In 192 A.D., Muirne Muncháem, a young and very pregnant woman, travels alone through the wilds of ancFinal review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
In 192 A.D., Muirne Muncháem, a young and very pregnant woman, travels alone through the wilds of ancient Ireland, seeking a sanctuary for herself and her unborn child at Ráth Bládhma. Three years before, a young druidess, Bodhmhall, had left her clan with six other people, including her lover, the woman warrior Liath Luachra. Since then they’ve been living in a hidden, secluded valley, creating a pleasant, if very small, community. Their peace is shattered when Muirne, Bodhmhall’s sister-in-law, arrives, asking for refuge and their protection.
Bodhmhall can see that Muirne’s unborn child has an aura that shines brighter than any she has ever seen. Because of that, and because it is her dead brother Cumhal’s child, she agrees to offer Muirne sanctuary. But the group soon finds that two separate bands of twenty to thirty warriors, one including a mutilated druid with terrifying mind powers, are seeking Muirne and her child, and will stop at nothing to get them. It is only a matter of time before they find the way to Ráth Bládhma.
Defence of Ráth Bládhma is a hard-hitting tale of life in an ancient time, when life was harsh and uncertain. It is the first book in Brian O’Sullivan’s FIONN MAC CUMHAILL series, based on the legend of the mythical Irish warrior hero Fionn mac Cumhaill. Defence of Ráth Bládhma tells the very first part of Fionn mac Cumhaill’s story, the time before and immediately after his birth. O’Sullivan has added some imaginative twists to the original legend, including the relationship between his aunt Bodhmhall and Liath Luachra, and has fleshed out these and others who were part of Fionn’s early life, creating complex and lifelike characters.
The story is fairly true to real life in primitive times, when death, hostile clans, and shortages of food were constant threats. O’Sullivan has vividly recreated the tough living conditions of a small community, with detailed descriptions of their way of life. The fantasy element is seen only in the druidic powers possessed by Bodhmhall and the enemy druid, one of the Tainted Ones who is no longer fully human, and has the power to affect the minds and thoughts of others. The grim atmosphere is lightened somewhat by the timely arrival of Bodhmhall’s former husband, Fiacail mac Codhna, at Ráth Bládhma. He and his two men provide some much-needed assistance with the defense of this small, walled community, along with a hefty dose of bawdy humor.
Defence of Ráth Bládhma is well worth reading for fans of fantasies set in ancient or less civilized communities. It’s often brutal, and frequently crude in its humor, but that fits the time period in which this novel is set. It’s a strong entry in the final ten of the SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) contest....more
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
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