The Rise of the Sidhe

by Christina George, Aisling Hogan (Illustrator), Aine Hogan (Photographer)

The de Verdun family have lived and breathed village life since the raising of their great tower centuries ago. Their slow pace of life and easy friendship with their neighbours is about to change as Ireland is thrown into turmoil in 1916. However, it is not the Rising in Dublin but the rising of an ancient fairy woman that is about to change their lives forever. When Lord de Verdun is attacked by a Leanan Sidhe he drifts into a strange stupor. It falls to his daughter Catherine to find a way to wake her father from this living death. Bran, a war weary veteran of many conflicts, has always closely guarded a dark secret. Now, as he fights for the survival of his men in the brutal trenches his past has come back to haunt him. Rioghnach, a dark fairy woman, has arisen after centuries beneath the ground. She has been driven mad and power hungry by her imprisonment. Bran must put aside his loyalties and finally return home. Ireland is a land on the verge of political and civil unrest. As the Easter Rising draws near a sequence of events will begin to unravel that could bring about an age of darkness. Bran holds the key to their salvation, but it could bring about a fate worse than death.

499 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2014

About the author

Christina George is an Irish writer based in Dundalk, Co. Louth. She mainly writes Dr fiction and enjoys romance and fantasy novels. Her academic background is in the arts. After completing her undergraduate with a BA in Cultural studies in 2008 she went on to study for an MA in Comparative Literature in Dublin City University. Her first novel The Rise of the Sidhe was released in 2013 and her new novel By Moonlight was released in November 2016. Both are available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon. She is currently working in Marketing in Dundalk County Louth.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rise of the Sidhe by Christina George

Lord de Verdun is attacked by a Sidhe and he falls into a deep sleep. His daughter Catherine "Kate" is desperate to find a way to wake her father and figure out what is happening. She meets Bran, a war veteran with many secrets, he comes to her aide. What she discovers is shocking but she accepts life for what it is.

Together they discover that Rioghnach, a dark fairy woman has risen from the ground angry and power hungry. Bran is the one who holds the key, the answers and the power to stop what could soon destroy all of Ireland.

A fantastic story set in 1916 Ireland. I loved the blend of Irish folk lore, action and suspense in the story. Twists, turns and surprises arise along with likable characters and undesirable ones as well. Well written and filled with intrigue and suspense.

I highly recommend to those who love fantasy and Irish-based stories. I also liked at the end the index of Irish characters and mythical creatures with meaning and pronunciation.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1916 during the time of the Easter Rising, “The Rise of the Sidhe” blends historical fiction and action with Irish folklore and fantasy.

In Irish folklore, the Sidhe (pronounced like the word “she”) are fairy folk who live in hills or mounds (the word is used to refer to an individual fairy, the race of fairies, or the hill that the fairies live in). In this case, the Sidhe in question, Rioghnach, is a fairy who was imprisoned for centuries. She’s understandably upset about her long confinement, and also more than a bit insane from the experience.

Being of Irish heritage myself, this book afforded me the opportunity to learn more about both the folklore and the actual history. There are a few minor editorial errors (for those who are sensitive to such mistakes) – things like misspelled words/typos, the use of apostrophes to pluralize words, and faulty pronoun references. For me they’re a source of distraction that tend to pull me out of even the best story (thanks, mom!) But that being said, the story itself is intriguing enough to make up for some small grammatical mistakes, and I jumped right back in.

Overall: A great action-packed fantasy story that anyone with an interest in history, Irish folklore, and/or fantasy should check out!

[Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Rather annoyingly, I was conscious of mispronunciations but didn’t find out that ‘sidhe’ is pronounced ‘she’ until the end of the book.)

Rise of the Sidhe is fantasy blended seamlessly with reality. Set in 1916 Ireland, Lord De Verdun is put into a deep sleep when the Leanan Sidhe rises from her century long sleep and seeks to reclaim her belongings. His daughter, along with a mysterious stranger that stops the sidhe from taking her life, must find a way to wake him from his living death.

The first chapter reeled me in – it was fascinating watching the old man and his dog accidentally stumble across the newly-awakened fairy woman and I had high hopes for the rest of the book. I expected a dark, twisted fantasy set in a location I’ve never read about before.
This was not what I got.

I slugged my way through a historical romance sprinkled with the horrors of war with very black-or-white characters. I also felt the third-person-omniscient style of writing was very disorientating, bouncing back and forth between character’s thoughts, and I often got them confused.

I did enjoy the book – it was a lovely story with fascinating settings and wonderful, believable characters – it just wasn’t the right book for me.

[Emmaa22 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during WWI in an Ireland looking to rebel against English authority, a nasty fairy awakens to stir up more trouble.
I thought the book was alright, not entirely my cup of tea and I don´t think I´ll be looking for follow ups. I found the descriptions of Irish soldiers in the trenches and attitudes towards them interesting, but the fairies didn´t do much for me on this occasion. The random evil sprites and creatures who turned up during the book were rather thrown at the reader from nowhere I thought, with incomplete explanations and descriptions.
Also, I´d rather have a footnote on kindle for pronunciation at the beginning for each foreign word, as I felt conscious of reading it "wrongly" throughout the book, only to find the pronunciation guide at the very end. (Pointless!)

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Lord De Verdun is attacked by a Sidhe he falls into a deep sleep. Catherine "Kate" is desperate to wake him and to figure out what is happening. She meets Bran, a war veteran with many secrets, he comes to her aide. What she finds out is shocking but she accepts life for what it is. They find that Rioghnach a Dark Fairy Women has risen and she is angry and power hungry. Bran holds the key , the answers and the power to stop what could destroy all of Ireland. A beautifully written story set in 1916 Ireland. I loved the action and suspense along with the Irish folklore. Plenty of twists, turns and surprises. I highly recommend to those who love a good fantasy story.

[Kyle Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Fantastic characters and settings. I would not generally read fantasy as I am more of a horror/sci-fi fan but this book was well worth the read and I am looking forward to future works from this author.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storyv

It wasn't a bad read , quite enjoyed it ...good story & decent characters , it would really benefit from a decent editing .

[Ann Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok read

Kind of disappointed in this book. It has way too much descriptive rhetoric in the paragraphs and definitely needs more action.