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The Plain of Pillars: A Celtic Story Retold
An ancient people discover the brutality of peace in The Plain of Pillars, a sweeping mythological (Irish) fantasy and climate sci-fi series that “weaves a vibrant tapestry of hope, resilience, and magik” (Literary Titan), and interrogates the roots of colonialism and heritage.
Book I of the Rimwalker Series: A subversive retelling of Celtic mythology and Irish fairytales and legends.
A melody once existed. It created the Rim of the World where life lives humbly and as the limbs of the land’s many colors. It was primal, untamed, and boundless. A boy, born from the yellowing mane of a horse, enters a world where gods walk with mortals, trees whisper secrets to stones, and stones morph into glistening tapestries red as blood. But it did not last…
The People of Síraide’s bond is tested in the fires of slavery and war, and together they must uncover an ancient secret held in the heart of them all.
“In The Plain of Pillars, Griffith weaves a powerful critique, using the timeless language of myth to illuminate urgent truths for the modern world. Griffith demonstrates a mastery of genre fiction and mythology, employing narrative techniques that are both lyrically impressive and philosophically engaging.”
– Independent Book Review
“Griffith’s wonderful work, The Plain of Pillars, transports the reader into ancient Ireland, a misty dream like world through the genesis story of a people who come from the stars. Set in an ancient land after the last ice age, the story introduces the epic battle between the People of the Síraide and the Oceaners, where life must struggle as a tribe to survive on the island known as Ériu-land (Ireland). The god-king Balor brings the world of the Rim to a seeming unavoidable apocalypse, except for the hero’s journey of Long Arm, the son of Pryderi and the reincarnation of the leader Luchta. It is his love of Mother Earth matched with the nurturing and teaching of Bacharigu, the youngest of The Mothers, who can together save the world, if only heeded. Griffith has retold an ancient, Irish story that is strikingly like other ancient narratives that proves to me that we are all indeed related.”
– Taylor Keen, author of Rediscovering Turtle Island: A First People’s Account of the Sacred Geography of America.
"Griffith’s unique use of the crow as a narrator of war and destruction, as well as community and unity, aligns with the diverse belief across many cultures that the crow is a symbol of destiny and power as well as associated with darkness, evil, death and war. Written in stunningly beautiful, descriptive prose, The Plains of Pillars uses ancient myth to illuminate modern day issues."
– Janet Roberts, author of What Lies We Keep
"An extraordinary book, The Plain of Pillars enchanted me into silence. A great many people should read this book and become just as enchanted. It is potent and activating, a stirring, a remembering of ancient bones and so much more and I feel this is a part of it all, it’s timing is without a doubt divine.”
– Chelita Kahutianui o-te-Rangi Zainey, indigenous Māori storyteller and healer, mokopuna of the Waitaha nation.
“As the old system crumbles, the new will be built out of the stories we tell ourselves and each other about ourselves, each other and our place on this animate earth as conscious nodes in the web of life. If we’re going to build new systems, we need old myths told in new ways and Griffith’s outstanding book, The Plain of Pillars, offers us a grand, beautiful, enchanting story, winding back and forth through plains of ideas and being: new-being and old-being, being as a part of becoming, being something greater than we imagine until it’s upon us. This is a beautiful book in all ways, and an essential step in our exploration of who we could be if we really cared about transformation.”
– Manda Scott, author of Any Human Power and host of the Accidental Gods podcast.
“Shivers across the body, palpitations of emotion, struck by thoughts of awe, captivated by words—this book is felt! Weaving from a space before time, The Plain of Pillars is a poetic blueprint for reverence and morality. A great gift for a world in need.”
– Dane Scott, indigenous Māori storyteller, Taonga Pūoro musician, and filmmaker.
“Griffith weaves an epic, dreamlike mythopoesis - a powerful, deeply inspired, animist folktale for our imperiled times.”
– Maren Morgan, Death in The Garden.
Book I of the Rimwalker Series: A subversive retelling of Celtic mythology and Irish fairytales and legends.
A melody once existed. It created the Rim of the World where life lives humbly and as the limbs of the land’s many colors. It was primal, untamed, and boundless. A boy, born from the yellowing mane of a horse, enters a world where gods walk with mortals, trees whisper secrets to stones, and stones morph into glistening tapestries red as blood. But it did not last…
The People of Síraide’s bond is tested in the fires of slavery and war, and together they must uncover an ancient secret held in the heart of them all.
“In The Plain of Pillars, Griffith weaves a powerful critique, using the timeless language of myth to illuminate urgent truths for the modern world. Griffith demonstrates a mastery of genre fiction and mythology, employing narrative techniques that are both lyrically impressive and philosophically engaging.”
– Independent Book Review
“Griffith’s wonderful work, The Plain of Pillars, transports the reader into ancient Ireland, a misty dream like world through the genesis story of a people who come from the stars. Set in an ancient land after the last ice age, the story introduces the epic battle between the People of the Síraide and the Oceaners, where life must struggle as a tribe to survive on the island known as Ériu-land (Ireland). The god-king Balor brings the world of the Rim to a seeming unavoidable apocalypse, except for the hero’s journey of Long Arm, the son of Pryderi and the reincarnation of the leader Luchta. It is his love of Mother Earth matched with the nurturing and teaching of Bacharigu, the youngest of The Mothers, who can together save the world, if only heeded. Griffith has retold an ancient, Irish story that is strikingly like other ancient narratives that proves to me that we are all indeed related.”
– Taylor Keen, author of Rediscovering Turtle Island: A First People’s Account of the Sacred Geography of America.
"Griffith’s unique use of the crow as a narrator of war and destruction, as well as community and unity, aligns with the diverse belief across many cultures that the crow is a symbol of destiny and power as well as associated with darkness, evil, death and war. Written in stunningly beautiful, descriptive prose, The Plains of Pillars uses ancient myth to illuminate modern day issues."
– Janet Roberts, author of What Lies We Keep
"An extraordinary book, The Plain of Pillars enchanted me into silence. A great many people should read this book and become just as enchanted. It is potent and activating, a stirring, a remembering of ancient bones and so much more and I feel this is a part of it all, it’s timing is without a doubt divine.”
– Chelita Kahutianui o-te-Rangi Zainey, indigenous Māori storyteller and healer, mokopuna of the Waitaha nation.
“As the old system crumbles, the new will be built out of the stories we tell ourselves and each other about ourselves, each other and our place on this animate earth as conscious nodes in the web of life. If we’re going to build new systems, we need old myths told in new ways and Griffith’s outstanding book, The Plain of Pillars, offers us a grand, beautiful, enchanting story, winding back and forth through plains of ideas and being: new-being and old-being, being as a part of becoming, being something greater than we imagine until it’s upon us. This is a beautiful book in all ways, and an essential step in our exploration of who we could be if we really cared about transformation.”
– Manda Scott, author of Any Human Power and host of the Accidental Gods podcast.
“Shivers across the body, palpitations of emotion, struck by thoughts of awe, captivated by words—this book is felt! Weaving from a space before time, The Plain of Pillars is a poetic blueprint for reverence and morality. A great gift for a world in need.”
– Dane Scott, indigenous Māori storyteller, Taonga Pūoro musician, and filmmaker.
“Griffith weaves an epic, dreamlike mythopoesis - a powerful, deeply inspired, animist folktale for our imperiled times.”
– Maren Morgan, Death in The Garden.
- GenresFantasyRetellings
283 pages, Paperback
Published March 20, 2025
14 people are currently reading
500 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Firth Griffith
8 books16 followersFirth is participant citizen of Earth Mother: a father, horse-friend, sacred butcher, magikal storyteller, and award-winning indie author of six books on kincentric ecology, mythology, and horror.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 18, 2025
This isn't like other books I normally read, but it kept pulling me along. It’s magical in a way that doesn’t rely on the typical fireballs and sweeping robes. This is my favorite quote:
“If the poets were here, these would have been colors to write about.”
“If the poets were here, these would have been colors to write about.”
February 26, 2025
"Stories are tapestries finely woven", each thread a strand of memory, place, and time, interlacing to form something whole and alive. With a spiritual warp and a weft of kinship, The Plain of Pillars is both the echo of a song from the deep past and an earnest warning of present and coming times. D. Firth Griffith conjures this story from sleepy cultural depths, breathing it into being with prose that pulses—its rhythm older than ink, older than paper, older than the written word itself. It is a rhythm that rises from our collective indigeneity, calling us back to something forgotten but never truly lost.
At its core, this novel is an implicit critique of cultural erasure and colonialism. Though set in a mythic past, The Plain of Pillars resonates powerfully with contemporary struggles—an exploration of indigenous and pre-colonial identities, of land as kin, of mythology as living truth rather than distant fiction. The author's first publication in the world of "fiction" and the first installment in The Rimwalker Series, this novel establishes Firth Griffith as a literary voice deeply invested in animism, cultural preservation, and the intersection of mythology and contemporary thought. His prose is richly poetic, evocative, and immersive—demanding a slow, deliberate reading, one that does not seek to decode but to experience. Those unaccustomed to non-linear, dreamlike storytelling may find the storytelling's cadence a challenge at first, but those willing to surrender to its rhythm will discover a world that breathes, remembers, and reveals itself in layers.
Griffith writes with a kinship worldview just outside the view of dominant modernity, a space forgotten by many but not lost. The characters, shrouded in mist, move through their world as part of its great cycles, embodying the tensions between mortality and divinity, tradition and transformation. The Plain of Pillars is a story of re-membering—of piecing ourselves back together through the land, through ancestral voices, through the knowing of Kinship and Oneness that still lingers in root and stone, wind and water. A blood-beaked scald-crow, the trickster, leads us not with the linear clarity of written history but with the tangled wisdom of myth, where a horse gives birth to a boy, where stones and trees hold memory, where the wind still carries the whispers of gods.
This is not just a Celtic tale retold; it is a tale told as it always was—in rhythm with the land, in dialogue with the unseen. It does not merely speak of the past—it is the past, living and breathing today, prophesying the future and calling out for those who will listen. Be prepared to dream yourself into this cultural ciphering, rhythmic remembering, and poetic prayer set in prose.
At its core, this novel is an implicit critique of cultural erasure and colonialism. Though set in a mythic past, The Plain of Pillars resonates powerfully with contemporary struggles—an exploration of indigenous and pre-colonial identities, of land as kin, of mythology as living truth rather than distant fiction. The author's first publication in the world of "fiction" and the first installment in The Rimwalker Series, this novel establishes Firth Griffith as a literary voice deeply invested in animism, cultural preservation, and the intersection of mythology and contemporary thought. His prose is richly poetic, evocative, and immersive—demanding a slow, deliberate reading, one that does not seek to decode but to experience. Those unaccustomed to non-linear, dreamlike storytelling may find the storytelling's cadence a challenge at first, but those willing to surrender to its rhythm will discover a world that breathes, remembers, and reveals itself in layers.
Griffith writes with a kinship worldview just outside the view of dominant modernity, a space forgotten by many but not lost. The characters, shrouded in mist, move through their world as part of its great cycles, embodying the tensions between mortality and divinity, tradition and transformation. The Plain of Pillars is a story of re-membering—of piecing ourselves back together through the land, through ancestral voices, through the knowing of Kinship and Oneness that still lingers in root and stone, wind and water. A blood-beaked scald-crow, the trickster, leads us not with the linear clarity of written history but with the tangled wisdom of myth, where a horse gives birth to a boy, where stones and trees hold memory, where the wind still carries the whispers of gods.
This is not just a Celtic tale retold; it is a tale told as it always was—in rhythm with the land, in dialogue with the unseen. It does not merely speak of the past—it is the past, living and breathing today, prophesying the future and calling out for those who will listen. Be prepared to dream yourself into this cultural ciphering, rhythmic remembering, and poetic prayer set in prose.
March 2, 2025
The Plain of Pillars is a delightful journey into the spirit of all living elements of the world around us. I didn't know exactly what to expect from this extraordinary work by D. Firth Griffith (DFG). I opened the book and began reading with an open mind.
I quickly felt dazed and disoriented. But I held faith with the visions and warnings implored by the scald-crow narrator from the very beginning. And that trust, that faith matured into a beautiful journey of discovery. DFG's prose pulled me further up and further into the tangled root system of the narrative anchoring these tales.
DFG leaves no simile unturned as he introduces and nurtures new characters like Long-Arm, Balor, and the mugwort and a host of new places. DFG paints these mystic and whimsical souls while also animating the spirits of nearly all living things alongside the characters as they walk through Síraide and beyond. All things live and breathe and speak and question; from acorn caps to mountains, from mud to mist.
All animated things, human or not, are bright and crisp with descriptions that many times feel as though the descriptions themselves are magic spells being uttered to usher forth the animating spirits into the things. Or maybe to draw them out into the open; into the eyes and heart of the reader.
This is a world discovering itself.
Moreover, reading The Plain of Pillars produced in a me a desire to look closer, and deeper, and longer at living things around me. The prose is rich with observations that stay with me such as, "The brothers smiled at each other and their shared Kinship. They walked on."
If you step into this tale I wish you well as you move from unfamiliar metaphors, to mist-obscured visions, to visceral and artistic deaths, to peace and tranquility in a simple way of life, to punctuating prophesies and fore-tellings, and many more adventures in between.
It is a joy.
I quickly felt dazed and disoriented. But I held faith with the visions and warnings implored by the scald-crow narrator from the very beginning. And that trust, that faith matured into a beautiful journey of discovery. DFG's prose pulled me further up and further into the tangled root system of the narrative anchoring these tales.
DFG leaves no simile unturned as he introduces and nurtures new characters like Long-Arm, Balor, and the mugwort and a host of new places. DFG paints these mystic and whimsical souls while also animating the spirits of nearly all living things alongside the characters as they walk through Síraide and beyond. All things live and breathe and speak and question; from acorn caps to mountains, from mud to mist.
All animated things, human or not, are bright and crisp with descriptions that many times feel as though the descriptions themselves are magic spells being uttered to usher forth the animating spirits into the things. Or maybe to draw them out into the open; into the eyes and heart of the reader.
This is a world discovering itself.
Moreover, reading The Plain of Pillars produced in a me a desire to look closer, and deeper, and longer at living things around me. The prose is rich with observations that stay with me such as, "The brothers smiled at each other and their shared Kinship. They walked on."
If you step into this tale I wish you well as you move from unfamiliar metaphors, to mist-obscured visions, to visceral and artistic deaths, to peace and tranquility in a simple way of life, to punctuating prophesies and fore-tellings, and many more adventures in between.
It is a joy.
January 24, 2025
Long before Eden, a melody existed, primal, untamed, and boundless. A boy, spun from the golden strands of a horse’s mane, enters a world where gods walk among mortals, trees whisper secrets to stones, and stones morph into glistening silks. This tale unfolds as an extraordinary bond between kin faces the fires of war, with ancient myths reshaped into bold new forms. Through evocative storytelling, the author bridges antiquity and the present, weaving a vibrant tapestry of hope, resilience, and magic. By journeying alongside these ancient dreams, we might unearth profound truths about ourselves and the world around us.
In The Plain of Pillars: A Celtic Story Retold, Griffith presents a stunning reinterpretation of Celtic mythology. This narrative combines poetic storytelling with a profound exploration of harmony, conflict, and the cyclical nature of life. Set in the eternal land of Siraide, the story centers on The People, who live in unity with the Music that both created and sustains them. But their peace is shattered by Balor, the Oceaner god-king, whose insatiable thirst for power threatens to engulf their world in chaos. As characters wrestle with love, destiny, and loss, their struggles also reflect larger themes of colonization and the gradual erosion of cultural identity.
Griffith deftly juxtaposes Siraide’s interconnected reverence for life with the Oceaners’ destructive authoritarianism, crafting a poignant commentary on resilience and the enduring power of unity in the face of oppression. These thematic undercurrents infuse the story with urgency and depth, creating a tale as reflective as it is captivating.
The prose itself is a triumph. Griffith’s lush descriptions and rhythmic dialogue draw readers deep into the rich, magical world of Siraide. The lyrical tone lends a dreamlike quality to the narrative, beautifully blending the mythical and the emotional. Particularly striking is the figure of the Raven, a modern-day chorus reminiscent of Greek tragedies. This enigmatic voice delivers profound philosophical reflections, implicating readers in the consequences of colonization and unchecked power. This narrative device seamlessly bridges myth and reality, serving as a haunting reminder of what is at stake.
At its core, The Plain of Pillars is a meditation on timeless themes: the conflict between creation and destruction, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the enduring power of love and community. Griffith crafts a story that is both epic in scope and deeply intimate, resonating with fans of mythological retellings like Circe, Ariadne, and A Thousand Ships.
Whether you are drawn by its mythological roots or its reflections on universal truths, The Plain of Pillars will leave you with a sense of wonder and a renewed appreciation for the delicate, eternal balance between creation and destruction.
In The Plain of Pillars: A Celtic Story Retold, Griffith presents a stunning reinterpretation of Celtic mythology. This narrative combines poetic storytelling with a profound exploration of harmony, conflict, and the cyclical nature of life. Set in the eternal land of Siraide, the story centers on The People, who live in unity with the Music that both created and sustains them. But their peace is shattered by Balor, the Oceaner god-king, whose insatiable thirst for power threatens to engulf their world in chaos. As characters wrestle with love, destiny, and loss, their struggles also reflect larger themes of colonization and the gradual erosion of cultural identity.
Griffith deftly juxtaposes Siraide’s interconnected reverence for life with the Oceaners’ destructive authoritarianism, crafting a poignant commentary on resilience and the enduring power of unity in the face of oppression. These thematic undercurrents infuse the story with urgency and depth, creating a tale as reflective as it is captivating.
The prose itself is a triumph. Griffith’s lush descriptions and rhythmic dialogue draw readers deep into the rich, magical world of Siraide. The lyrical tone lends a dreamlike quality to the narrative, beautifully blending the mythical and the emotional. Particularly striking is the figure of the Raven, a modern-day chorus reminiscent of Greek tragedies. This enigmatic voice delivers profound philosophical reflections, implicating readers in the consequences of colonization and unchecked power. This narrative device seamlessly bridges myth and reality, serving as a haunting reminder of what is at stake.
At its core, The Plain of Pillars is a meditation on timeless themes: the conflict between creation and destruction, the preservation of cultural heritage, and the enduring power of love and community. Griffith crafts a story that is both epic in scope and deeply intimate, resonating with fans of mythological retellings like Circe, Ariadne, and A Thousand Ships.
Whether you are drawn by its mythological roots or its reflections on universal truths, The Plain of Pillars will leave you with a sense of wonder and a renewed appreciation for the delicate, eternal balance between creation and destruction.
September 28, 2025
"I believe that magic is art, and that art, whether that be music, writing, sculpture, or any other form, is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words or images, to achieve changes in consciousness… Indeed to cast a spell is simply to spell, to manipulate words, to change peoples consciousness, and this is why I believe that an artist or writer is the closest thing in the contemporary world to a shaman."
— Alan Moore
I feel like the quote above captures my feelings about Daniel Firth Griffith’s book quite well. It is a work outside of our time—a book not content to stare out from the cage of modern whims or fast fiction. The book is slow, thoughtful, and above all, interested in using its words not only to cast powerful images inherited from the ancients, but also to weave a shaman’s chant into the mind of the reader, hoping to bring understanding through its semi-surrealism.
With this chant, Griffith offers insights that one can tell have dwelt in his soul for a long time and are, at last, ready to be set free. Yes, the book speaks of things like environmentalism, colonialism, and the loss these forces bring—but it also speaks to the nature of being, of existence, and the beautiful horror that it can be.
Some readers may find the book slow, but as someone who longs for slower days and slower thoughts in this manic world, it was a relief to experience. I took my time with it, allowing the stew of concepts and images to simmer, and found great joy in stepping into the author’s deepest reflections on the nature of things. Many times, I found it touched my heart in unexpected ways.
I would recommend this book to anyone and look forward to seeing where Griffith goes next on his artistic and shamanistic journey.
— Alan Moore
I feel like the quote above captures my feelings about Daniel Firth Griffith’s book quite well. It is a work outside of our time—a book not content to stare out from the cage of modern whims or fast fiction. The book is slow, thoughtful, and above all, interested in using its words not only to cast powerful images inherited from the ancients, but also to weave a shaman’s chant into the mind of the reader, hoping to bring understanding through its semi-surrealism.
With this chant, Griffith offers insights that one can tell have dwelt in his soul for a long time and are, at last, ready to be set free. Yes, the book speaks of things like environmentalism, colonialism, and the loss these forces bring—but it also speaks to the nature of being, of existence, and the beautiful horror that it can be.
Some readers may find the book slow, but as someone who longs for slower days and slower thoughts in this manic world, it was a relief to experience. I took my time with it, allowing the stew of concepts and images to simmer, and found great joy in stepping into the author’s deepest reflections on the nature of things. Many times, I found it touched my heart in unexpected ways.
I would recommend this book to anyone and look forward to seeing where Griffith goes next on his artistic and shamanistic journey.
January 2, 2025
Oh my. I just finished the author's other bodies of work before I received an advance review copy of this book. I loved this book for so many reasons.
First, I was loving the fiction writing, without footnotes to add to my ever growing reading list. I cannot wait to read what the author writes next. If I was forced to describe the book, it would be a self-help fantasy novel with a solid message. I don't know enough about Celtic mythology to see how he weaves it into a modern version. I know that I will be definitely reading more in the future.
I grew up reading all the books, and have a few fantasy series that I have visited more than once. I will revisit this story often, and cannot wait to see how it progresses. I will have a difficult time waiting for new installments, but know that my continued reading of other books will have me ready to really listen to the message.
I will know that if you are tired of living in the machine of the modern economic growth for a few at the expense of the rest of creation, than a visit with any of Daniel's books will help you find peace in some crazy way. I trust Mother Earth and all of her kin to help me along on my journey while I am here. I enjoy sitting in front of the fire with a mind bending story in the dark days, to germinate the seeds of ideas in the seasons of action. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your tale, dear author.
First, I was loving the fiction writing, without footnotes to add to my ever growing reading list. I cannot wait to read what the author writes next. If I was forced to describe the book, it would be a self-help fantasy novel with a solid message. I don't know enough about Celtic mythology to see how he weaves it into a modern version. I know that I will be definitely reading more in the future.
I grew up reading all the books, and have a few fantasy series that I have visited more than once. I will revisit this story often, and cannot wait to see how it progresses. I will have a difficult time waiting for new installments, but know that my continued reading of other books will have me ready to really listen to the message.
I will know that if you are tired of living in the machine of the modern economic growth for a few at the expense of the rest of creation, than a visit with any of Daniel's books will help you find peace in some crazy way. I trust Mother Earth and all of her kin to help me along on my journey while I am here. I enjoy sitting in front of the fire with a mind bending story in the dark days, to germinate the seeds of ideas in the seasons of action. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your tale, dear author.
February 26, 2025
This is a story that must be read slowly and thoughtfully - not because it’s a “hard” read, but because it’s a deep read. A read that requires us to listen, not just merely consume. Moreso, it’s a call to remember the ancient way of kinship and oneness that is wholly fulfilled through harmony and resonance. A call to action, if you will, where the action is steeped in love.
Although this is a retelling of Celtic folklore, there are hints of Genesis - and other origin stories - woven into the story. What’s fascinating is that it seems all religions/cultures have their own interpretations of how the cosmos came to be, yet to the core there is always a divine Beginning, that includes entanglement with humanity. And all that has been birthed ever since is sacred.
This story challenges us to assess our way of life, our relationship with the earth, our connection to The Divine, and our overall purpose in living. It’s been a broken system formed out of doubting that “Good really is good” (paraphrased from a line in the book). It’s time to take a step back - actually several steps back…maybe to the Beginning - in order to move forward harmoniously.
More importantly, I heard His voice speaking throughout the entire book. I’ve highlighted my way through it, and numerous phrases etched in truth will stay with me forever. Bravo, DF Griffith…you have heard, listened, and answered, the world becoming better with your stories.
Although this is a retelling of Celtic folklore, there are hints of Genesis - and other origin stories - woven into the story. What’s fascinating is that it seems all religions/cultures have their own interpretations of how the cosmos came to be, yet to the core there is always a divine Beginning, that includes entanglement with humanity. And all that has been birthed ever since is sacred.
This story challenges us to assess our way of life, our relationship with the earth, our connection to The Divine, and our overall purpose in living. It’s been a broken system formed out of doubting that “Good really is good” (paraphrased from a line in the book). It’s time to take a step back - actually several steps back…maybe to the Beginning - in order to move forward harmoniously.
More importantly, I heard His voice speaking throughout the entire book. I’ve highlighted my way through it, and numerous phrases etched in truth will stay with me forever. Bravo, DF Griffith…you have heard, listened, and answered, the world becoming better with your stories.
March 1, 2025
In language poetic and vivid, D. Firth Griffith weaves an ancient-yet-new tale of a land and people inseparably intertwined. Such deep communion cannot be tolerated by the invading nation who seeks to colonize the land for profit. The clash of worldviews between a lonely, disconnected, greedy nation and one of harmony, love and interconnection is both heartbreakingly familiar and instructive.
It took me a few chapters to relax into the language and allow Raven to guide me on a visually and linguistically complex journey into the world of magic with all-too-real implications. The characters are compelling and relatable even as the broader story sweeps us onward. Stay with it. Like all lasting stories, The Plain of Pillars reveals wisdom at many levels and invites us into a worldview that is so needed today.
It took me a few chapters to relax into the language and allow Raven to guide me on a visually and linguistically complex journey into the world of magic with all-too-real implications. The characters are compelling and relatable even as the broader story sweeps us onward. Stay with it. Like all lasting stories, The Plain of Pillars reveals wisdom at many levels and invites us into a worldview that is so needed today.
March 9, 2025
A challenging and worthwhile read, The Plain of Pillars deserves to be read slowly and with an open heart and mind. This poetic and thought provoking book transported me into an ancient and mythological realm that is not as fictional as it may seem. Completely redefining my previously held beliefs around life, death, relationships and connection, The Plain of Pillars was expanding, beautiful and confronting.
Daniel's writing is dreamlike and almost meditative, revealing truths that are within and all around us. It has a way of being exactly what you are ready for in the moment. At times the meaning behind the words was beyond my understanding, and I will no doubt be pondering the messages of this book for a lifetime.
It evoked complex feelings of sadness, hope, confusion, awe, and oneness. It helped open my eyes and my heart to the beauty, magic, dreaming and art in reality and relationships. I highly recommend this book to those that are drawn to it, and I found it a particularly unique and inspiring read.
Daniel's writing is dreamlike and almost meditative, revealing truths that are within and all around us. It has a way of being exactly what you are ready for in the moment. At times the meaning behind the words was beyond my understanding, and I will no doubt be pondering the messages of this book for a lifetime.
It evoked complex feelings of sadness, hope, confusion, awe, and oneness. It helped open my eyes and my heart to the beauty, magic, dreaming and art in reality and relationships. I highly recommend this book to those that are drawn to it, and I found it a particularly unique and inspiring read.
December 9, 2024
“That humans create is true. That humans create well is the eternal question.”
The Plain of Pillars is a tremendously inspired work — a story that evokes Tolkien’s Ainulindalë and the myth of Oannes, retold as a warning of human hubris. This marvelous work of mythopoesis is an epic, time-bending, dreamlike tale — an instructional, animist, decolonial story for our imperiled age.
In an age of competing worldviews, polarization, and bifurcation, may we all recover our “worldsense” and attain a sense of oneness once again. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say I am looking forward to the rest of this series to see where this story goes.
Thank you to Daniel Griffith for the ARC.
In an age of competing worldviews, polarization, and bifurcation, may we all recover our “worldsense” and attain a sense of oneness once again. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say I am looking forward to the rest of this series to see where this story goes.
Thank you to Daniel Griffith for the ARC.
March 1, 2025
Not an easy read, The Plain of Pillars masterfully bridges the mythical and the modern, drawing on ancient legends to illuminate themes that feel urgently relevant—chief among them, for me, our fractured relationship with the land. As the protagonist embarks on his journey, readers are compelled to consider what it truly means to listen—to history, to the earth, and to the voices long silenced.
At its core, The Plain of Pillars is a meditation on urgency. In a world consumed by immediacy and easy solutions, this novel offers something rarer: an invitation to pause, to listen, and to reconnect with something far older and wiser than ourselves.
A breathtaking work, The Plain of Pillars establishes Daniel Firth Griffith as a storyteller of rare vision and depth. Highly recommended.
At its core, The Plain of Pillars is a meditation on urgency. In a world consumed by immediacy and easy solutions, this novel offers something rarer: an invitation to pause, to listen, and to reconnect with something far older and wiser than ourselves.
A breathtaking work, The Plain of Pillars establishes Daniel Firth Griffith as a storyteller of rare vision and depth. Highly recommended.
March 3, 2025
The sanctity of mythology is cast within these pages.
Timeless stories of change, challenge, humanness and Earthliness drip their potent nourishment through these words. In an age desperate for old story, The Plain of Pillars delivers an animistic and invigorating tale of urgency for our presence as members of The Circle.
For those seeking a quick, easy read that coddles the senses, look elsewhere. If you allow it, this book will take you on a perilous, yet remembering and wholesome journey.
Timeless stories of change, challenge, humanness and Earthliness drip their potent nourishment through these words. In an age desperate for old story, The Plain of Pillars delivers an animistic and invigorating tale of urgency for our presence as members of The Circle.
For those seeking a quick, easy read that coddles the senses, look elsewhere. If you allow it, this book will take you on a perilous, yet remembering and wholesome journey.
March 2, 2025
A strange and wondrous tale from deep time. It is not a fast or easy read but is worth the effort to enter the long-ago age when humans were kin with all. As an herbalist, I enjoyed the weaving of many plants into the story and was captivated by the Crow-Raven narrator. The violence was difficult
to read but necessary, when you are sharing about the horrors of colonization - the stealing of music, the killing of the medicine. the cutting of the Tree of Life. A fascinating book!
to read but necessary, when you are sharing about the horrors of colonization - the stealing of music, the killing of the medicine. the cutting of the Tree of Life. A fascinating book!
March 1, 2025
Go for the ride. Take the leap into the world created here.
The underlying message(s) stuck with me on days I wasn’t able to read and percolated through my spirit.
Daniel has a way of stretching your brain like a well seasoned yogi. His latest work is no different.
The underlying message(s) stuck with me on days I wasn’t able to read and percolated through my spirit.
Daniel has a way of stretching your brain like a well seasoned yogi. His latest work is no different.
July 10, 2025
The writing is beautiful and I love how this story is told through metaphor/allegory rather than an explicit lesson on colonization. However, I felt so lost throughout the book and it didn't really pull me in the way I wish it did.
August 26, 2025
I have read many translations of the various Irish stories and long dreamed that someone would offer a retelling that preserves and stokes the warmth and glow of those original tales. This is that book. I eagerly await the next installment.
November 7, 2024
Received an ARC. I usually have a hard time with fiction, but I was often enthralled and hungry to keep reading this one! Very excited for its official release.
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