A contemporary couple journeys back in time to ancient Ireland in this delightful fantasy by the author of Tea with the Black Dragon. John Thornburn is an artist, mild-mannered and nonviolent. To make ends meet, he teaches some courses in Celtic design. And although his background is half Micmac Indian, he lives in Ireland for two reasons: his far more confrontational and warrior-like … and warrior-like girlfriend, Derval O’Keane, and his fascination with the beautiful illuminated manuscript known as the Book of Kells.
But he’s about to take a journey to a far more distant place, one that he could not have imagined. Along with Derval, John will find himself in an ancient Celtic realm, where a Viking attack begs to be avenged and a fantastic–and sometimes terrifying–adventure awaits . . .
From a master of magical fantasy, the author of the Damiano Trilogy and a winner of the John W. Campbell Award, this is a tale of warriors, love, danger, and Irish history that will cast a spell on anyone who dreams of discovering treasures in long-lost worlds.
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The author painted beautiful word pictures that unfolded in my mind. The characters were fleshed out into three dimensions and I could easily see them as living breathing people. I will look for other books by this author.
Unfortunately the two main characters were not anyone I would choose to associate with and did not want residing in my …
The language and plot intricacies were sometimes difficult to follow, but I just assumed it was because I’m American. The book was good and dealt with a sci-fi element allowing time travel and ancient British Isles – along with vikings, so how can it be bad?! Strong female and male characters, a bit of oddly formed comedy helps lighten the …
Difficult to become involved in the story.
This is a great book with interesting characters
The two main characters were never fully explained. The premise is excellent, the Medieval characters are all believable, but John and Derval never quite decided who they were. There were too many “read between the lines” inferences which I was not quite able to grasp, so I either didn’t know enough Irish lore or else the MacAvoy was not able to …
I was never quite sure what the story wanted to be. Fantasy? History? Time Travel? All of the above and none of them interesting. I read the book through but for me it is not a keeper.
Not quite sure what it is about this book, but it is one of a very few that I read twice.
Loved it!
The only downside was giving characters multiple names. Interestiing story.
I have enjoyed every McEvoy book I have read, but this was the first one that was set in a different time. She did a superb job of conveying how different 10th century Ireland was from today without tedious explanation. A lovely and very satisfying tale of time travel, love, art, and inspiration.
I had a hard time getting into this book. I wasn’t able to stay interested enough to finish it.
I’ll read anything that RA MacAvoy writes. You have to pay attention in this one as the action moves between characters and times.
Romantic and fun, I like time traveling romances that give an interesting look into the past.
Loved this book. It was thought provoking and well researched.
If you liked Outlander, you will like this book
One of my all time favorites
This story of magic and whimsy in ancient Ireland is a joy. Well written, historically mostly accurate with many surprises. And it displays a lot about human relationships – how they are the same now as then, and how they differ. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy this.
Rooted in Celtic history, you really need to access the dictionary in the back. Very interesting.
Confusing and disjointed
This book took the potential for an interesting and turned it into a history class about medieval Ireland. Much too much time spent describing clothes and locations instead of moving the story along.