The Druid's Prey

Warrior Druid of Britain #7

by Steven A. McKay

325 pages, Paperback

Published June 24, 2025

About the author

I was born in 1977, near Glasgow in Scotland and live in Old Kilpatrick with my wife and two young children. After obtaining my Bachelor of Arts degree I decided to follow my life-long ambition and write a novel. The Forest Lord series now has four novels, and various short spin-off tales.

My new book "The Heathen Horde" is the first in a brand series following Alfred the Great. It comes out on October 26 2023 so please check it out and pre-order if you can!

I play guitar and write all my books while listening to extreme metal.
In 2022 I started a podcast with fellow historical author Matthew Harffy. You can subscribe to Rock, Paper, Swords! on all the usual podcast outlets and also find the audio on Youtube every fortnight.

Reviews

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 4.5 STARS!**

This exciting historical fantasy adventure is the 7th volume of the wonderful "Warrior Druid of Britain" series.

At the beginning of the book you'll find a map of Britain ca AD434 and a List of Places, while at the back an Author's Note will show the historical details behind this story.

Storytelling is excellent, all characters come splendidly to life in this tale about Britons versus Saxons, and Britons against Britons, all in a bid to gain the supremacy within Britain.

This book is set around AD434 once more, and we find Bellicus hunting for a Saxon called Saksnot, A Saxon who wanted to kill him but nearly killed his Roman friend Duro, and while hunting this Saksnot he will get closer towards the fight that is to come between the Warlord of Britain, Arthur, and his army against the Saxons under the overall leadership of Hengist.

Eventually Bellicus will end up in Garrianum, after rescuing Bedwyr from the clutches Hengist and his volva Thorbjorg, to assist Arthur, Lancelot and the rest of the Briton army by defeating Jarl Loefdaeg at the fortress of Garrianum, turning this clash into a victory for the Britons but not a completely decisive one.

What is to follow is an eventful action-packed historical fantasy adventure, where Bellicus and his faithful horse Darac and dog Cai will be tested to their limit, until finally coming to a deserved rest and where Bellicus will hear about his lost parents by the new High Druid Gunavo.

Very much recommended, for this is a remarkable addition to this great series, and that why I lie to call this latest episode: "An Impressive Fighting Druid"!

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were so many events/activities happening in this book. I admit I was a bit overwhelmed jumping from one scene to another, but I LOVED IT!! Perhaps this is just me, but I noticed a significant difference of editing in this book and the previous instalment. Definitely not complaining; I truly appreciate the (what I think) much needed commas within the sentences. I felt that I had to rush reading the earlier books, I was exhausted afterwards. But the last two books, I enjoyed the adventures more because I did not feel as if I had to run along Bellicus and Cai.

This book made me worried about Cai all the time. Mr McKay, don't you dare kill Cai! Please let him enjoy old age at the end of the story; perhaps after the voyage to Manu in the next book which I am so looking forward to read!

[Jon Hollihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and Entertaining.

The author does an excellent job of having multiple storylines going at once, and a new chapter may stick with the same or jump to a different tale. Reading the thoughts, fears and motivations of different characters truly fleshes out the stories. Unexpected turns and realistic events makes this author’s novels so compelling. Can wait to tun the page. And can’t wait for the next novel or novella.

[Braden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun series. Great characters.