Book Review - Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott

Synopsis:  Dreaming the Eagle is the first part of the gloriously imagined epic trilogy of the life of Boudicca.

Boudicca means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph.

It is 33 AD and eleven-year-old Breaca (later named Boudicca), the red-haired daughter of one of the leaders of the Eceni tribe, is on the cusp between girl and womanhood. She longs to be a Dreamer, a mystical leader who can foretell the future, but having killed the man who has attacked and killed her mother, she has proven herself a warrior. Dreaming the Eagle is also the story of the two men Boudica loves most: Caradoc, outstanding warrior and inspirational leader; and Bàn, her half-brother, who longs to be a warrior, though he is manifestly a Dreamer, possibly the finest in his tribe’s history. Bàn becomes the Druid whose eventual return to the Celts is Boudica’s salvation.

First Line:  "The attack came in the hour before dawn."

Random Quote:  "The man had taken Dubornos's thread to heart, or perhaps, with his death less than a day away, he had chosen to show who he really was.  Either way, having paced himself up the side of the river, he let loose with perfect timing and put in a startling sprint as Caradoc slowed to approach the log."

Review:  A good friend recommended this to me and it was a pretty good read.  I'll definitely look for the rest of the books in the trilogy.

East Anglia - Image by Arkadyevna via Flickr

I was familiar with the story of Boudicca from Ravens of Avalon by Diana L. Paxson (another excellent read that tells the story from a slightly different point of view).  She was an amazing woman with an epic, tragic story and it's a nice change to read historical fiction with a strong woman at its center.

Ms. Scott does a good job of creating the reality of Celtic tribal life and has made an excellent start in this book of bringing all of the characters onto the stage and beginning to flesh out their relationships and their roles in the coming tale.  My one complaint about this book was that she spent way too much time dealing with the story of the Romans, in particular of Caligula (who would be dead before the Romans invaded Britain again).  A lot of this portion of the book felt like a distracting filler and this sense was heightened for me when she returned to the Celts with lots of change and next to no explanation of how we got there.  To set our heroine up as the Warrior of Mona is an interesting premise.  I was disappointed that the author didn't spend much time actually fleshing out Mona, its society, and people.

Overall, though, this was an enjoyable read.  I'll be getting the next one in the series next time I go to the library.

Reading Challenges:  Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge 2010, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge