Dreaming the Serpent-Spear

I waited and waited for this one to come. It was a good ending and I love the characters.

For some years now, I've been reading Manda Scott's four book series set during the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, and the events that led up to it. When I was finished with the third novel, I was pretty well heartbroken over the devastating events that the story closed with. Now Scott returns to Celtic Britain for the ending of the story, and I wondered, is this going to be worth it? After the rape and torture of her daughters and herself, Breaca -- otherwise known as the Boudica, the war-leader of the tribes of Britain -- is questioning herself and her dream of seeing the Romans driven out of Britain once and for all. Most of all, she mourns what has happened to her youngest daughter, Graine, who has lost her ability to dream, that art of being able to shape men's minds and hearts to create the future. Breaca's other two children, Cunomar and Cygfa, are not much better. Her son is dispairing over his inability to protect his siblings, especially, Graine, from the brutality of the Romans, and his own inner doubts to be a successful war-leader. Although he is what is known as a 'she-bear,' a warrior that fights in a near frenzy of bloodlust, he knows that he is flawed. Cygfa is filled with a cold hate and has shut herself off others, unwilling to love or care. Other members of Breaca's family are caught up in their own doubts and fears. Valerius, her brother, who was able to save them from crucifixion, but is now having to play a dangerous plan against the Romans, and plotting the destruction of the Legions. Bello, the young boy that he saved, is now with the Dreamers on the island of Mona. Other characters from earlier novels also appear, Corvus, the lover of Valerius, but firmly a Roman, and Luain macCalma, the Elder of Mona, who is fighting to save what he can. Nearly all of the novel is taken up with the battles and plots, building towards the final confrontation between the Romans and the Britons, where all will be decided. Those who know their history of the time already will know what will happen. The fact that anything of the story actually survives is due to the Roman chronicles that have come down through history. What Scott strives for here is a look into 'what might have been,' using what archaeological evidence that exists, and what legends have come down through history. The publishers have marketed these novels as fantasy, but they're more of a historical novel, rich in detail. If it sounds nearly impossible for the Boudica's forces to be taking down Roman legions by guerilla warfare, evidence can still be found today in the ruins of the known Roman sites in Britain. Too, she cleverly uses the remains of what is called 'The Druid Prince,' a bog remain that dates to just about the time of the Eceni revolts, who it is I won't say here, but it does add quite a twist to the story. It's well researched and she handles the mixture of legend and fact into a rich story that will keep the reader going right up to the final

If you haven't begun the series, go back to "Dreaming the Eagle" and start it. These are some of the most vivid and believable historical novels I've ever read, and I'm a Dorothy Dunnett, Mary Renault, Mary Stewart junkie. Scott manages to give us deeply touching human situations, filled with accurate archaeological detail, while also bringing to life a beautifully imagined Celtic spirituality that makes PERFECT sense at the same time that it takes your breath away with its dazzling dreams and visions. By far the best representation of late Celtic-early Roman Britain since Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" with the same compelling characters and realistic conflicts. I can't praise Manda Scott enough!

Two decades have passed since the Roman legion began their occupation of Britannia. Now in 60 AD, the local tribes finally have put aide their bickering to join as one in a revolt to send the conquerors off their island. However, though over five-thousand are ready for the war, the only leader who can rally the tribes is not. Breaca of the Eceni, called Boudica the Warrior Queen by the Romans, recovers physically from a brutal whipping that the Romans gave her as a lesson to anyone fostering revolution. More difficult to Breaca is the gang rape of her daughter Graine by legionaries that has left her to doubt her abilities to protect her people since was unable to keep one person safe. She prefers to say no and heal her mental wounds, but also knows that no one else can rally the tribes so she agrees to lead the revolt. While the Romans make a rare tactical error by assaulting an Eceni stronghold Mona leaving them vulnerable for Breaca and the tribes attack on their island capital Camulodunum, which is burned to the ground. With much of the eastern side at war, the two armies will soon meet for a final confrontation that will decide who rules over Britannia. The final Boudica Dreaming thriller (see DREAMING THE EAGLE, DREAMING THE BULL, and DREAMING THE HOUND) is a fabulous ancient historical fiction tale that keeps the suspense coming from start to finish although the winner of the war is known. The key is the heroine who suffers from what appears to be battle fatigue syndrome, but feels duty and responsibility calls her for her to lead her side. Manda Scott rules the sub-genre with her delightful intelligent Britannia saga. Harriet Klausner

So, we have arrived at the final climatic novel of Scott's series. Having started with a touch too much fantasy in the opener the previous two efforts have been high quality and gripping. The pace, characterisation and emotive response doesn't let up in this final novel as we follow Breaca to her inexorable destiny at the hands of the Augusta II. The novel opens rapidly where the third left off. Cygfa and Graine are coming to terms with their brutal mistreatment at the hands of a cohort of Roman legionaries. Breaca is painfully learning to wield a sword again whilst Valerius seeks to prove himself to the Iceni host whilst the simmering anger of Cunomar lingers painfully at his side, the younger man desperate to prove himself his mother's heir should she fall in battle. From this point we follow Scott's retelling of what little history we know as Valerius destroys the IX legion in a manner emulating the infamous Varian defeat in A.D. 9. Cunomar develops his own band of elite troops, the Bears, blooding them in fierce combat. All the while Breaca is struggling to heal, both physically and mentally, reaching her fateful decision during the final sack of the Claudian Temple in Camulodunum whilst her son and brother debate who must lead the war host. After injecting a cameo from Graine as she defeats the Corvus-led invasion of Mona using the power of the Dreamers and the subsequent self-sacrifice by Dubornos after the rites in the lands of the Coritani, we find Hawk appointed the true bearer of Breaca's father's sword and the swelling host of the British warriors sacking London before the final fateful battle. When readers of Scott's magnificent series find themselves reluctant to read this final novel they will realise that the character empathy engendered by this sterling author has given us an emotional link to Breaca and the Iceni. We know with terrible finality that Breaca will die because history commands it but we do not wish it to happen. As the pages march inexorably on the heart grows heavier knowing the Dreamers and the Iceni are doomed to failure and the Boudicca cannot lead her people to victory. Still, Scott delivers it in a manner that is both exhilarating in Breaca's courageous fight at the climatic battle and her subsequent benediction on the surviving Valerius, Cygfa and Graine who take the power of the Dreamers into a hidden world to rest and nurture before being reborn once the Roman Empire falls. My review of the opening novel in this quartet found it lacking and fantastical. That view remains. However, from the second novel through to the end Scott delivers a series that packs an massive emotional punch, crisp subplots, vibrant language and a colorful sense of humanity that ensures the pages keep turning faster and faster. It will appeal to readers wanting to gain a sense of the violence and raw battles that define the period, it will appeal to readers trying to gain a sense of the celtic druids and the otherworlds they walked. B