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Photinus #Omnibus 1-2
Votan and Other Novels
Neil Gaiman introduces three classic novels of modern fantasy
In the second century AD, a Greek nobleman is traveling and living abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's wife. When discovered, he takes an emergency business trip to save his life and packs among his belongings certain items that lead the people he encounters to think him a Norse God, a fortuitous point of view which he does little to dispel. Forced to keep up the pretense of being a god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband, Photinus must juggle the severity of his situation with the enjoyment of being a God. Published here with its sequel, Not for All the Gold in Ireland and companion volume Men Went to Cattreath, Votan is one of the highpoints of modern fantasy.
In the second century AD, a Greek nobleman is traveling and living abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's wife. When discovered, he takes an emergency business trip to save his life and packs among his belongings certain items that lead the people he encounters to think him a Norse God, a fortuitous point of view which he does little to dispel. Forced to keep up the pretense of being a god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband, Photinus must juggle the severity of his situation with the enjoyment of being a God. Published here with its sequel, Not for All the Gold in Ireland and companion volume Men Went to Cattreath, Votan is one of the highpoints of modern fantasy.
736 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2014
42 people are currently reading
563 people want to read
About the author
John James
14 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
David John James was a Welsh author of Historical Novels.
He attended St David's University College, and also read psychology at Cambridge. In addition to writing he has also worked as a teacher and later for the Scientific Civil Service working on aviation problems.
He is known for writing four historical novels set in early medieval Britain and Europe. Neil Gaiman is an admirer of James, especially his novel Votan, which provided one model for American Gods calling it “I think probably the best book ever done about the Norse”. . James's skilful evocation of life and myths of Dark Age Europe also won him the admiration of neo-pagan authors John and Caitlin Matthews.
David John James was a Welsh author of Historical Novels.
He attended St David's University College, and also read psychology at Cambridge. In addition to writing he has also worked as a teacher and later for the Scientific Civil Service working on aviation problems.
He is known for writing four historical novels set in early medieval Britain and Europe. Neil Gaiman is an admirer of James, especially his novel Votan, which provided one model for American Gods calling it “I think probably the best book ever done about the Norse”. . James's skilful evocation of life and myths of Dark Age Europe also won him the admiration of neo-pagan authors John and Caitlin Matthews.
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October 8, 2015It is the second century AD, not that he would call it that, and Photinus the Greek needs to get out of town on account of an angry husband. So, seeing the opportunity to make a few denarii while lying low, he joins a trading expedition over the frontier into unconquered Germany, and what with one thing and another finds himself mispronounced as Votan, and teaching a trick or two to the Aser...
That makes this sound almost farcical, which in part it is; Neil Gaiman's introduction is dead right in comparing Photinus to Flashman, but (at least in the volumes I've read) even dear deceitful Harry never quite managed to pull off godhead. And bastard though Flashman is, there's sometimes a cold inhumanity to Photinus which would make him shiver. Because if the Victorians weren't too particular about the well-being of subject races, they were still positively philanthropic compared to the Roman Empire.
There's another level to it all, though; Photinus is a healer-priest of Apollo, and while some of what he knows we'd call medical science, and other bits conjuring or confidence trickery, there remains a stubborn undercurrent of something stranger. Yes, his visions of Apollo could easily be madness, and yes, sometimes Photinus makes airy assertions which we know with hindsight to be nonsense, like the uselessness of horses for pulling vehicles - but at other times, there are prophecies and spells which seem to work far too well for chance. Is Photinus' story the only wellspring of what will come to be the Norse myths, or is he running on a track that's already laid in the structure of the world? I'm reminded of the myth-as-pattern ideas in Philip Purser-Hallard's Devices books, and I'd love to know whether he read James.
The sequel, Not for All the Gold in Ireland, is based around Celtic myths which I don't know half so well as the Norse ones. As such I doubtless missed many of the story's internal currents - though certain tendencies, such as things often coming in threes and succeeding on the third attempt, are familiar via those legends' later mutation into folk and fairy tales. Many of the same tricks and techniques are deployed as in Votan, some with diminishing returns - but James' endearing and only mildly parodic grasp of rolling Celtic speech patterns makes up for any lack of freshness in Photinus' confidently wrongheaded predictions. There are gestures towards Photinus again taking a divine identity, but they don't seem so fully realised this time; conversely, he witnesses more events which seem incontrovertibly supernatural, especially where the enchanting Rhiannon is concerned. On the whole, it lacks the first book's eerie power, though the scenes set around the battle of Tara, from the haunted night before to the muddy carnage afterwards, have a visceral chill. And having done a little Googling of the tale's background, I know a lot more about Hiberno-Roman relations than I did a week ago (though it seems to be a field where even the experts don't know a great deal for certain).
You could maybe consider Men Went to Cattraeth a sequel too, but only in the loosest sense. It takes place centuries later, in the depths of the Dark Ages, and there's none of Photinus' urbanity here; precious little of his humour, either, though we still get the occasional wry smile at the misapprehensions of an earlier age (dragons are listed with real heraldic animals, unlike the purely mythical elephant). The legions have long departed; superstition and forgotten knowledge are the order of the day. But on the hills and in the woods between the ruined cities, with their half-remembered religion, the Britons still consider themselves Romans, heirs to the likes of the magician Vergil (who raised Hadrian's Wall to impress the emperor's leman Cleopatra). A post-apocalyptic tale, in short, just not one set in the future. And it follows a fairly typical post-apocalyptic trajectory, as a brutalised former bard recounts the assembly of forces from all the British kingdoms into the largest warband any Briton has seen - a full 350 cavalry! - to stand against the invading Savages, who drain the marshes and fell the fruitful forests to plant their barren wheatfields...
There's little enough known about the Battle of Cattreath, but even without knowing that little, you can guess soon enough that nothing here is going to go to plan. Although certain hints and cameos around the margins of the tale do remind us that we are in the vicinity of the Matter of Britain, and a saviour of sorts is coming a few years hence, for all he's worth when you consider that this is is very much Geoffrey of Monmouth's Arthur rather than any of his nobler successors. It's a bleak and bloody novel, all the more so when it takes most trouble to humanise the Saxons. There's one early chapter in particular which recalls the current refugee crisis, as a Saxon dying on the shore explains the dire conditions back in their land of origin which have led to the desperate and expensive gamble of crossing the sea...but one can hardly interpret it as a suggestion that Aneirin and his people should welcome the incomers, given the atrocities on both sides. This is a world where the only thing you can do is stick close by your people and screw the other guy before he screws you; a convincing assessment of its era, but one from which we should probably do our utmost to avoid deriving any contemporary moral.
That makes this sound almost farcical, which in part it is; Neil Gaiman's introduction is dead right in comparing Photinus to Flashman, but (at least in the volumes I've read) even dear deceitful Harry never quite managed to pull off godhead. And bastard though Flashman is, there's sometimes a cold inhumanity to Photinus which would make him shiver. Because if the Victorians weren't too particular about the well-being of subject races, they were still positively philanthropic compared to the Roman Empire.
There's another level to it all, though; Photinus is a healer-priest of Apollo, and while some of what he knows we'd call medical science, and other bits conjuring or confidence trickery, there remains a stubborn undercurrent of something stranger. Yes, his visions of Apollo could easily be madness, and yes, sometimes Photinus makes airy assertions which we know with hindsight to be nonsense, like the uselessness of horses for pulling vehicles - but at other times, there are prophecies and spells which seem to work far too well for chance. Is Photinus' story the only wellspring of what will come to be the Norse myths, or is he running on a track that's already laid in the structure of the world? I'm reminded of the myth-as-pattern ideas in Philip Purser-Hallard's Devices books, and I'd love to know whether he read James.
The sequel, Not for All the Gold in Ireland, is based around Celtic myths which I don't know half so well as the Norse ones. As such I doubtless missed many of the story's internal currents - though certain tendencies, such as things often coming in threes and succeeding on the third attempt, are familiar via those legends' later mutation into folk and fairy tales. Many of the same tricks and techniques are deployed as in Votan, some with diminishing returns - but James' endearing and only mildly parodic grasp of rolling Celtic speech patterns makes up for any lack of freshness in Photinus' confidently wrongheaded predictions. There are gestures towards Photinus again taking a divine identity, but they don't seem so fully realised this time; conversely, he witnesses more events which seem incontrovertibly supernatural, especially where the enchanting Rhiannon is concerned. On the whole, it lacks the first book's eerie power, though the scenes set around the battle of Tara, from the haunted night before to the muddy carnage afterwards, have a visceral chill. And having done a little Googling of the tale's background, I know a lot more about Hiberno-Roman relations than I did a week ago (though it seems to be a field where even the experts don't know a great deal for certain).
You could maybe consider Men Went to Cattraeth a sequel too, but only in the loosest sense. It takes place centuries later, in the depths of the Dark Ages, and there's none of Photinus' urbanity here; precious little of his humour, either, though we still get the occasional wry smile at the misapprehensions of an earlier age (dragons are listed with real heraldic animals, unlike the purely mythical elephant). The legions have long departed; superstition and forgotten knowledge are the order of the day. But on the hills and in the woods between the ruined cities, with their half-remembered religion, the Britons still consider themselves Romans, heirs to the likes of the magician Vergil (who raised Hadrian's Wall to impress the emperor's leman Cleopatra). A post-apocalyptic tale, in short, just not one set in the future. And it follows a fairly typical post-apocalyptic trajectory, as a brutalised former bard recounts the assembly of forces from all the British kingdoms into the largest warband any Briton has seen - a full 350 cavalry! - to stand against the invading Savages, who drain the marshes and fell the fruitful forests to plant their barren wheatfields...
There's little enough known about the Battle of Cattreath, but even without knowing that little, you can guess soon enough that nothing here is going to go to plan. Although certain hints and cameos around the margins of the tale do remind us that we are in the vicinity of the Matter of Britain, and a saviour of sorts is coming a few years hence, for all he's worth when you consider that this is is very much Geoffrey of Monmouth's Arthur rather than any of his nobler successors. It's a bleak and bloody novel, all the more so when it takes most trouble to humanise the Saxons. There's one early chapter in particular which recalls the current refugee crisis, as a Saxon dying on the shore explains the dire conditions back in their land of origin which have led to the desperate and expensive gamble of crossing the sea...but one can hardly interpret it as a suggestion that Aneirin and his people should welcome the incomers, given the atrocities on both sides. This is a world where the only thing you can do is stick close by your people and screw the other guy before he screws you; a convincing assessment of its era, but one from which we should probably do our utmost to avoid deriving any contemporary moral.
June 25, 2022
Neil Gaiman rates the works of John James highly, and has said that he does not understand why they are not better known and better loved. Having read this collection of James's novels, I think I know some of the reasons why. John James can be brilliant, but he's also tonally all over the place, and assumes in his readers a university level interest in (and understanding of) history. There is a market for a writer like that, but it's not necessarily a very large one (as I have found out for myself.)
This collection contains two connected novels, and one distinct one. VOTAN (4.5 stars) is set around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. It follows a Greek trader called Photinus searching for riches in barbarian Germany. He accidentally becomes the figure of Votan, and inspires Norse Mythology in the process. In NOT FOR ALL THE GOLD IN IRELAND (2.5 stars), an older Photinus repeats the same trick in ancient Wales and Ireland, inspiring the Mabinogion and elements of the Ulster Cycle. MEN WENT TO CATTRETH (5 stars +++) is a stand-alone war story based on the Y Goddodin.
The novels featuring Photinus are a mixed bag. The protagonist is supposed to be a comedic bounder, in the style of a Terry Thomas or the Flashman books. That aspect does not sit easily with the epic and serious tone of the underlying stories, and the dark moral relativism with which James consistently shocks the reader. For my money, the comedy just doesn't work. In VOTAN it's survivable, due to the great strength and pace of the plot and dark, epic scenes which make up the bulk of the story. Overall, VOTAN is thrilling, and the "comedy" doesn't annoy or distract.
NOT FOR ALL THE GOLD is nowhere nearly as successful. The story seems as meandering and insubstantial as the ghostly British fogs that James endlessly describes. The comedy is more obvious and grating. That one read to me like a publisher-led book, where James was urged to repeat Votan, and he did so under time pressure with no real idea of how to incorporate the mythological elements into a robust framework. I'm not surprised James abandoned the character thereafter.
In MEN WENT TO CATTRETH James finally gets fully serious, and the result is astonishing. In a story that would be sold today as "extreme grimdark", James refashions an ancient welsh poem as a meditation on conflicts between alien cultures, ethnic cleansing, immigration, power politics, love, art and above all war. It is ridiculously brilliant, absolutely up there on my best of the best list.
This collection contains two connected novels, and one distinct one. VOTAN (4.5 stars) is set around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain. It follows a Greek trader called Photinus searching for riches in barbarian Germany. He accidentally becomes the figure of Votan, and inspires Norse Mythology in the process. In NOT FOR ALL THE GOLD IN IRELAND (2.5 stars), an older Photinus repeats the same trick in ancient Wales and Ireland, inspiring the Mabinogion and elements of the Ulster Cycle. MEN WENT TO CATTRETH (5 stars +++) is a stand-alone war story based on the Y Goddodin.
The novels featuring Photinus are a mixed bag. The protagonist is supposed to be a comedic bounder, in the style of a Terry Thomas or the Flashman books. That aspect does not sit easily with the epic and serious tone of the underlying stories, and the dark moral relativism with which James consistently shocks the reader. For my money, the comedy just doesn't work. In VOTAN it's survivable, due to the great strength and pace of the plot and dark, epic scenes which make up the bulk of the story. Overall, VOTAN is thrilling, and the "comedy" doesn't annoy or distract.
NOT FOR ALL THE GOLD is nowhere nearly as successful. The story seems as meandering and insubstantial as the ghostly British fogs that James endlessly describes. The comedy is more obvious and grating. That one read to me like a publisher-led book, where James was urged to repeat Votan, and he did so under time pressure with no real idea of how to incorporate the mythological elements into a robust framework. I'm not surprised James abandoned the character thereafter.
In MEN WENT TO CATTRETH James finally gets fully serious, and the result is astonishing. In a story that would be sold today as "extreme grimdark", James refashions an ancient welsh poem as a meditation on conflicts between alien cultures, ethnic cleansing, immigration, power politics, love, art and above all war. It is ridiculously brilliant, absolutely up there on my best of the best list.
May 7, 2024
“Votan and other stories” es una compilación de 3 historias de fantasía, en las cuales John James mezcla realidad y leyenda.
En la primera, somos testigos de cómo un joven griego llamado Photinus, que tras meterse en un lío de faldas, se convierte en el mismísimo Votan (Ođin, Wötan). Sus aventuras con los Aesir son las que los hombres después convertirán en mitos, llegando hasta el mismo Ragnarok.
En el segundo de los relatos, James nos explica cómo Photinus viaja a Irlanda adoptando el nombre Mannanan. Luego, sus nuevos viajes para buscar el oro de dicha isla lo llevarán a conocer al legendario Cuchulainn y otros personajes de la mitología céltica.
En el tercer de los relatos, que es aparte, el poeta Aneirin viaja con un grupo de héroes a la batalla de Cattreath en la cual se revela una conjura terrible que plantará la semilla de la leyenda artúrica.
Si bien las historias están bien contadas y son interesantes, su inglés es bastante más enrevesado y las florituras que su autor hace con el lenguaje hace que pierdan algo de fuelle. También se aprecia que en el caso de “Votan” se puso mucho énfasis en un historia que era paralela a la leyendas y al que se le nota mucho trabajo para conectar el plano mitológico con la realidad detrás.
A pesar de que el relato “Ni por todo el oro de Irlanda” es interesante y divertido, se nota que hubo menos trabajo detrás de el, con muchas vueltas sin ir a ningún lado. La historia termina con un final abierto, aunque nunca sabremos que pasará con Photinus, ya que su autor no continuó con su historia.
Finalmente, en “Los hombres que fueron a Cattreath” asistimos a un relato que habla de las preparaciones de la terrible batalla que ocurrirá, todo esto aderezado con un sentimiento trágico. Se vuelve denso ya que uno se imagina el final, aunque no la mano que está detrás.
En general, está bueno el libro pero la calidad e interés de los relatos cae después de Votan. Como mencioné, James también escribe de manera académica y con un léxico antiguo por lo que su lectura a veces se vuelve algo compleja, incluso para quiénes tienen habitualidad a leer en inglés. Considerar esto último, ya que hasta donde sé, no hay una traducción en español castellano(3/5).
En la primera, somos testigos de cómo un joven griego llamado Photinus, que tras meterse en un lío de faldas, se convierte en el mismísimo Votan (Ođin, Wötan). Sus aventuras con los Aesir son las que los hombres después convertirán en mitos, llegando hasta el mismo Ragnarok.
En el segundo de los relatos, James nos explica cómo Photinus viaja a Irlanda adoptando el nombre Mannanan. Luego, sus nuevos viajes para buscar el oro de dicha isla lo llevarán a conocer al legendario Cuchulainn y otros personajes de la mitología céltica.
En el tercer de los relatos, que es aparte, el poeta Aneirin viaja con un grupo de héroes a la batalla de Cattreath en la cual se revela una conjura terrible que plantará la semilla de la leyenda artúrica.
Si bien las historias están bien contadas y son interesantes, su inglés es bastante más enrevesado y las florituras que su autor hace con el lenguaje hace que pierdan algo de fuelle. También se aprecia que en el caso de “Votan” se puso mucho énfasis en un historia que era paralela a la leyendas y al que se le nota mucho trabajo para conectar el plano mitológico con la realidad detrás.
A pesar de que el relato “Ni por todo el oro de Irlanda” es interesante y divertido, se nota que hubo menos trabajo detrás de el, con muchas vueltas sin ir a ningún lado. La historia termina con un final abierto, aunque nunca sabremos que pasará con Photinus, ya que su autor no continuó con su historia.
Finalmente, en “Los hombres que fueron a Cattreath” asistimos a un relato que habla de las preparaciones de la terrible batalla que ocurrirá, todo esto aderezado con un sentimiento trágico. Se vuelve denso ya que uno se imagina el final, aunque no la mano que está detrás.
En general, está bueno el libro pero la calidad e interés de los relatos cae después de Votan. Como mencioné, James también escribe de manera académica y con un léxico antiguo por lo que su lectura a veces se vuelve algo compleja, incluso para quiénes tienen habitualidad a leer en inglés. Considerar esto último, ya que hasta donde sé, no hay una traducción en español castellano(3/5).
September 7, 2021
The first two stories follow Votan, a Roman citizen, a healer-priest of Apollo, a member of a rich Greek trading family, and a bit of an asshole. In the first book, Apollo sends him north to create chaos. He sets communities and families against each other with great cheer. In so doing, he lays a lot of the groundwork for Norse mythology. In the second, he is trying to recover a monopoly lost by a family member. He wrecks great havoc and lays the groundwork for the Mabinogion. The third book is set centuries later. Our point of view character is a disgraced bard, Aneirin, who was captured by Saxon settlers in England and ends up being the only survivor of the battle of Cattreath. He is there when the groundwork is laid for Arthur.
A story of Christianity coming to Europe is woven through, at times subtle, at times brutal.
I can't say I enjoyed this book. Votan and Aneirin are not people I had much empathy with or sympathy for. Votan does terrible things and rarely spares a thought for even those he professes to care about. I do not think he is a reliable witness. Aneirin is a better man by his own lights. The King who sends him and his companions to Cattreath could have learned at Votan's knee. I still would not care to spend time with him.
But I respect this book. It is clever and sprawling. I respect its relentless refusal to give us characters palatable to a modern reader. And there's an interesting conversation about the extent to which the characters are creating a mythology, are doing right as it was given to them to see the right, or are just people who were present at events we have since mythologized.
A story of Christianity coming to Europe is woven through, at times subtle, at times brutal.
I can't say I enjoyed this book. Votan and Aneirin are not people I had much empathy with or sympathy for. Votan does terrible things and rarely spares a thought for even those he professes to care about. I do not think he is a reliable witness. Aneirin is a better man by his own lights. The King who sends him and his companions to Cattreath could have learned at Votan's knee. I still would not care to spend time with him.
But I respect this book. It is clever and sprawling. I respect its relentless refusal to give us characters palatable to a modern reader. And there's an interesting conversation about the extent to which the characters are creating a mythology, are doing right as it was given to them to see the right, or are just people who were present at events we have since mythologized.
August 19, 2018
Ano, ano, ano. Každý z těch tří románů měl něco do sebe... a každý něco jiného.
Votan: originální zpracování mýtu. Občas podivné, ale vlastně fajn. Některé scény z Anglie boží.
Not For All the Gold In Ireland bylo od začátku sympatické tím, že už jsem znala hlavního hrdinu. A že byl tak trochu zmetek? Nevadí, stejně jsem fandila Irům.
Men Went To Cattraeth? Uá, potřebuju lepší znalosti uspořádání Anglie v raném středověku. A domů svého vlastního Aneirina. Ehm. Velština <3
War is cruel and a waste, war is vain and useless, war settles nothing, war is a time of misery. (p. 670)
They danced and gyrated senselessly, generating strength and momentum, losing their consciousness, their individuality, their imagination, their fear. These were the poets of war, possessed by the Muse of Hate, composing a satire of destruction, selecting their alliteration of attack, their metre of murder, before they flung themselves, of a sudden, up the slope at us. (p. 688)
Votan: originální zpracování mýtu. Občas podivné, ale vlastně fajn. Některé scény z Anglie boží.
Not For All the Gold In Ireland bylo od začátku sympatické tím, že už jsem znala hlavního hrdinu. A že byl tak trochu zmetek? Nevadí, stejně jsem fandila Irům.
Men Went To Cattraeth? Uá, potřebuju lepší znalosti uspořádání Anglie v raném středověku. A domů svého vlastního Aneirina. Ehm. Velština <3
War is cruel and a waste, war is vain and useless, war settles nothing, war is a time of misery. (p. 670)
They danced and gyrated senselessly, generating strength and momentum, losing their consciousness, their individuality, their imagination, their fear. These were the poets of war, possessed by the Muse of Hate, composing a satire of destruction, selecting their alliteration of attack, their metre of murder, before they flung themselves, of a sudden, up the slope at us. (p. 688)
August 13, 2018
I finished Votan, but only sampled the other two stories.
Neil Gaiman's introduction caught my eye, and I was intrigued by the interweaving of myths. Phontinus has a name Germans can't quite pronounce, he says, so they call him variants like Woden, Odin, or Votan. He moves among them as a representative of a god, or a god himself, working toward his own ends by whatever means necessary.
Votan is extremely callous. He lives in a time of slaves and sacrifices, so numerous animals and people are slaughtered. In some cases he shrugs it off as unfortunate, but mostly he is quite supportive of death. In fact, he often tries to create unrest and war.
The mythology might have been intriguing, but Votan was too unpleasant to wade through for 700 plus pages.
Neil Gaiman's introduction caught my eye, and I was intrigued by the interweaving of myths. Phontinus has a name Germans can't quite pronounce, he says, so they call him variants like Woden, Odin, or Votan. He moves among them as a representative of a god, or a god himself, working toward his own ends by whatever means necessary.
Votan is extremely callous. He lives in a time of slaves and sacrifices, so numerous animals and people are slaughtered. In some cases he shrugs it off as unfortunate, but mostly he is quite supportive of death. In fact, he often tries to create unrest and war.
The mythology might have been intriguing, but Votan was too unpleasant to wade through for 700 plus pages.
August 2, 2018
This is a good book, and a long book. It's three books, which are pretty different, and I am not sure the idea of grouping them was *great* but hey, it works.
I got to it via a recommendation by Neil Gaiman, and the first two are a lot of fun.
The third one ... is not. It's good, in a totally different way, and I feel happy to have read it even though it was so ... unpleasant to read? It made me feel unpleasant things a lot of the time? But that's ok.
I got to it via a recommendation by Neil Gaiman, and the first two are a lot of fun.
The third one ... is not. It's good, in a totally different way, and I feel happy to have read it even though it was so ... unpleasant to read? It made me feel unpleasant things a lot of the time? But that's ok.
May 28, 2024
"Well, if you really want to know how it was I came to be chained to an oak tree, half way up in the middle of nowhere, with wolves trying to eat me out of it, I’ll tell you."
—
“Votan” is a book that I’m surprised and annoyed that more people haven’t read it, or even heard of it. I first heard of it because Neil Gaiman called it his favorite Norse mythology novel, and so I set out to read it. I got it in grad school from interlibrary loan, and have never found it anywhere since. I did, however, find it on Kindle, in this collection which includes two other books, for a really good deal. So I got it.
There are three books here: “Votan”, “Not for All the Gold in Ireland”, and “Men Went to Cattreath”. The first two are a duology, and the third is kind of its own thing.
“Votan” tells the story of Photinus, a Greek man in the Roman Empire that travels north to Germany. He’s a follower of Apollo, and Apollo tasks him with a mission for the North. On his travels, the Germanic peoples he meets call him ‘Votan’, and he has a series of adventures that inspire of Norse mythology.
The second one, “Not for All the Gold in Ireland,” features Photinus traveling to the British Isles in order to get back his family’s trade contract. On the way, he finds himself accidentally involved in stories from both Welsh and Irish mythologies.
The third book isn’t about Photinus at all. It’s a novelized version of the poem “Y Gododdin”, with the author of that Welsh poem, Aneirin, as the narrator. The poem is about a battle that the narrator’s side lost, so as you can guess, it’s not really a happy story. James manages to tie in some Arthurian lore into the story, which I thought was pretty interesting.
The first two books are fun in a weird way. They’re dark, I guess, and some say ‘darkly humorous’? I don’t know about that, though there are bits of humor. They’re the type of story that either you Get It, or you don’t, because James isn’t going to slow down and explain it. I’m sure there are a lot of things that I missed. However! If you know some stuff about Norse and Celtic mythologies, or Arthurian lore, they’re very rewarding. They’re fun little exercises in storytelling, telling mostly realistic versions of the stories from those traditions. Well, realistic aside from Apollo talking to Photinus.
The third one isn’t really funny at all; not only is it a sad ending, it’s pretty dark throughout. The main characters, are in a war to wipe out a group of people invading their island (or in some cases, just trying to immigrate in), and they’re happy to do that by any means necessary.
One thing Gaiman notes in his introduction to this compilation, aside from his astonishment that John James isn’t more well-known, is that the characters feel like historical characters. They’re not nice people, and they’re not anywhere near good people by today’s standards, and James doesn’t try to hide from that. He doesn’t make them modern people who happen to live back in time. I think that’s good writing, although that doesn’t always make it easier to read; Photinus is, frankly, garbage through a lot of his stories.
I’m also a little bit bummed that there’s not a third Photinus book? The second one ends with the characters deciding to go on another adventure, in what is probably meant to feature another mythology (one review I saw suggested Aztec, which would be pretty out there). I’m curious where it would have gone! John James apparently wasn’t so curious, though, or died before getting around to it, so we’ll never see. Bummer.
They’re not light reads, but they’re very interesting books if you have interest in the topics.
—
“Votan” is a book that I’m surprised and annoyed that more people haven’t read it, or even heard of it. I first heard of it because Neil Gaiman called it his favorite Norse mythology novel, and so I set out to read it. I got it in grad school from interlibrary loan, and have never found it anywhere since. I did, however, find it on Kindle, in this collection which includes two other books, for a really good deal. So I got it.
There are three books here: “Votan”, “Not for All the Gold in Ireland”, and “Men Went to Cattreath”. The first two are a duology, and the third is kind of its own thing.
“Votan” tells the story of Photinus, a Greek man in the Roman Empire that travels north to Germany. He’s a follower of Apollo, and Apollo tasks him with a mission for the North. On his travels, the Germanic peoples he meets call him ‘Votan’, and he has a series of adventures that inspire of Norse mythology.
The second one, “Not for All the Gold in Ireland,” features Photinus traveling to the British Isles in order to get back his family’s trade contract. On the way, he finds himself accidentally involved in stories from both Welsh and Irish mythologies.
The third book isn’t about Photinus at all. It’s a novelized version of the poem “Y Gododdin”, with the author of that Welsh poem, Aneirin, as the narrator. The poem is about a battle that the narrator’s side lost, so as you can guess, it’s not really a happy story. James manages to tie in some Arthurian lore into the story, which I thought was pretty interesting.
The first two books are fun in a weird way. They’re dark, I guess, and some say ‘darkly humorous’? I don’t know about that, though there are bits of humor. They’re the type of story that either you Get It, or you don’t, because James isn’t going to slow down and explain it. I’m sure there are a lot of things that I missed. However! If you know some stuff about Norse and Celtic mythologies, or Arthurian lore, they’re very rewarding. They’re fun little exercises in storytelling, telling mostly realistic versions of the stories from those traditions. Well, realistic aside from Apollo talking to Photinus.
The third one isn’t really funny at all; not only is it a sad ending, it’s pretty dark throughout. The main characters, are in a war to wipe out a group of people invading their island (or in some cases, just trying to immigrate in), and they’re happy to do that by any means necessary.
One thing Gaiman notes in his introduction to this compilation, aside from his astonishment that John James isn’t more well-known, is that the characters feel like historical characters. They’re not nice people, and they’re not anywhere near good people by today’s standards, and James doesn’t try to hide from that. He doesn’t make them modern people who happen to live back in time. I think that’s good writing, although that doesn’t always make it easier to read; Photinus is, frankly, garbage through a lot of his stories.
I’m also a little bit bummed that there’s not a third Photinus book? The second one ends with the characters deciding to go on another adventure, in what is probably meant to feature another mythology (one review I saw suggested Aztec, which would be pretty out there). I’m curious where it would have gone! John James apparently wasn’t so curious, though, or died before getting around to it, so we’ll never see. Bummer.
They’re not light reads, but they’re very interesting books if you have interest in the topics.
September 11, 2022
I enjoyed this book so much. I'm lucky to have some background knowledge of early medieval history and of Germanic and Celtic mythology, and I wonder if someone unfamiliar with that material would enjoy it just as much as I did, but for me this collection of novels was delightful, especially the first and third ones, Votan and Men Went to Cattraeth. James is rare writer who manages to adopt a different cadence, a different sentence structure for each narrative, and that allows him to give his readers a good feel for the time periods, the cultures, the poetry, and the mindsets of his characters. Like Neil Gaiman says in his preface to this edition, I don't understand why James is not more famous or beloved.
March 14, 2021
What a beautifully written book which lives halfway between a historical novel and a fantasy world. The first two stories are of Votan (aka Photinus, aka Manannan) and his journey and personality shine through.
You love him, loathe him and cheer for him. I kept thinking about him as Mr Wednesday from American Gods but he isn't (or is he?).
The third one "Men went to Cattraeth" is a dark, tragic story of war and loyalty and losing everything to win it all.
It's not an easy read and it is a long book, but when you get to the last page you know every single turn was worth it.
You love him, loathe him and cheer for him. I kept thinking about him as Mr Wednesday from American Gods but he isn't (or is he?).
The third one "Men went to Cattraeth" is a dark, tragic story of war and loyalty and losing everything to win it all.
It's not an easy read and it is a long book, but when you get to the last page you know every single turn was worth it.
February 2, 2023
Phew this was a hard slog...it wasn't that it was altogether that bad it was just after the first novel in this collection if three it sort of felt like dwindling returns and I became less engaged with it.
That said maybe it's just that this isn't the sort of fantasy that grasps me..being battle heavy and light in actually fantasy...the grasp of characterisation seems sketchy at times.
I dunno...not badly written at all but not my thing.
That said maybe it's just that this isn't the sort of fantasy that grasps me..being battle heavy and light in actually fantasy...the grasp of characterisation seems sketchy at times.
I dunno...not badly written at all but not my thing.
January 19, 2022
Votan the conqueror, and then there is Aneirin, the poet. The fantastic imagery in the novels are those that I will remember to my sleep. Save for numerous characters and the fact I am not one for history (the old names of places drew me in though), this is the kind I'd read and will regret not flipping the final page, so I did. Thank you John James. Oh, and I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman.
August 15, 2018
Reminds me of journal of Roman leaders that I read in advanced Latin classes, it's reads like fictionalized history not fiction. Very brutal but believable. The Norse mythology does add an interesting twist.
December 29, 2022
I'd heard to this novel and was informed it was a hidden treasure. I don't think it's a treasure but it is an interesting fantasy.
January 25, 2025
Votan: ****
March 15, 2021
Well its not been all that I hoped for.
It has three novels here they are based on norse and Celtic myth.
I know bits if norse myth but I am no expert, as in the introduction Neil said that do not afraid to you Wikipedia as your friend while reading it, which I did. But the novels were laid out more like history text and not made interesting if you don’t know your stuff. I used to long to finish it but Since I do not like to leave things halfway, I managed to finish the first two but I left the third halfway.
The novel to me lacked humour and story telling but it might be due to the fact that I ain’t an expert on these topics. The first novel was bit more interesting to me out of the three.
I would say try at your own risk :)
It has three novels here they are based on norse and Celtic myth.
I know bits if norse myth but I am no expert, as in the introduction Neil said that do not afraid to you Wikipedia as your friend while reading it, which I did. But the novels were laid out more like history text and not made interesting if you don’t know your stuff. I used to long to finish it but Since I do not like to leave things halfway, I managed to finish the first two but I left the third halfway.
The novel to me lacked humour and story telling but it might be due to the fact that I ain’t an expert on these topics. The first novel was bit more interesting to me out of the three.
I would say try at your own risk :)
June 29, 2014
I enjoyed this novel for it's wry humour and some knowing mockery, for example the character Photinus remarks that everyone knows the inhabitants of Paris have no dress sense. I felt that the second novel Not For All The Gold in Ireland dragged slightly, as the author spends a few chapters basically writing the same thing, just a few minor changes. I know this is part of the bardic tradition, but it still became a little wearisome after it happens a couple of times. Also, as an Irish person I was looking forward to reading his treatment of our myths and legends and I was disappointed that little of the story actually takes place in Ireland, barely the last 60 pages or so. Also frustrating was it ends set up for Photinus and friends to end up in the Americas, but there was never a follow up novel. Still, an enjoyable romp, a lively yet light read. I would recommend it for anyone interested in Roman history, myths and legends and a light and humorous travelogue of ancient Europe.
Want to read
November 13, 2022Votan (1966)
Not for All the Gold in Ireland (1968)
Men Went to Cattraeth (1969)
Not for All the Gold in Ireland (1968)
Men Went to Cattraeth (1969)
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