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The Caledonia Regression
Conall Canmore tumbles towards his death from the walls of Stirling Castle. But instead of crashing onto rocks, he lands face down in the dirt. Bruised but freed from the disease that was killing him, he sees a city he recognises. It is Stirling, but not the same city he left. For reasons he doesn’t comprehend, this is a version of the place that existed long ago.
Conall picks up the threads of this new existence and exploits his futuristic knowledge to achieve material gain. And life will be good until another brush with death will send him tumbling further back in time. As the years stretch to centuries, Conall will be on hand to witness the birth of Scotland, bloodily wrought through migration and war. Stripped of his riches and his dear ones with every fall, Conall recognises within himself the seeds of change. But how will it benefit him if his only destiny is to descend, further and further back in time? He is renewed, but at the same time unhinged, for Conall cannot keep his grip on history.
Back in the twenty-first century of another Scotland, terrorists target the leading prince of the realm. Seizing this latest assassination as a judicious moment to strike their enemies, powerful clans jostle for influence ahead of the coming fight. Alliances rise and fall in the Caledonian court while the coming succession convulses the old guard. And when finally, the aggressor nation is revealed, only one obstacle restrains this nation from unleashing a shockwave of revenge. The old king is dying, and with his passing, Caledonia will choose a new sovereign and go to war.
Conall picks up the threads of this new existence and exploits his futuristic knowledge to achieve material gain. And life will be good until another brush with death will send him tumbling further back in time. As the years stretch to centuries, Conall will be on hand to witness the birth of Scotland, bloodily wrought through migration and war. Stripped of his riches and his dear ones with every fall, Conall recognises within himself the seeds of change. But how will it benefit him if his only destiny is to descend, further and further back in time? He is renewed, but at the same time unhinged, for Conall cannot keep his grip on history.
Back in the twenty-first century of another Scotland, terrorists target the leading prince of the realm. Seizing this latest assassination as a judicious moment to strike their enemies, powerful clans jostle for influence ahead of the coming fight. Alliances rise and fall in the Caledonian court while the coming succession convulses the old guard. And when finally, the aggressor nation is revealed, only one obstacle restrains this nation from unleashing a shockwave of revenge. The old king is dying, and with his passing, Caledonia will choose a new sovereign and go to war.
396 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2025
43 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2025
This is the first book in Cockburn's new series. lt's a bit all over the place, involving multiple Scotlands on parallel worlds, one of which appears to be much like on this world while the other is on a war front.
l'm going to need to read the next one to get a better feel on the series.
l'm going to need to read the next one to get a better feel on the series.
December 28, 2025
Dalria, A Land of Multiverses
In Tormod Cockburn's first offering of his SHADOW CASTLES series, we start at the end of the MYSTERIOUS SCOTLAND series with a fall from a high tower of Stirling Castle that should have killed the Canmore elder, but instead, he finds himself at the same place, but 100 years in the past. This is the beginning of a curious mystery that leads to assassinations and possibly war in the land of Dalria, an alternate version of Scotland which is not only independent of England (in this case, Mercia) but rules Mercia! The main character, Artemis Macintyre, finds herself in the middle of this conundrum and has giftings to help solve the mysteries surrounding her, including a 3000 year old prophecy that must come to pass before Dalria is destroyed.
This is a fascinating, convoluted story and I can't wait for the next book in the series. I'm a great lover of speculative fiction and Tormod always adds a touch of the spiritual to his stories. So we'll see what happens!
In Tormod Cockburn's first offering of his SHADOW CASTLES series, we start at the end of the MYSTERIOUS SCOTLAND series with a fall from a high tower of Stirling Castle that should have killed the Canmore elder, but instead, he finds himself at the same place, but 100 years in the past. This is the beginning of a curious mystery that leads to assassinations and possibly war in the land of Dalria, an alternate version of Scotland which is not only independent of England (in this case, Mercia) but rules Mercia! The main character, Artemis Macintyre, finds herself in the middle of this conundrum and has giftings to help solve the mysteries surrounding her, including a 3000 year old prophecy that must come to pass before Dalria is destroyed.
This is a fascinating, convoluted story and I can't wait for the next book in the series. I'm a great lover of speculative fiction and Tormod always adds a touch of the spiritual to his stories. So we'll see what happens!
December 1, 2025
What a ride!
Wow, I find myself totally invested in this new Scotland. A very interesting story with some old names from the Mys Scot tales. Love where this is going and can't wait to read more!
Wow, I find myself totally invested in this new Scotland. A very interesting story with some old names from the Mys Scot tales. Love where this is going and can't wait to read more!
December 23, 2025
Great new series
This is well written (as expected from from Tod Cockburn) and gets off to an exciting if confusing start. By the end of this book, things are becoming evident, and I'm now waiting impatiently for the next one 😀
This is well written (as expected from from Tod Cockburn) and gets off to an exciting if confusing start. By the end of this book, things are becoming evident, and I'm now waiting impatiently for the next one 😀
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September 7, 2025Not yet published as of September 2025
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews