Night Birds' Reign

Dreamer's Cycle #1

by Holly Taylor

The High King is dead. The land is in peril. A child has been born to save his people. But a traitor lurks with evil in his mind and murder in his heart, dogging the footsteps of those who protect the babe who would be king. But magic is at work, high magic. Gwydion the Dreamer awakes, screaming, from a prophetic dream of tragedy and loss, a dream peopled by kings of the past. Though he thinks he is not ready, the Shining Ones lay a task upon him: protect young Arthur; and locate Caladfwlch, the lost sword of the last, murdered High King of Kymru. Dodging assassins to find the woman who holds the key to unlock a horrible secret, and fighting the longings of his own shattered heart, Gwydion sets out upon his odyssey. And finds that fate cannot be fulfilled without sacrificing the life of someone he loves.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Arthurian, Magic, Fiction, Ebooks

506 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

King Arthur been the cottage industry of Anglo-Saxon literature (how ironic) for almost a thousand years. Others have sought the supposed roots of the "historical" Arthur. One theory has those roots run deep into the soil of Wales. Holly Taylor takes those threads--the Arthur tale, the mythology of Wales, the geography of Wales (with several notable aberrations) and even a little history of Britain (having purged the Romans and Irish)--to weave a cast, complex tapestry set in fifth century Wales.

Think of this as total immersion mythology. Taylor mixes history, mythology, story, folklore and even biology to create an epic of a Welsh Arthur. Her people are connected to their world--as the real world is . . . or ought to be. (Curiously, she abandons in her Welsh naming when it comes to nature. How un-Welsh. Trees, flowers and jewels go by their English identifiers, even if they have Welsh names. Plus a few jarring notes of "modern" revisionism.) Like all epics, there are endless repetitions, genealogies and heraldry. What bores most readers is the quintessence of tale for others.

Isn't it interesting that "managed" bloodlines work just about as well as arranged marriages, dynastic alliances, lust and love? That is, not at all well. Good marriages comes from mutual respect and commitment. How you a priori arrange that is a mystery of the universe.

Unfortunately, fake epics are not my cup of tea. Nor fantasies of manners. If I'm going to read mythology, I prefer the real ones--that is, the ones which really grew from real cultures. Real Welsh mythology is as rich (and pessimistic) as you could hope for. Read it instead.

The map is useless. I have yet to see a decent e-book map. Maps are important to stories like this. If publishers don't get maps better, they may kill the genre. (Though many people write these kinds of story because they have to, not for fame or fortune.)

I allow an author a hundred pages to capture me. Taylor didn't. There are too many good books to waste time reading what doesn't connect, especially as there are four volumes (all the others 500 page tomes) to this tale. The rating is a gift because I think she made a good effort, which will satisfy others.

Others will read and enjoy this--no, be captivated by the universe Taylor weaves. Not me.

[Sarah-Jayne Briggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This review may contain spoilers).

I wanted to like this book. I really did. The blurb was a really intriguing one and the book started out quite strong as a different version of the Arthurian legends.

One thing I really liked about this book was the different types of magic that existed in the world, but the information revealed about those types was dumped in the narration all in one go, rather than shown gradually throughout.

The background of Gwydion could have been interesting, but there was too much hinting and not enough detail about the reasonings behind his hangups. Plus, it seemed like his hangups came and went as it fitted the plot. And apparently, many people didn't actually like him... but that was stated and not shown throughout.

I felt the strongest part of this book was the dreams and the relationship between Gwydion and the previous dreamer. However, even that slightly more interesting relationship suffered from telling rather than showing.

The statements about the High Kings being betrayed would have been indicative of a good plot point. However, especially towards the end, that was rehased so many times, it lost its effects. Or any mystery in the book. After all, betrayal hits so much harder when you don't know it's coming. And it was kind of irritating to have the stories of said betrayals told and then reiterated through the visions. Maybe if the visions had shown the stories passed down were inaccurate... but that wasn't the case at all.

Too much of the story was told through dialogue and there wasn't enough shown of the characters and their relationships to each other. There was no sense of urgency until right towards the end of the book. And there were too many characters. Even Gwydion's relationship with his daughter didn't feel real, as they had exactly one interaction with each other shown.

All told, this book was a really disappointing read. There was so much potential that was wasted. I won't be reading the next book/s in this series.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

c2005. I got the feeling that Ms Taylor is a frustrated poet with quite a few so called songs or poems littered throughout the book. Another of those books that seem to hit the proverbial doldrums in the middle with a rush to quite a good ending. When I started reading this book, I have to admit to a groan as I had not realised that this was another Arthurian based fantasy with some really horrible and incomprehensible Welsh names and place names. There is also the age old, boy hates girl, girl hates boy, fate forces them together and then...well wait till the next book. There are many references to jewels and colours which all represent something "serious" and "mysterious". Also, a myriad of detailed descriptions of rituals and the accompanying mythology. I have to say that I stopped trying to remember the names or flipping to the glossary and/or dramatis personae and just concentrated on the plot line that continued in about every fifth paragraph. For those who can't get enough of the Arthurian myth, this is an interesting take on it but for straight forward fantasy lovers - there are better offerings out there. I believe that there are 4 books in the series but will not be taking the series forward simply because of the Arthurian theme. FWFTB: land, peril, child, traitor, sword, Dreamer. FCN: Gwydion ap Awst the Dreamer, Arthur, Rhiannon, King Uthyr of Gwynedd, Amatheon. "The golden, eagle-shaped hilt glittered coldly in the light of Druid's Fire. The eagle's bloodstone eyes shifted in the flickering light as though unwilling to look upon what had happened here, to acknowledge the truth about its master."

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Names were a bit tough and the ceremonies were redundant for the most part. All in all, not a bad book but not over eager to start the next in the series. Did enjoy a few of the characters and their interaction.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Bird's Reign (Dreamer's Cycle)

This was a good book how ever I do wish the author had done more to make it more interesting.I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

[MK · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to get this book but it was worth it! The plot seems a bit confusing until you get used to the switches in place. Gwydion is a torn, dark man who doesn't trust women and Rhiannon is a betrayed woman who doesn't trust men, especially not the Dreamer Gwydion...a bit predictable with those two but their budding romance isn't rushed so it still keeps you in suspence there. Being only the first of a few books it ends at a bit of a cliffhanger. You're waiting and waiting for the war then all of a sudden the book ends and there's been no war! Good read and I can't wait to read Crimson Fire.

[Annette Summerfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started out really liking this book. I like the jewels and the magic, the Dreamer and his dreams and all the characters....Then I find out it's another King Arthur story, a very good one...but I can't continue reading it. I've read too many versions about King Arthur, so it's nothing about the writer or the books, it's me. I have the series here by Jack Whyte..how many books, 6 or 7...I don't know and it's a story of King Arthur that I never got through. I jumped through the book, reading here and there, and if I hadn't of already read many versions of King Arthur I think I'd enjoy it.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series although I get lost in the names. At times the rituals get a little repetitive but love the plot and characters. Not much to make you blush but just enough to keep my pre-teen away.

[Lizz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is not for the faint of heart. It's long and detailed. It actually was a mix of Charles Dickens and Lord of The Rings, but with a faster pace. complex plots and detailed cultures and religions. Really good.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few things that were a bit too repetitive, but it was still mildly amusing ... enough so that I'll probably check out the next book.

[Sophie]

This is the most amazing serie you could have ever imagined to read. I loves IT

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It drew me in, with some fantastic characters and an overarching mythological theme. Looking forward to reading further books in the series.

[Jamie]

didn't make it clear thru

[Holly P · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting re-telling of the Arthur myth, with lots of Welsh myths thrown in. The ending drags, as they go collect various plot coupons.