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Cyfres Amdani: Gem Beryglus
Llyfr o gyfres Amdani, i ddysgwyr Lefel Canolradd. Addasiad Cymraeg Pegi Talfryn o Man Hunt gan Richard MacAndrew. Mae Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog yn enwog am ei harddwch naturiol ac am y llwybrau cerdded. Ond mae'r lle yn cyrraedd y newyddion am reswm arall; mae pobl yn cael eu lladd yn yr ardal. A book for Welsh learners, Intermediate Level. A Welsh adaptation of Man Hunt by Richard MacAndrew, being a murder mystery set against the beauty of the Brecon Beacons.
- GenresFiction
100 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 1, 2020
For learners of the Canolradd level, the vocab is well selected and the sentence structure/grammar is at the correct level, which makes it good practice material.
The story, however. . . The police are taciturn and largely unlikeable 'tough guys' (even the women) and the mystery is rather far fetched. I personally don't like those heavy-breathing "psycho killer" POV chapters many thrillers feel they must have, so had to force myself to read the ones in Gem Beryglus (because you're supposed to be practicing, right?)
Dw i ddim yn hoffi'r stori'n iawn, ond mae hi'n dda i ymarfer.
The story, however. . . The police are taciturn and largely unlikeable 'tough guys' (even the women) and the mystery is rather far fetched. I personally don't like those heavy-breathing "psycho killer" POV chapters many thrillers feel they must have, so had to force myself to read the ones in Gem Beryglus (because you're supposed to be practicing, right?)
Dw i ddim yn hoffi'r stori'n iawn, ond mae hi'n dda i ymarfer.
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February 16, 2024Mm, no, not for me. I read the first few chapters, got bored, skipped to the end to read the motive and didn't feel the need to fill in the blanks. My first Welsh-language DNF, and as such it's not entirely fair to give it a rating.
Admittedly police procedurals are what I primarily think of when it comes to 'gritty media', which is why I went for years thinking I didn't like darker fiction. After my last few reads, I've come to realise perhaps it's just fictional police procedurals that aren't my thing. Berengaria was right on the money about a set of taciturn tough bobbies in blue who are fully in 'work mode', the victims are described clinically (as they would be by their murderer or the investigating police officers), and personally I didn't feel that the POV chapters really added to the tension either - just a lot of giddy 'I'll show them' and 'this is better than sex' and 'I feel like God' sentences one after the other. There's a plot, just nothing in it to make me care.
Language-wise, I'd had a go at reading this in mid-Sylfaen and it was a bit much back then, but it's absolutely fine at Canolradd. The geirfa at the back seems quite thorough, and it's officially recommended at Uned 18.
No rating given.
Admittedly police procedurals are what I primarily think of when it comes to 'gritty media', which is why I went for years thinking I didn't like darker fiction. After my last few reads, I've come to realise perhaps it's just fictional police procedurals that aren't my thing. Berengaria was right on the money about a set of taciturn tough bobbies in blue who are fully in 'work mode', the victims are described clinically (as they would be by their murderer or the investigating police officers), and personally I didn't feel that the POV chapters really added to the tension either - just a lot of giddy 'I'll show them' and 'this is better than sex' and 'I feel like God' sentences one after the other. There's a plot, just nothing in it to make me care.
Language-wise, I'd had a go at reading this in mid-Sylfaen and it was a bit much back then, but it's absolutely fine at Canolradd. The geirfa at the back seems quite thorough, and it's officially recommended at Uned 18.
No rating given.
September 21, 2019
Wel, roedd y llyfr i ddysgwyr yn eithaf da, gyda llawer o eirfa defnyddiol wedi ysgrifennu. Doedd y stori ddim yn wych, beth bynnag. Hoffais i mor stori. Ro'n i'n gobeithio fod y stori'n gyffrous, ond mae'n od a ddim fel stori trosedd dw i wedi disgwyl. Wel. Dyma ni. Beth bynnag, roedd e'n grêt i ymarfer fy Nghymraeg.
June 26, 2025
The story is simple (not groundbreaking, but readable), but the vocab and sentence structure is perfect for a canolradd learner. An excellent practise read.
August 11, 2025
Oooo I think from page one of this one I was hooked. It quickly drew me in and set itself a part from some of the other books in the Cyfres Amdani series so far and maybe that’s a sign of my increased Welsh reading comprehension as I could understand more and more of it!
I went over the vocab and words first to try and familiarise myself with ones I didn’t know, and then launched into the book and the story, referring to any words I wasn’t sure of along the way.
It was an intriguing plot and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I read it (when I eventually sat down to read a few chapters!) and the words flew off the page into my brain with a fair amount of ease. I can’t wait to see how much of a step up Uwch reading is after this one!
I went over the vocab and words first to try and familiarise myself with ones I didn’t know, and then launched into the book and the story, referring to any words I wasn’t sure of along the way.
It was an intriguing plot and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I read it (when I eventually sat down to read a few chapters!) and the words flew off the page into my brain with a fair amount of ease. I can’t wait to see how much of a step up Uwch reading is after this one!
January 20, 2024
Very dark and intriguing. I found myself wanting to keep reading which isn't always the case when I'm reading Welsh books as a learner.
Although I'm not a fan of police procedurals so sometimes I wanted to skip bits. I wasn't sure about the motive but Ithe psychology was sort of explained. Dw I ddim yn siŵr.
A good story for learners who like a crime or thriller novel. I haven't seen many of those in the cyfres amdani series. Good reading practice.
Although I'm not a fan of police procedurals so sometimes I wanted to skip bits. I wasn't sure about the motive but Ithe psychology was sort of explained. Dw I ddim yn siŵr.
A good story for learners who like a crime or thriller novel. I haven't seen many of those in the cyfres amdani series. Good reading practice.
May 24, 2021
Da iawn. Ro'n i'n wedi mwynhau yn fawr wedi darllen y llyfr 'ma. Roedd y stori yn ddiddorol a'r ysgrifennu'n heriol i mi
January 23, 2022
Darllenais fy nghytaf llyfr yn gymraeg 😁 Mw ynheuais I ond roedd gymryd yn amser hir!
June 2, 2023
Very derivative, paint-by-numbers police procedural
May 3, 2021
I loved this
February 13, 2023
Gwych!
A good read, and I raced my husband to the end (yes, I come from a very competitive family! 😂) as we are both learning Welsh and reading it at the same time. Somewhat unsettling to read, actually, as we live very near the action!!
PS We've been re-reading this out loud to each other, a section each day, and then translating it.
Ymarfer da iawn!
A good read, and I raced my husband to the end (yes, I come from a very competitive family! 😂) as we are both learning Welsh and reading it at the same time. Somewhat unsettling to read, actually, as we live very near the action!!
PS We've been re-reading this out loud to each other, a section each day, and then translating it.
Ymarfer da iawn!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews