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Bright Sword of Ireland
Bright Sword of Ireland is the third in Juilene Osborne-McKnight's wonderful retelling of cherished Irish folktales. A dedicated researcher into the origins of Celtic myth and legend, Osborne-McKnight infuses her stories with passion, romance and magic.
Her focus this time is the great warrior queen Medb of Connaught. Beautiful. Bold in battle . . . and in bed. A legend among her people, she lusts for the Brown Cow of Cuailnge for the power and the glory that it would bring to her. And she will use anyone, do anything, to reach her goal. Who should stand in her way? None other than the fabled hero Cuchulainn, thought to be not quite of this world and who is said to able to use the spirits of the forest and glen to conquer his enemies. Noble tales, ignoble deeds.
But sometimes the biggest part of an epic tale comes not from the biggest players on the stage. What happens to those who have grown up in the shadow of greatness? And who pays when the game of power calls for sacrifice?
Young Finnabair is the daughter of mighty queen Medb. Not a beauty. Not a warrior. And one who is seen as a pawn for her mother to use as she will. But Finnabair rebels when she sees that her part in her mother's schemes for power has caused pain and shame to her people.
In doing so, Finnabair will embark on a journey that will change two kingdoms . . . and bring her love and loss so great as to break the hearts of the gods.
Her focus this time is the great warrior queen Medb of Connaught. Beautiful. Bold in battle . . . and in bed. A legend among her people, she lusts for the Brown Cow of Cuailnge for the power and the glory that it would bring to her. And she will use anyone, do anything, to reach her goal. Who should stand in her way? None other than the fabled hero Cuchulainn, thought to be not quite of this world and who is said to able to use the spirits of the forest and glen to conquer his enemies. Noble tales, ignoble deeds.
But sometimes the biggest part of an epic tale comes not from the biggest players on the stage. What happens to those who have grown up in the shadow of greatness? And who pays when the game of power calls for sacrifice?
Young Finnabair is the daughter of mighty queen Medb. Not a beauty. Not a warrior. And one who is seen as a pawn for her mother to use as she will. But Finnabair rebels when she sees that her part in her mother's schemes for power has caused pain and shame to her people.
In doing so, Finnabair will embark on a journey that will change two kingdoms . . . and bring her love and loss so great as to break the hearts of the gods.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2004
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221 people want to read
About the author
Juilene Osborne-McKnight
7 books125 followersJuilene Osborne-McKnight's newest book is Storyteller: Irish Myths, Legends and Folktales for Americans. Her nonfiction history The Story We Carry in our Bones: Irish History for Americans is now in its fifth printing. Both are available at Barnes & Noble, on amazon.com and from Pelican Publishing. She is also the author of four novels from MacMillan: I am of Irelaunde, Daughter of Ireland, Bright Sword of Ireland and Song of Ireland, available on amazon.com and barnes and noble.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 7, 2012
The author writes well and her use of dialogue in regards to ancient people is better than most--no modernisms and equally no twee 'cod-ancient' speak. She definitely had read the legends as well.
But....first, she goes on in her forward for about 4 pages telling us what an authority she is on 'celtic' subjects. That got my back up right away, especially as any 'authority' knows that the Irish are not technically 'celts' at all and that there is no archaeological or genetic evidence of large invasions of central European celts into Ireland at any time. The average punter may not know this, but an 'authority' should.
Then, in the story itself, she has a Welsh woman. At the time the book took place, there was no place called Wales. This was a Saxon word meaning 'strangers'; and the author tried to claim it was Roman! (If you can't tell a Germanic language from Latin...)
But worst of all was the inclusion of a woman from,apparently, a surviving stone age Irish tribe. The author said these people were wise and peaceful like native Americans, and were dark like them, and hence she gave her a native name (since native American stuff is her other 'expertise.'! Whhhaaattt. Those stone age tribes are the direct ancestors of the modern Irish, and they were, I can assure you, European, and like all stone age people (including natives!) they were not some fluffy-wuffy happy hippies dancing around hand in hand. I actually found this cultural appropriation of the worst kind and slightly offensive to both both natives and native Irish.
But....first, she goes on in her forward for about 4 pages telling us what an authority she is on 'celtic' subjects. That got my back up right away, especially as any 'authority' knows that the Irish are not technically 'celts' at all and that there is no archaeological or genetic evidence of large invasions of central European celts into Ireland at any time. The average punter may not know this, but an 'authority' should.
Then, in the story itself, she has a Welsh woman. At the time the book took place, there was no place called Wales. This was a Saxon word meaning 'strangers'; and the author tried to claim it was Roman! (If you can't tell a Germanic language from Latin...)
But worst of all was the inclusion of a woman from,apparently, a surviving stone age Irish tribe. The author said these people were wise and peaceful like native Americans, and were dark like them, and hence she gave her a native name (since native American stuff is her other 'expertise.'! Whhhaaattt. Those stone age tribes are the direct ancestors of the modern Irish, and they were, I can assure you, European, and like all stone age people (including natives!) they were not some fluffy-wuffy happy hippies dancing around hand in hand. I actually found this cultural appropriation of the worst kind and slightly offensive to both both natives and native Irish.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
I absolutely love mythology and particularly Irish mythology. This story of Finnabair, Cuchulain and the wars between Ulster and Connaught started by Queen Mebd and her desire to have more assets than her husband is always a great read. Julienne has done a great job bringing it to life.
December 18, 2019
Well, I finished it months ago, but it must not of made much of an impression because I can't tell you whether I liked it or not. Hence the middlin' rating.
October 24, 2023
It was a beautiful story. There were moments where I was tearing up because some parts broke my heart. The ending was beautiful however.
February 16, 2013
This is the story of daughter of Queen Medb, the woman who lusted after the bull and had many men killed because of it. Her daughter is caught in the middle, pledged in marriage to Cuchullain's friend, her ememy. Her attempts to reconcile her feelings for her husband and the anger and hurt she has towards her mother lead her through many physical and emotional obstacles.
The story was told in narrative flashback for the first 2/3 of the novel and giving less vibrancy to the story. Combine that with clumsy and innacurate Irish and historical clunkers that others have addressed made for a novel that lacked in many ways. It's a shame because the narrative sometimes really comes alive when Fiannabair or Cuchulainn are present in the scene.
The story was told in narrative flashback for the first 2/3 of the novel and giving less vibrancy to the story. Combine that with clumsy and innacurate Irish and historical clunkers that others have addressed made for a novel that lacked in many ways. It's a shame because the narrative sometimes really comes alive when Fiannabair or Cuchulainn are present in the scene.
January 5, 2010
After reading Daughter of Ireland I was excited to read Bright Sword of Ireland. I was somewhat disappointed. The story was not as good, but I enjoyed the parts with Cuchulain. I love the Irish myths that are mixed up within the stories. This could have been a great book save that it carried on way to long. My other pet peeve is that to further the story-telling, the author had the characters in the book, continue the plot by telling more stories. When done well, this is great, but Bright Sword of Ireland had way too many history lessons and very little action.
May 21, 2012
I liked this book. I of course liked some parts of the story more than others. It was sad in my opinion but had some happy times too. It started off slow to me but really got me interested later. It was a well written book and had a lot of good history in it that I really enjoyed. It seemed like what an actual Ireland was like back in those ancient times. It was rugged and wild with wars constantly approaching the strong people that lived there. Very interesting book. I really enjoyed the end of the book! :)
May 26, 2013
Just finished this book and really enjoyed it. The author takes people from Irish folktales and brings them to life. Plus there's a pronunciation key for all those names I've never known how to pronounce! I will definitely be checking out more of her work.
May 15, 2007
A mix of legend, history, and romance--with a good dose of Irish flavor.
December 26, 2014
A surprisingly moving book based on Irish folklore.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews