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Bard #2
Bard II: THE RETURN OF FELIMID MAC FAL!
THE RETURN OF FELIMID MAC FAL!
This is the tale of one Felimid mac vagabond, roustabout, poet—and magician! For Felimid is a poet of the old Irish a fully trained bard of Erin. And his is the sort of poetry that can sing shy dryads out of their trees and dragons into slumber and juggle the fixed round of the seasons as a jester juggles knives.
A man who saw the bard's pretty face and the harp on his back might think him a simple minstrel. That mistake could cost him his life.
But a woman who saw the bard's pretty face might have other ideas...particularly if she is Gudrun Blackhair, the most notorious pirate on the northern sea!
"For lovers of magic, history, and/or swashbuckling adventure, [Bard] is an excellent novel about an earthy and genuinely likeable Irish hero."—Science Fiction Review
This is the tale of one Felimid mac vagabond, roustabout, poet—and magician! For Felimid is a poet of the old Irish a fully trained bard of Erin. And his is the sort of poetry that can sing shy dryads out of their trees and dragons into slumber and juggle the fixed round of the seasons as a jester juggles knives.
A man who saw the bard's pretty face and the harp on his back might think him a simple minstrel. That mistake could cost him his life.
But a woman who saw the bard's pretty face might have other ideas...particularly if she is Gudrun Blackhair, the most notorious pirate on the northern sea!
"For lovers of magic, history, and/or swashbuckling adventure, [Bard] is an excellent novel about an earthy and genuinely likeable Irish hero."—Science Fiction Review
273 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1984
5 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Keith Taylor
113 books65 followersKeith Taylor is the true identity of the million plus selling author behind the pen names Aya Fukunishi and K A Taylor, who toiled for years writing bizarrely popular romance novels while he secretly longed to return to his true calling: explosively awesome post-apocalyptic fiction.
Keith hails from the rainy suburbs of Manchester in the north of England. He lives with his wife, Otgontsetseg, and splits his time between Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Bangkok, Thailand. He survives on a diet of meat, cheese, beer and cigarettes, and he probably shouldn't still be alive.
For news about upcoming releases, sales and various other nonsense you can follow Keith on Facebook or subscribe to his mailing list.
Keith hails from the rainy suburbs of Manchester in the north of England. He lives with his wife, Otgontsetseg, and splits his time between Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Bangkok, Thailand. He survives on a diet of meat, cheese, beer and cigarettes, and he probably shouldn't still be alive.
For news about upcoming releases, sales and various other nonsense you can follow Keith on Facebook or subscribe to his mailing list.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 2, 2023
A Celtic bard, a gold-strung harp and a saga of gripping historical-fantasy adventures!
If you haven't yet read any of the books in this series, RUN, don't walk and get them now! This is the second in the series, and you needn't have read the others to enjoy it; but if you like Celtic-legend-infused fantasy rich in actual history, once you've read it I guarantee you'll want the rest! All of them are finally (!!) available in Kindle format, including the long-awaited fifth volume, BARD V: FELIMID'S HOMECOMING.
Felimid mac Fal, bard of Erin (the emerald isle today known as Ireland) returns, just as the subtitle promises. For those who haven't read the other books, Felimid is a bard of the third rank, descended from the fabled fae clan the Tuatha de Danann (fans of Seanan McGuire's October Daye series will surely recognize that name!) and exiled from his homeland due to a blood feud. He wanders the British Isles and Europe in the 5th century AD, getting himself in all kinds of trouble for his ungovernably sharp tongue and his eye for the ladies of various warring kingdoms. His chief treasures are his harp, Golden Singer, named for its strings made of pure gold and its magical powers, and his silver-inlaid sword Kincaid, cursed to kill anyone not of Felimid's line who attempt to take or wield it.
It is in this second novel that the Erin rover meets the woman who will become the love of his life: the raven-tressed, Norse-born, battle-hardened pirate queen of the English Channel (the "Narrow Sea" here), Gudrun Blackhair. Also appearing is a legendary Slavic godling, Koschei the Deathless, and Felimid wars with him for Gudrun's life; and speaking of gods, Odin himself puts in an appearance to counsel Gudrun, his hand-picked warrior. In these books you'll also meet Vivayn the Perfidious, a lovely, lusty sorceress with ankle-length, flame-red hair and a serious grudge against the conquerors of her late father's kingdom, and her gal-pal Eldrida; Palamides the Thracian, knight of a certain rising young leader with a round table and an old friend of Felimid's; the scheming sea-captain Pascent, who like Felimid joins Gudrun's pirate crew at the point of her sword, Kissing Viper; and many more.
The characters, as in all the books of this series, are rich and fully drawn, the writing (which includes Felimid's poetry and song lyrics) is lyrical and enchanting, the plot is filled with adventure, romance and battles both physical and mystical, and the geographic and historical elements well-researched and deftly worked into the fictional characters and story. I first read these books not long after their original publication in the 1980s, and they still hold up well as great entertainment. I can't believe nobody's tried to make a movie of them (or at least a radio drama); I see Pierce Brosnan as Felimid and Brian Blessed as King Oisc, Jane Seymour as Vivayn, and the late John Colicos (STAR TREK, BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA) could easily have played Pascent.
I don't usually buy fantasy quite as much as science fiction, but this series has earned pride of place on my already groaning bookshelves...and I predict it will end up a firm favorite of yours as well, if your tastes in literature are anything like mine.
If you haven't yet read any of the books in this series, RUN, don't walk and get them now! This is the second in the series, and you needn't have read the others to enjoy it; but if you like Celtic-legend-infused fantasy rich in actual history, once you've read it I guarantee you'll want the rest! All of them are finally (!!) available in Kindle format, including the long-awaited fifth volume, BARD V: FELIMID'S HOMECOMING.
Felimid mac Fal, bard of Erin (the emerald isle today known as Ireland) returns, just as the subtitle promises. For those who haven't read the other books, Felimid is a bard of the third rank, descended from the fabled fae clan the Tuatha de Danann (fans of Seanan McGuire's October Daye series will surely recognize that name!) and exiled from his homeland due to a blood feud. He wanders the British Isles and Europe in the 5th century AD, getting himself in all kinds of trouble for his ungovernably sharp tongue and his eye for the ladies of various warring kingdoms. His chief treasures are his harp, Golden Singer, named for its strings made of pure gold and its magical powers, and his silver-inlaid sword Kincaid, cursed to kill anyone not of Felimid's line who attempt to take or wield it.
It is in this second novel that the Erin rover meets the woman who will become the love of his life: the raven-tressed, Norse-born, battle-hardened pirate queen of the English Channel (the "Narrow Sea" here), Gudrun Blackhair. Also appearing is a legendary Slavic godling, Koschei the Deathless, and Felimid wars with him for Gudrun's life; and speaking of gods, Odin himself puts in an appearance to counsel Gudrun, his hand-picked warrior. In these books you'll also meet Vivayn the Perfidious, a lovely, lusty sorceress with ankle-length, flame-red hair and a serious grudge against the conquerors of her late father's kingdom, and her gal-pal Eldrida; Palamides the Thracian, knight of a certain rising young leader with a round table and an old friend of Felimid's; the scheming sea-captain Pascent, who like Felimid joins Gudrun's pirate crew at the point of her sword, Kissing Viper; and many more.
The characters, as in all the books of this series, are rich and fully drawn, the writing (which includes Felimid's poetry and song lyrics) is lyrical and enchanting, the plot is filled with adventure, romance and battles both physical and mystical, and the geographic and historical elements well-researched and deftly worked into the fictional characters and story. I first read these books not long after their original publication in the 1980s, and they still hold up well as great entertainment. I can't believe nobody's tried to make a movie of them (or at least a radio drama); I see Pierce Brosnan as Felimid and Brian Blessed as King Oisc, Jane Seymour as Vivayn, and the late John Colicos (STAR TREK, BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA) could easily have played Pascent.
I don't usually buy fantasy quite as much as science fiction, but this series has earned pride of place on my already groaning bookshelves...and I predict it will end up a firm favorite of yours as well, if your tastes in literature are anything like mine.
June 24, 2019
Another great blast from the past. Taylor's knowledge of times, places, mythology, weapons it's encyclopedic. The action rarely takes a break and the dynamic between Felimid and Gudrun become more tested by their differing ways. Happily moving on to the next.
May 1, 2023
Continues an excellent series
March 2, 2015
Disappointing. Not as good as the first. I had high hopes for Gudrun the female pirate, but then it turned into a romance of some kind. No, no, Felimid did much better as a carefree bard with a lady a day. And from the looks of things, Gudrun is here to stay for the rest of the series.
October 30, 2020
Poetry
Reading this book is like reading one long poem! I can't even fathom how an author can write so beautifully and still maintain so glorious an adventure!!!
Reading this book is like reading one long poem! I can't even fathom how an author can write so beautifully and still maintain so glorious an adventure!!!
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April 13, 2021Exciting
I picked up the first book at a used bookstore. I am very glad someone decided to share this book! I hope to read many more books by this author!
I picked up the first book at a used bookstore. I am very glad someone decided to share this book! I hope to read many more books by this author!
November 9, 2017
The first half third is pretty meh. Not much going on of any interest. the middle third starts getting interesting with the visit to the dwarves. The final third is a solid piece of sword and sorcery deliciousness, and honestly makes the book worth reading. Because of it I'll read the next book and see if there will be more of the same (really hoping so). It's a tough call in what to rate this with it being so uneven.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews