilla so that he could find a place for them to call home. Eventually, ten ships with twenty men on each sail for what will be later called the new world, enduring hardship and trouble nearly every mile of the journey. CIRCLE OF STARS continues the story that began in CIRCLE OF STONES and is every bit as fascinating and enthralling as its prequel. Readers will be amazed to see the early influence of Henry II of England on the political and religious situation in Wales and Ireland and they will see a side of Thomas Beckett rarely seen in history books. Anne Lee Waldo has written an epic yet this reviewer believes there is more to the story to tell.Harriet Klausner