The Winter Cave

by Brian O'Sullivan

After completing her ‘tasking’ in the Lonely Lands, the woman warrior Liath Luachra retreats to spend another winter alone in the bleak Luachair valley.

It’s by no means certain she’ll make it through to Spring.

80 pages, ebook

About the author

Brian O'Sullivan was born in county Cork, Ireland. On completing a degree at University College Cork, he went on to travel extensively. He is now based in New Zealand with his family but returns to Ireland on a regular basis.

Brian writes fiction that incorporates strong elements of Irish culture, language, history and mythology. These include literary short stories (The Irish Muse collection), mystery thrillers (The Beara Trilogy) and contemporary versions of the Fionn mac Cumhaill/ Fenian legends (The Fionn mac Cumhaill Series and the Irish Woman Warrior Series).

Although he writes predominantly for an Irish audience, Brian's unique style and humour has meant that his books have become firm favorites of readers all around the world.

The sixth book in the the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series (Fionn: The Betrayal) was released in April 2025.

The author is currently working on the next book in the Beara Series.

Reviews

[Cree Ganmoryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brutal tasking leaves Liath Luachra with a dismal winter outlook in the cold cave near her family's hereditary homestead and the drear marshes. Questioning her own involvement in the tasking and her sense of self causes painful memories to resurface. The discovery of a mother owl seems to bring her hope but finding one of the chicks dead shatters it once more. She battles her ghosts with daily activities of life but soon grows exhausted. This in turn brings her into a deeper depression for which her only escape seems a relapse into the arms of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Clear mindedness once more descends coinciding with the arrival of an unexpected visitor. Making an unforeseen decision, Liath leaves her winter haunt for a just cause.

Brian has a very real sense of what it feels like to be a damaged woman. As a woman in recovery I've helped a lot of women, and myself, recover not just from substance use but from the underlying reasons for it.

Brian has written about Liath's inner issues before but this story is dedicated to those issues and the deep depression she fights daily.

Thank you Brian for a story that is integral to understanding The Grey One's full nature.

[Braon Beag · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a particular brutal mission, the woman warrior Liath Luachra returns to her winter cave in Luachair, the valley where her story first started. There she hunts, sleeps, talks to owls and consumes large quantities of narcotic while waiting for the Spring to come.

This wasn't really the book I was expecting. The previous Liath Luachra stories I've come to enjoy have all been action-packed, adrenaline-pumping adventures. This thoughtful and slow paced short story is clearly setting the scene for something far bigger but it remains an excellent stand-alone for all that.

Liath Luachra is a uniquely fascinating character and, even sitting alone getting stoned, O'Sullivan somehow manages to presents a mesmerizing figure who's troubled, charming and shocking in turn. Kudos to the author for puling such a unique story out of the air.

[Jonathan O’Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story could stand alone but, as part of the Liath Luacra saga, it furthers our understanding of this woman warrior, as she retreats to winter in a cave, cut off from everyone . As often happens, her solitude does not last the entire season when a man comes to her, looking for help. This story is a good read and, for those not familiar with the series, it is a fine introduction to this enigmatic protagonist.
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[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a much quieter and more introspective short story than we usually get from the Liath Luachra series, and to be honest it was a welcome variation. As much as I appreciate the action-based storytelling that we usually get with this character, it was nice to get something that focuses more on exploring and expanding our understanding of the protagonist. In many stories, having your mysterious, enigmatic warrior character become more familiar and open makes them less interesting, but O’Sullivan manages to avoid that with his version of Liath Luachra. I look forward to continuing to read more adventures with this character, now that I feel that I have a better understanding of her.

[Brian O'Sullivan]

Obviously this isn't a review of my own work, just a note to let you know that this book isn't available at the usual ebookstores. You can find it, however, at http://irishimbasbooks.com/book/the-w... which is on my own website.

Over the last few years, I've become increasingly unimpressed with the monopolistic and socially irresponsible behaviour of the major tech companies (avoidance of taxes, etc.). This is my way of attempting to deal with that issue. It is not meant to be a comment on anybody else's interaction with those companies of course.

[Nat Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I'd have preferred something longer, this short story gets into my favorite woman warrior's head in a way that's not only intriguing but touching as well. If you know nothing about Liath Luachra, then this is a perfect introduction to the character.

Have to say her existence in that cave at Luachair very much reminded me of a certain segment of The Perfume. Two very different books but if you've read both, you'll see why.

[Fi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We know the strength of the warrior woman and in this story we see her psychological strength in her dealings with being completely alone & her hunger. And then there’s a gentleness when she encounters with empathy the owl with chicks.
As I read the book, I felt the cold. I felt the hunger & how bleak that place was; such is the gift of a writer.
I can’t wait to read her next adventure.