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Feather of Hawk - Rebellion: Epic historical fiction based on a true story.
ONE MAN AGAINST THE MIGHT OF ROME
Ancient Scotland.
Two thousand years ago.
A land ravaged by Roman invaders.
One man would defy the might of the Empire.
His name was Calach the Swordsman.
This is his story…
EPIC HISTORICAL FICTION BASED ON A TRUE STORY
‘Feather of Hawk – Rebellion’, is the story of an ordinary man whose love for family and tribe drives him on a ruthless quest for revenge. Calach sips from the poisonous cup of hatred, but will this make him no better that the vile beast of Rome? Or will the Feather of Hawk, a mysterious gift from a young warrior woman, offer a new way forward in a world where blood and tears are sacrificed on the altar of war? A devastating winter invasion destroys everything Calach loves and drives the warrior on a course of bloody revenge. Calach has to face a professional Roman army with only a band of refugees to back him up. The Celts have the heart to fight, but hearts do not win wars — weapons of iron, shields of bronze, spear warriors, sword warriors and skilled riders with chariots win wars. With a miracle in the form of returning warriors, Calach leads a brutal insurrection that culminates in an epic battle against the hated invaders. His cunning, intelligence and valour are a match to General Agricola, the Roman Governor of Britain, who soon realizes that Calach is no ordinary foe.
About the Author
Dave Michael was born and went to school in Liverpool, Northern England. He is a graduate of the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Before becoming a full time author he worked as a handyman, seaman, drama teacher and Community film trainer. He has written and produced touring theatre and several short film projects. ‘Secrets of the Damned’ was a theatre piece that toured for five years in the North West Region of England. The piece told the personal life story of Robert Tressell, author of the novel, ‘ The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.’ Since 1996, Dave has lived and worked in Eire, where he has been inspired by the landscapes of the West Coast. The historical fiction book,‘Feather of Hawk – Rebellion’ is his most extensive piece of work and has taken twelve years to develop. When he is not writing, he likes to walk landscape, where he is calmed by nature; watching swallows and hawks fly is one of his favourite pastimes.
Ancient Scotland.
Two thousand years ago.
A land ravaged by Roman invaders.
One man would defy the might of the Empire.
His name was Calach the Swordsman.
This is his story…
EPIC HISTORICAL FICTION BASED ON A TRUE STORY
‘Feather of Hawk – Rebellion’, is the story of an ordinary man whose love for family and tribe drives him on a ruthless quest for revenge. Calach sips from the poisonous cup of hatred, but will this make him no better that the vile beast of Rome? Or will the Feather of Hawk, a mysterious gift from a young warrior woman, offer a new way forward in a world where blood and tears are sacrificed on the altar of war? A devastating winter invasion destroys everything Calach loves and drives the warrior on a course of bloody revenge. Calach has to face a professional Roman army with only a band of refugees to back him up. The Celts have the heart to fight, but hearts do not win wars — weapons of iron, shields of bronze, spear warriors, sword warriors and skilled riders with chariots win wars. With a miracle in the form of returning warriors, Calach leads a brutal insurrection that culminates in an epic battle against the hated invaders. His cunning, intelligence and valour are a match to General Agricola, the Roman Governor of Britain, who soon realizes that Calach is no ordinary foe.
About the Author
Dave Michael was born and went to school in Liverpool, Northern England. He is a graduate of the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Before becoming a full time author he worked as a handyman, seaman, drama teacher and Community film trainer. He has written and produced touring theatre and several short film projects. ‘Secrets of the Damned’ was a theatre piece that toured for five years in the North West Region of England. The piece told the personal life story of Robert Tressell, author of the novel, ‘ The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.’ Since 1996, Dave has lived and worked in Eire, where he has been inspired by the landscapes of the West Coast. The historical fiction book,‘Feather of Hawk – Rebellion’ is his most extensive piece of work and has taken twelve years to develop. When he is not writing, he likes to walk landscape, where he is calmed by nature; watching swallows and hawks fly is one of his favourite pastimes.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 10, 2017
21 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 11, 2019
3 stars
Mmmm... It was average hence the 3 stars...
Mmmm... It was average hence the 3 stars...
December 5, 2018
Feather of Hawk: Rebellion by Dave Michael is the exciting tale of change. But it isn’t the story of the ancient Romans invading Scotland that took center stage for me (although that part was done exceptionally well). It’s the story of how main character and kick butt warrior Calach had to change to stop them that intrigued me the most. Calach is a great character and the struggles that he took on both internally and externally made this a powerful and realistic read. A good one for any Gladiator fans out there!
June 6, 2018
78 A.D. Caledonia. Ancient Scotland.
The Roman invaders had about destroyed it.
Calach (Swordsman, warrior-prince) had a hawk feather around his neck for a symbol.
Iolair Mor (Calach’s older brother, Celtic warrior prince), had plotted against King Brude (Calach/Iolair’s father, Wild Boar tribe) & when it was found out he was forced to flee.
Face-of-Moon-Circles & the Vacomagi tribe were in hot pursuit of Calach.
Bear (warrior), & Smiler (warrior), were all killed.
Calach put all 3 corpses on display.
Shantoch (old Vacomagi warrior), & his son Arrow guarded over the dead bodies.
Calach let the 2 of them live.
Badlands. 2 Horned One’s were following Princess Sky (Vacomagi tribe).
Calach managed to save her from them.
Eborecum Fort (Roman). General Agricola was going to meet the Celtic chieftains.
General Agricola (Britain’s Roman Governor) prepared to meet the Celtic chieftains.
Tiberius (old military legate) was 1st.
Chief Gallus (Votandini), & Chief Crowna (Celtic, Night rider, Veniconae) were next.
Prince Calach (Iolair’s younger brother, Caledonia) & Princess Sky were married.
A rider had announced Emperor Titus (General Agricola friend) is dead.
Emperor Domitian will now take over.
Chief Crowna (Celtic, Veniconae Tribe) was making sure General Agricola (Roman) did not get killed by the assassin.
Lucinius Gracchus had killed Princess Sky (Calach’s wife).
The Romans had destroyed/stolen most of the crops.
King Venutius is rotting away in his prison cell.
Will Lucinius Gracchus get killed?
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.
A very awesome book cover, & great font/writing style. Wow, a very well written historical fiction book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great 78 A.D. adventure movie. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Making Connections discussion group talk; Smashwords; Author; Epub book
Tony Parsons (Washburn)
The Roman invaders had about destroyed it.
Calach (Swordsman, warrior-prince) had a hawk feather around his neck for a symbol.
Iolair Mor (Calach’s older brother, Celtic warrior prince), had plotted against King Brude (Calach/Iolair’s father, Wild Boar tribe) & when it was found out he was forced to flee.
Face-of-Moon-Circles & the Vacomagi tribe were in hot pursuit of Calach.
Bear (warrior), & Smiler (warrior), were all killed.
Calach put all 3 corpses on display.
Shantoch (old Vacomagi warrior), & his son Arrow guarded over the dead bodies.
Calach let the 2 of them live.
Badlands. 2 Horned One’s were following Princess Sky (Vacomagi tribe).
Calach managed to save her from them.
Eborecum Fort (Roman). General Agricola was going to meet the Celtic chieftains.
General Agricola (Britain’s Roman Governor) prepared to meet the Celtic chieftains.
Tiberius (old military legate) was 1st.
Chief Gallus (Votandini), & Chief Crowna (Celtic, Night rider, Veniconae) were next.
Prince Calach (Iolair’s younger brother, Caledonia) & Princess Sky were married.
A rider had announced Emperor Titus (General Agricola friend) is dead.
Emperor Domitian will now take over.
Chief Crowna (Celtic, Veniconae Tribe) was making sure General Agricola (Roman) did not get killed by the assassin.
Lucinius Gracchus had killed Princess Sky (Calach’s wife).
The Romans had destroyed/stolen most of the crops.
King Venutius is rotting away in his prison cell.
Will Lucinius Gracchus get killed?
I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.
A very awesome book cover, & great font/writing style. Wow, a very well written historical fiction book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great 78 A.D. adventure movie. There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.
Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Making Connections discussion group talk; Smashwords; Author; Epub book
Tony Parsons (Washburn)
June 26, 2018
Feather of Hawk Rebellion tells the story of the tribes of Caledonia in their revolt against the Roman Empire. Calach the Swordsman becomes the uniter of the tribes after his father and wife are betrayed and killed by a Roman General with the help of a traitor to his own Caledonian people.
I loved this book. It's a period of history that little is written about, when the might of the great Roman Empire was slowing being erroded by tribes indigenous to areas they thought their armies had conquered. It shows the heart of the human spirit and it's desire to be free from the yoke of an unwanted invader.
The characters in this book are well developed and compelling. You can feel and identify with Calach and those who surround them. Rarely do I read a book and when finished want to learn more about the characters through study of non-fiction books. This one did that for me and I know I will be looking for more information.
The story although fictionalized is based in history. This period is extremely interesting and under explored in historical fiction. I've read other accounts of the Roman rule of Britian but not this exact time period. The storyline was well developed and kept me involved.
This book is a quick read but does require a bit of concentration in order to keep all the characters and historical references straight. As you would expect from any well researched historical novel based on tribes, armies, betrayals and battles it isn't an easy read. I believe that is a positive statement when it comes to this book because it means you are getting the meat of the story.
I highly recommend this book. Lovers of history will especially find it compelling. I hope to read more from this author and hope to see this become a series.
I received a free copy of this book.
I loved this book. It's a period of history that little is written about, when the might of the great Roman Empire was slowing being erroded by tribes indigenous to areas they thought their armies had conquered. It shows the heart of the human spirit and it's desire to be free from the yoke of an unwanted invader.
The characters in this book are well developed and compelling. You can feel and identify with Calach and those who surround them. Rarely do I read a book and when finished want to learn more about the characters through study of non-fiction books. This one did that for me and I know I will be looking for more information.
The story although fictionalized is based in history. This period is extremely interesting and under explored in historical fiction. I've read other accounts of the Roman rule of Britian but not this exact time period. The storyline was well developed and kept me involved.
This book is a quick read but does require a bit of concentration in order to keep all the characters and historical references straight. As you would expect from any well researched historical novel based on tribes, armies, betrayals and battles it isn't an easy read. I believe that is a positive statement when it comes to this book because it means you are getting the meat of the story.
I highly recommend this book. Lovers of history will especially find it compelling. I hope to read more from this author and hope to see this become a series.
I received a free copy of this book.
January 3, 2021
Good idea, poor execution
The concept of this story is great. However, the writing is atrocious. The plot develops in a linear fashion with barely any development of characters or settings. Even the settings shift without any warning. There is no connection to the characters because they are flat and uninteresting. The writer tried to use older sounding words (I'm assuming in an attempt to fit the historical timeframe) but then used modern words to describe some things (central command for a Roman outpost?). There was also very cliche descriptions, what few.descriptions were provided. But my biggest disappointment is the lack of story in the story. An example: Person A does this. Person B does that. [Jump to an unknown time forward and suddenly Person A is at Place G]. Person A is injured and does something. Very uninteresting and hard to follow. It's almost as if the writer had everything in his head but failed to put it all on paper.
The concept of this story is great. However, the writing is atrocious. The plot develops in a linear fashion with barely any development of characters or settings. Even the settings shift without any warning. There is no connection to the characters because they are flat and uninteresting. The writer tried to use older sounding words (I'm assuming in an attempt to fit the historical timeframe) but then used modern words to describe some things (central command for a Roman outpost?). There was also very cliche descriptions, what few.descriptions were provided. But my biggest disappointment is the lack of story in the story. An example: Person A does this. Person B does that. [Jump to an unknown time forward and suddenly Person A is at Place G]. Person A is injured and does something. Very uninteresting and hard to follow. It's almost as if the writer had everything in his head but failed to put it all on paper.
June 25, 2018
Feather of Hawk by Dave Michael is an epic historical fiction about the rebellion led by Callach the Swordsman against Rome. In 78 AD Caledonia (Ancient Scotland), rival Celtic tribes fight each other for control over territories. General Agricola secretly forms alliances with Celtic chieftains, causing division among the rulers on whether to seek a truce with the Romans. The Celtic warrior Callach falls in love and marries a fierce female warrior from the rival Vacomagi tribe to seal an alliance.
Upon the command of the new Roman Emperor, Domitian, Agricola marches his troops into Caledonia for the total conquest of Britain. In his assault, Callach's wife and father are killed. Vowing to avenge his family's deaths, Callach unites the Celtic tribes against the foreign invasion. He destroys the Roman Ninth Legion in their fort of Eborecum (modern-day York), but is finally defeated in open battle.
The author, Dave Michael, captures the essence of the ancient Celtic beliefs and culture based on his extensive research. He has a vivid, writing style that sweeps readers into battle and conflict. The story is told from an omniscient point of view in which we jump from the perspective of one character to another, often to a different setting, without scene breaks, making the story-telling jolting and at times confusing. The story would have read more smoothly and be more engaging if it had only been told from Callach's perspective.
Readers who like action-pack historical fiction set in ancient Scotland might enjoy this novel.
Upon the command of the new Roman Emperor, Domitian, Agricola marches his troops into Caledonia for the total conquest of Britain. In his assault, Callach's wife and father are killed. Vowing to avenge his family's deaths, Callach unites the Celtic tribes against the foreign invasion. He destroys the Roman Ninth Legion in their fort of Eborecum (modern-day York), but is finally defeated in open battle.
The author, Dave Michael, captures the essence of the ancient Celtic beliefs and culture based on his extensive research. He has a vivid, writing style that sweeps readers into battle and conflict. The story is told from an omniscient point of view in which we jump from the perspective of one character to another, often to a different setting, without scene breaks, making the story-telling jolting and at times confusing. The story would have read more smoothly and be more engaging if it had only been told from Callach's perspective.
Readers who like action-pack historical fiction set in ancient Scotland might enjoy this novel.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews