Song of the North

Jules Watson is a phenomenal writer and this third book in her Dalriada trilogy is fantastic. Just like The White Mare and The Dawn Stag, it is rich with ancient lore, intrigue, drama, love, suspense, and characters you absolutely fall in love with and miss as soon as you finish reading the book...so much so that when I finished reading the book, I turned right back to page 1 and started reading again. Actually, I did this with all three books in the trilogy. Jules Watson is a wonderful storyteller, and I can't wait for her next novel, as I re-read the Song of the North and savor every moment.

For any confused this book was released under different titles and art work depending on the country it was released in. For US buyers look for Song of the North. It is readily available and is IDENTICAL to The Boar Stone. Song of the North was a gripping and compelling conclusion to The White Mare & The Dawn Stag. I love historical fiction and Jules Watson has done an excellant job. I await her next offering with great eagerness. Here is a link to Jules Watsons offical website for anyone intersted in keeping up to date on her doings. [...]

When I first began reading "The Boar Stone" back in the early summer, I honestly didn't think I would be able to finish it. I'm not sure why, because I loved the first two books so much. Maybe it was because I hadn't been reading fiction set that far back in time, maybe it was because the novel has a bit of a slow start. Or maybe it was because I had no idea why out of the three books in a trilogy any author would set the first two in one era and the last book in a completely different time 300 years later. The last one's probably it. I totally didn't get it and was more than a little annoyed that the books were even considered to be part of the same series. But then I read more and understood, like a lightbulb going on over my head. This book is about the completion of the destiny that Rhiann and Eremon started when they allied the tribes of Eastern Alba with the tribes of the west to try and drive out the Roman threat. At the time of this pact, an artifact was created to be a tangible reminder of the oath the people had sworn to fight together to drive out the Romans. This was called the Boar Stone and when, after the last traumatic, losing battle against the Romans in The Dawn Stag (The Dalriada Trilogy, Book 2) Rhiann delivered her and Eremon's first child too early and it died, the Boar Stone was buried with her because her parents had lost all hope. In "The Boar Stone" (which does have a slow start) we meet Minna, who is about ¼ Celtic, from the Parissi tribe of north eastern Britannia and ¾ Roman and who flees the Roman Villa where she works after her grandmother dies and her brother joins the Roman army. On her to find her brother, who she knows is somewhere along Hadrian's Wall, she meets Cian, an acrobat who won't get too close or share his story. But he agrees to take her north because someone in Alba owes him money. Once in Alba, Minna, who has always had "awake-dreams", begins to connect to the land in a way she never has before. Before she can explore it though and find her brother she and Cain are captured by savers and taken to Dunadd, the Alban (Scottish) seat of the Dalriadans. Here Minna is set to teach the daughters of the king and Cian becomes a stable boy. Minna learns the language too quickly, starts to dream of ancient battles and knows the herbs of the land without ever learning them. She soon connects strongly with the dispirited King of Dunadd, Cahir and the two of them strike out on a quest for something (they know not what) which will help them with the threat posed by the Romans, something calling to Minna in her dreams.... I was actually really surprised by the way this book played out. Pleasantly so. It's very imaginative and does bring the trilogy full circle. The only thing I didn't really like was Minna and Cahir's romance which seemed a little contrived and not very real or realistic. Still, this is a good book which made me want to re-read the first two. I hope Jules Watson writes more soon. Four point

The following paragraph may contain some spoilers, but I tried to be as general as possible with the summary of the plot and did not reveal any big surprises. In the third and final book of the Dalriada trilogy, one finds a completely new set of characters and a new story. Minna is a Roman Briton living outside of Eboracum and working as a nurse for two young Roman boys. She lives with her grandmother and her brother. Things are not going so well for her, however, as her brother wishes her to marry a man she has no interest in whatsoever. Her brother then joins the Roman army and takes off to Hadrian's Wall or somewhere other, expecting her to marry this man she loathes. Minna's grandmother, meanwhile, is very ill and passes away. Minna has no idea what to do so she goes to the city, where she meets Cian, a young and mysterious acrobat. She travels with him to Alba (Scotland) to find her brother, Broc, to tell him about their grandmother, but they are captured by slavers who then sell them into slavery at Dunadd, which is the center of Dalriada and of all importance in The White Mare and The Dawn Stag. Here Minna and Cian try to bide their time before attempting to escape. Minna is sold into the royal household and Cian to the stables. Minna is fairly lucky in where she ends up as she looks after and tutors the two young princesses. Cian, on the other hand, is taunted and gets beaten up numerous times. Later, when Cian finds an occasion to escape, Minna, sensing some unexplainable connection to the land decides to stay. Cian is angry about this and even though he leaves he will enter the novel again on several occasions. Meanwhile, the king of Dalriada, Cahir, is feeling like he's not living up to his title as king. His marriage was made for strategy and he cannot stand his wife's love for all things Roman. It is when he discovers that Minna has "the Sight" that his life and Minna's life will change forever. They go on a mission for the truth and come back as one. Cahir's destiny is to lead a battle to wipe out the Romans from Alba and Minna's destiny is gradually revealed, but both are intertwined. I really loved this book. As I said before, it is a different story with different characters from the two first books in the trilogy, but they are connected, and very cleverly and unexpectedly. The mixture of history and fantasy worked really well without being totally unbelievable. However, I think the book would have been just as good or even better without all the otherworld/priestess mumbo jumbo. I highly recommend this book and the previous two (The White Mare and The Dawn Stag), although this could probably be read as a stand alone or even before reading the first two.