Druids

Seeing as the Celts didn't believe in writing anything down, it's really hard to know exactly what it was like to be a member of their civilization. Llywelyn's vision of a society living in harmony with nature isn't so much New Agey as it is an intelligently woven tapestry composed of our best guesses about this once-prosperous people. Despite it being historical fantasy, it's still one of the best texts I've ever read on the subject of the druids. The characters are extremely likeable, and the story is infused with the very magic that the main character/narrator weilds. It's also got a fair amount of excellent spiritual and practical wisdom as well as a fair amount of accurate historical data. It's a book that you regret finishing. To me, this book is special in many ways. I've read it many times, and it never fails to instill in me a sense of awe at Morgan Llwelyn's powers as a writer and sadness that the Gods of Corruption and Currency triumphed over the druids and their Celtic civilization.

This is the only book I have ever read from the perspective of the defeated Gauls. The clash of cultures is vividly portrayed by contrasting the mechanical Romans, with their square camps and uniformity, to the nature loving Druids and semi-disorganized warriors. The book was thrilling and brought alive the events from history. It is one of the best historical novels I have ever read!

I have read a number of Morgan's novels, all of which are excellent reads in their own right, however "Druids" is by far the most compelling. It is a wonderful attempt to show history through the eyes of the vanquished, and not the usual creators of history - the victors. As in all her books, the writing is fluid and enthralling. The person to person stories written around the historical events are so well done the reader feels anticipation and hope even though we all know how tragically it all ends. A definate must read for anyone who has an interest in the Celts, history, or simply a well written story.

It was unsettling being a college student and trying to read this at the same time as I had to put it down to do homework! This book was by far the best in the telling of the story of Caesar's advance into Celtic Gaul. I loved the way she entwined the druidic way of life into the story giving you a feeling of actually being there rather than just simply reading another history book.

Ms. Llywelyn's DRUIDS is a tour de force of historical fiction, wrongly classified under "science fiction" or "Sword and Sorcery." If there is any magic portrayed in Ms. Llywelyn's books, it is subtle and not accompanied by pyrotechnics. DRUIDS relies on a very strong storyline to provide its magic. It is the story of Ainvar ("He Who Travels Far"), a young apprentice Druid in pre-Roman Gaul (France) who is sent, true to his name, to the far corners of his country to report on the growing menace of Julius Caesar and his legions. Ms. Llwelyn is a Celtic scholar, and paints a masterful portrait of life among the European Celts, the aboriginal people of Europe, whose contributions to world history are, sadly enough, little known. While much of Ms. Llwelyn's storycraft is necessarily invention, it does have the powerful ring of truth, and her gifted weaving of historical personages such as Caesar and Vercingetorix, the king of the Gauls, into this true to life and very detailed story of an advanced and settled culture on the verge of cataclysmic change, only underscores what was lost when "civilization" reached the "barbarians" of Europe. DRUIDS is a pleasure to read. It reads more like an actual memoir than fiction, and is written with humor, sensitivity, and pathos. DRUIDS sheds light on a little-known portion of history, and for those of us dissatisfied with the "official" brand of history sold to us in most books, DRUIDS is a refreshing and very successful tale of the meeting of cultures, and the rise and fall of civilizations, told from the perspective of one observant but imperfect human being.