What do you think?
Rate this book
Sidhe Legends #1
The Riders of the Sidhe
Out of the mists the Fomor came to enslave the isle of Eire, a dread race of twisted men ruled by an inhuman Balor of the Evil Eye. But a champion came from out of the sea, a youth called Lugh, seeking his destiny, sent to Eire by the seagod Manannan MacLir to fulfill an ancient prophecy.
With Gilla, a jesting rogue, and Aine, a spirited warrior-woman he came to love, Lugh challenged the Fomor to restore the True King to the throne of Tara, and summoned the Silver Warriors of the Sidhe to fight in the realms of men.
The tale of Lugh of the Long Arm is among the greatest of all Celtic myths. Now this mighty legend comes blazing to life in a new retelling filled with all the fire and magic of the ancient bards.
Reviews and AwardsTHE RIDERS OF THE SIDHE is Book One of The Gods of Eire trilogy. A gifted story teller, Kenneth C. Flint's prose sweeps the reader away on an epic journey to self discovery and the salvation of a people. A masterful blend of Celtic legend and science ficiton, this epic journey acheives an otherworldly, almost surreal flavor. Extraordinary heroism, the knowledge of druids, and the magic of bards provide an interesting and varied background. Originally printed by Bantum, this eBook version allow this marvelous tale to be shared once again at Double Dragon Publishing.
With Gilla, a jesting rogue, and Aine, a spirited warrior-woman he came to love, Lugh challenged the Fomor to restore the True King to the throne of Tara, and summoned the Silver Warriors of the Sidhe to fight in the realms of men.
The tale of Lugh of the Long Arm is among the greatest of all Celtic myths. Now this mighty legend comes blazing to life in a new retelling filled with all the fire and magic of the ancient bards.
Reviews and AwardsTHE RIDERS OF THE SIDHE is Book One of The Gods of Eire trilogy. A gifted story teller, Kenneth C. Flint's prose sweeps the reader away on an epic journey to self discovery and the salvation of a people. A masterful blend of Celtic legend and science ficiton, this epic journey acheives an otherworldly, almost surreal flavor. Extraordinary heroism, the knowledge of druids, and the magic of bards provide an interesting and varied background. Originally printed by Bantum, this eBook version allow this marvelous tale to be shared once again at Double Dragon Publishing.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1984
8 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth C. Flint
28 books85 followersKenneth C. Flint, who has also written under the pseudonym Casey Flynn, is an American fantasy novelist. A resident of Omaha, Nebraska, Flint has now published 18 books, in both print and eBook format. A majority of his works are either based on Irish myths and legends, or else are original stories involving concepts, and sometimes characters, from Irish mythology. His best known works center around three of the most important characters of Irish legend: Lugh, Cúchulainn, and Finn MacCumhal. He has also published short fiction, including a pair of Star Wars stories, a historical fiction novel, On Earth's Remotest Bounds: Year One: Blood and Water, the first of a planned series, and a historical book about Fort Atkinson, Nebraska. Flints books, including both his previous novels and new works, are now being published as eBooks available for all eReader formats like Kindle and Nook.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 3, 2013
If you like ancient mythology, especially ancient Irish mythology, you'll like Kenneth C. Flint's "Riders of the Sidhe" which recounts the beginnings of the Irish hero Lugh of the Long Arm in an entertaining novelized form.
All the classic elements of a hero's quest, and a boy's coming of age, are present as the sea god Manannnan MacLir sends the young orphan Lugh on a mission into the beautiful Eire to learn the truth of the conflict between the Tuatha de Danann and the monstrous Fomor.
Assisting him are a clownish rogue and a beautiful warrior woman. Their adventures are reminiscent of the those of Taran and his companions in the Chronicles of Prydain.
Halfway through the book, the story takes a turn into an episode of the History Channel's "Ancient Aliens" at which point, depending on your disposition, you're either thinking, "Cool!" or "What the heck..?" Either way, your attention will be captured.
The only bit of warning I might offer is that Flint's innocent writing style almost lets you think that the work was meant for a younger audience, but then the graphic violence rears its bloody head, leaving you scratching yours. Chances are, however, you won't even notice.
All the classic elements of a hero's quest, and a boy's coming of age, are present as the sea god Manannnan MacLir sends the young orphan Lugh on a mission into the beautiful Eire to learn the truth of the conflict between the Tuatha de Danann and the monstrous Fomor.
Assisting him are a clownish rogue and a beautiful warrior woman. Their adventures are reminiscent of the those of Taran and his companions in the Chronicles of Prydain.
Halfway through the book, the story takes a turn into an episode of the History Channel's "Ancient Aliens" at which point, depending on your disposition, you're either thinking, "Cool!" or "What the heck..?" Either way, your attention will be captured.
The only bit of warning I might offer is that Flint's innocent writing style almost lets you think that the work was meant for a younger audience, but then the graphic violence rears its bloody head, leaving you scratching yours. Chances are, however, you won't even notice.
October 2, 2014
I first read this book almost thirty years ago, when it was my gateway to the world of modern fantasy literature. The writing style is extremely engaging, retelling the Irish folktales with a more modern style and tone works -- the characters take on a real life of their own and draw you in to their trials and tribulations.
From a purely fantasy standpoint, this book is the beginning of a quest tale: the hero must overcome the challenges of an unjust world while learning the secrets of his past. With the help of his friends and their fantastic powers, can he succeed?
From a purely fantasy standpoint, this book is the beginning of a quest tale: the hero must overcome the challenges of an unjust world while learning the secrets of his past. With the help of his friends and their fantastic powers, can he succeed?
May 19, 2018
Just what I needed - a fantasy book based on Irish legends. Loved it!
January 1, 2016
Irish mythology gets the Star Wars treatment in this neglected 1984 classic from American author Kenneth Flint.
The tale being retold concerns Lugh Lamfada, a Renaissance man in the Iron Age, whose mission it is to liberate Ireland from the Fomor, a nation of deformed pirates. Their leader is Balor, a giant with an eye that can shoot fire. By and by things resolve as they usually do between heroes and villains, although in Flint’s telling events are stretched out into a typical fantasy trilogy. Not that I’m complaining, aside from the fact that the cover of this book mentioned nothing about a trilogy. was lucky enough to buy the sequel from an op-shop. This means I need the whole set.
According to me novelizations of myths count as fan fiction, and this particular novelization gives me a fine opportunity to argue that really great fan fiction places the reader in the shoes of a well-known character and forces them to consider a familiar world from an unfamiliar perspective, all without contradicting anything established in the source material. (Doramouse is the author that demonstrates this theory the best). Kenneth makes the reader consider things from Mananan’s perspective. Think of the traditional Mananan as Neptune living in an Edenic paradise west of Ireland, who vacillates between luring romantics to his island and just being an enigmatic weirdo. Kenneth’s Mananan could well be described in just those terms, but there’s a fair bit more to him as well. He is very, very bored with his life and the inane hedonists that inhabit his little utopia, desperate for even the tiniest sliver of action or adventure. As I read the book I imagined this character being portrayed by Peter Capaldi, since this sea-god shares with the latest incarnation of the Doctor a certain disenchantment with enchantment.
Other characters were similarly fleshed out. Lugh is given a fear of heights, an ignorance of anything outside of Ireland that makes sense considering he was raised on a smaller island, and a well-written appreciation for attractive women. I really mean that; when Lugh first visits Mananan’s island Kenneth describes the features of the women that Lugh gazes at and the order in which he does so. With so many attractive women inhabiting the pages of fiction, to the point that beauty almost seems mandatory for female characters, it’s refreshing to see someone actually noticing them. Balor is also an intriguing character. I’m fairly sure that he has a motivation beyond merely being an evil tyrant but I’m still guessing what that is.
Throwing me somewhat off-kilter was Kenneth’s inclusion of sci-fi elements. At one point Lugh and his comrades infiltrate Balor’s glass tower, which I always figured was a garbled description of an iceberg, but which Kenneth describes as a skyscraper. I thought something was odd when the dreadful tower had refrigeration, but when the characters are trapped within a lift I knew something was up. The Fomors also have access to cross-bows with right angles, which I think is how the viewpoint characters perceive guns. While these modern technologies tripped me up, I came to terms with them on the reasoning that the poets who developed the original narrative likely would have used them if they were aware of the concepts. I mean, Irish mythology always seemed a bit sci-fi-ish to me, with the Voyage of Bran demonstrating the harrowing effects of time dilation and all the other mythical sea voyages reading like Stanley Weinbaum stories with ships instead of rocket ships.
When I used the phrase Star Wars in the opening, I did so for a reason beyond justifying the use of that phrase in my tags. Balor comes across as the Irish version of Darth Vader, with his big, black helmet, distinctive voice described by Kenneth as like rubbing stones or ringing bells, and a familial relationship to … let’s just say that Hesiod wouldn’t be surprised by his family tree. Maybe it was Balor because primed me to think of Star Wars, but Lugh’s intrusion into the Glass Tower mirrored Luke running around in the Death Star, complete with the lift as an echo of the trash compactor. I just hope Lugh’s girlfriend isn’t also this sister. If someone told me this book was so much like Star Wars I’d assume it would be so in a cheap way. But it isn’t – it just works. I guess it could be all that hero’s journey stuff that you hear so much about.
I should also the mention that this book has got a pretty good sense of humour, its main strength being surprise.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’d know that I’m pretty sceptical about fantasy, so when I recommend this book that ought to mean something. I think that people who enjoyed the Prydain Chronicles, The Princess Bride, and obviously Star Wars would go for this. The younger the reader, the better, I suspect.
The tale being retold concerns Lugh Lamfada, a Renaissance man in the Iron Age, whose mission it is to liberate Ireland from the Fomor, a nation of deformed pirates. Their leader is Balor, a giant with an eye that can shoot fire. By and by things resolve as they usually do between heroes and villains, although in Flint’s telling events are stretched out into a typical fantasy trilogy. Not that I’m complaining, aside from the fact that the cover of this book mentioned nothing about a trilogy. was lucky enough to buy the sequel from an op-shop. This means I need the whole set.
According to me novelizations of myths count as fan fiction, and this particular novelization gives me a fine opportunity to argue that really great fan fiction places the reader in the shoes of a well-known character and forces them to consider a familiar world from an unfamiliar perspective, all without contradicting anything established in the source material. (Doramouse is the author that demonstrates this theory the best). Kenneth makes the reader consider things from Mananan’s perspective. Think of the traditional Mananan as Neptune living in an Edenic paradise west of Ireland, who vacillates between luring romantics to his island and just being an enigmatic weirdo. Kenneth’s Mananan could well be described in just those terms, but there’s a fair bit more to him as well. He is very, very bored with his life and the inane hedonists that inhabit his little utopia, desperate for even the tiniest sliver of action or adventure. As I read the book I imagined this character being portrayed by Peter Capaldi, since this sea-god shares with the latest incarnation of the Doctor a certain disenchantment with enchantment.
Other characters were similarly fleshed out. Lugh is given a fear of heights, an ignorance of anything outside of Ireland that makes sense considering he was raised on a smaller island, and a well-written appreciation for attractive women. I really mean that; when Lugh first visits Mananan’s island Kenneth describes the features of the women that Lugh gazes at and the order in which he does so. With so many attractive women inhabiting the pages of fiction, to the point that beauty almost seems mandatory for female characters, it’s refreshing to see someone actually noticing them. Balor is also an intriguing character. I’m fairly sure that he has a motivation beyond merely being an evil tyrant but I’m still guessing what that is.
Throwing me somewhat off-kilter was Kenneth’s inclusion of sci-fi elements. At one point Lugh and his comrades infiltrate Balor’s glass tower, which I always figured was a garbled description of an iceberg, but which Kenneth describes as a skyscraper. I thought something was odd when the dreadful tower had refrigeration, but when the characters are trapped within a lift I knew something was up. The Fomors also have access to cross-bows with right angles, which I think is how the viewpoint characters perceive guns. While these modern technologies tripped me up, I came to terms with them on the reasoning that the poets who developed the original narrative likely would have used them if they were aware of the concepts. I mean, Irish mythology always seemed a bit sci-fi-ish to me, with the Voyage of Bran demonstrating the harrowing effects of time dilation and all the other mythical sea voyages reading like Stanley Weinbaum stories with ships instead of rocket ships.
When I used the phrase Star Wars in the opening, I did so for a reason beyond justifying the use of that phrase in my tags. Balor comes across as the Irish version of Darth Vader, with his big, black helmet, distinctive voice described by Kenneth as like rubbing stones or ringing bells, and a familial relationship to … let’s just say that Hesiod wouldn’t be surprised by his family tree. Maybe it was Balor because primed me to think of Star Wars, but Lugh’s intrusion into the Glass Tower mirrored Luke running around in the Death Star, complete with the lift as an echo of the trash compactor. I just hope Lugh’s girlfriend isn’t also this sister. If someone told me this book was so much like Star Wars I’d assume it would be so in a cheap way. But it isn’t – it just works. I guess it could be all that hero’s journey stuff that you hear so much about.
I should also the mention that this book has got a pretty good sense of humour, its main strength being surprise.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’d know that I’m pretty sceptical about fantasy, so when I recommend this book that ought to mean something. I think that people who enjoyed the Prydain Chronicles, The Princess Bride, and obviously Star Wars would go for this. The younger the reader, the better, I suspect.
June 22, 2024
I think if I read this years ago that I may have rated it higher. So many fantasy series later, the writing seems sophomoric. There is the “a hero shall arise” trope done to death by this time.
I will read the next book in hopes of an improvement.
But, I will say this…Robert E Howard never let me down in this manner.
I will read the next book in hopes of an improvement.
But, I will say this…Robert E Howard never let me down in this manner.
April 2, 2019
I read this book as a young teenager and it has always stayed with me, in my mind and on my bookshelf throughout countless moves. It's an excellent novelization of Irish mythology. I'll probably read it again someday.
May 11, 2020
I've read this many years ago and enjoyed it over the years.
January 9, 2013
Have tried to read this three different times right now. Can't quite figure out what is going on here, but bluntly, I just can't finish it. I should like this book a lot, the writing is strong, the genre is well within what I love, but something just won't click for me here with this one. It feels like parts are missing, and what is here doesn't seem to fill the gap. I wish I could come up with a concrete reason why, but there isn't one. Not terrible. Just not personally engaging enough for me.
October 31, 2011
When I first read this book it instantly became one of my favorites because I am a big fan of celtic mythology and also there is a lot of action. It is a shame there haven't been any recent works from this author. Everything he has written is well done.
September 9, 2012
Interesting series about early Ireland legends. I read this series a long time ago and loved it but could never find the third book. It is fantasy based on some prominent characters from Irish legends. It helps to understand the society of those early days.
February 6, 2010
Good book. Kenneth Flint is no Tolkien, but the book has a lot of similarities to LOR. Not suprising since he has a MS in English Literature. Remain true to who you are. Keep your promises.
July 28, 2010
Amazing to see what stays in print and what doesn't.
November 27, 2010
Really enjoying the Irish myth set.
May 11, 2015
A coming of age story, with a combination of Celtic myths and legends in a future destroyed by technology.
December 14, 2025
Galloping majestically through legend—pausing only to remind you that Celtic heroism is 80% vengeance, 20% hair
abandoned
July 21, 2015Became bored. It didn't really grab me. Life's too short, etc. . . .
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews