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Cahena: A Dream of the Past
Winner of the World Fantasy Convention's prestigious Gandalf Award for Lifetime Achievement, Manly Wade Wellman is the highly acclaimed author of the John Thun-stone novels and the Silver John the Balladeer series. Now comes the crowning achievement of Wellman's long and distinguished career: Cahena, the heroic adventures of a real-life warrior queen.
The brave and beautiful Daia al Cahena was a sorceress and prophetess, a goddess of love and of war. Her glorious reign over the Moors in the seventh and eighth centuries was marked by passionate romance, stirring battles, and bold mystical deeds. The Cahena had the sensuality of Cleopatra, the wisdom of Catherine the Great, and the courage of Joan of Arc. Wellman tells her story from the vantage point of Wulf, the Saxon soldier who rode at her side. Wulf came to know the warrior queen like no one else before or after—for he was the one man who dared to love her.
The Cahena led an army forty thousand strong, wielding javelins and scimitars, in a valiant struggle against the Mohammedan invaders who were fresh from their conquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt. She faced Khro, the messenger of death, and Lamia, the devil-woman. Ultimately, her allies betrayed her, the gods abandoned her, and she was left in the desert to stand and face her destiny alone. Rich in historical detail and dramatic action, this is a story to rival the great war epics of all time.
The brave and beautiful Daia al Cahena was a sorceress and prophetess, a goddess of love and of war. Her glorious reign over the Moors in the seventh and eighth centuries was marked by passionate romance, stirring battles, and bold mystical deeds. The Cahena had the sensuality of Cleopatra, the wisdom of Catherine the Great, and the courage of Joan of Arc. Wellman tells her story from the vantage point of Wulf, the Saxon soldier who rode at her side. Wulf came to know the warrior queen like no one else before or after—for he was the one man who dared to love her.
The Cahena led an army forty thousand strong, wielding javelins and scimitars, in a valiant struggle against the Mohammedan invaders who were fresh from their conquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt. She faced Khro, the messenger of death, and Lamia, the devil-woman. Ultimately, her allies betrayed her, the gods abandoned her, and she was left in the desert to stand and face her destiny alone. Rich in historical detail and dramatic action, this is a story to rival the great war epics of all time.
182 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 14, 2025
Another all but forgotten gem DMR Books has brought back into print!
If you are unfamiliar with Manly Wade Wellman it's really not your fault. Quite a bit of his work has been out of print for decades. And I'm not really sure why. Heck I was unfamiliar with Cahena until DMR reprinted it. Some books become obscure because they are bad, but that's not the case with Cahena.
A fine historical fiction; a love story really. Wulf is a man at home on the battlefield. He seeks out conflict and sells his sword for a living. When Carthage is sacked by the Moslems Wulf uses his wits and slips away. With confidence in himself and his martial prowess he finds himself brought before the beautiful and mysterious Cahena. Together they attempt to drive the Moslems out of their lands forever. Poor choices are made and human folly rears its head.
Wulf is a stoic and intelligent protagonist. Certainly a character most would regard with high esteem. Even faced with the trials his faces he remains cool and steadfast in his duty. If only more of us were made of such stern stuff...
Some quotes I enjoyed from the book:
"Faith cannot exist if it calls for proof."
"No, I don't fear death, but Life isn't such a burden that I go looking for death."
Recommended!
If you are unfamiliar with Manly Wade Wellman it's really not your fault. Quite a bit of his work has been out of print for decades. And I'm not really sure why. Heck I was unfamiliar with Cahena until DMR reprinted it. Some books become obscure because they are bad, but that's not the case with Cahena.
A fine historical fiction; a love story really. Wulf is a man at home on the battlefield. He seeks out conflict and sells his sword for a living. When Carthage is sacked by the Moslems Wulf uses his wits and slips away. With confidence in himself and his martial prowess he finds himself brought before the beautiful and mysterious Cahena. Together they attempt to drive the Moslems out of their lands forever. Poor choices are made and human folly rears its head.
Wulf is a stoic and intelligent protagonist. Certainly a character most would regard with high esteem. Even faced with the trials his faces he remains cool and steadfast in his duty. If only more of us were made of such stern stuff...
Some quotes I enjoyed from the book:
"Faith cannot exist if it calls for proof."
"No, I don't fear death, but Life isn't such a burden that I go looking for death."
Recommended!
July 11, 2014
I absolutely love this book. As a desert fantasy, Wellman's writing is highly evocative. Also, while many works with a white male westerner in a foreign land suffer from the syndrome where the white guy rescues the natives (cf. James Cameron's movie Avatar, among many many others), the white viking guy in this book is less of a hero and more of a witness. He admits at the beginning of the story to having been affected by his time with The Cahena, more than having been an "affect"or. The Cahena herself is wonderfully cryptic and enigmatic. A great book for re-reading.
December 17, 2020
A final work by a giant of the pulp and early fantasy fields that comes close to greatness, but falls short.
The Cahena (Kahina) was a real person, a warrior queen of the Berbers who fought the Muslim expansion. There are two ways to tell stories about historical people. One is to go ahead and make the person your protagonist; the second is to see the story through the eyes of a fictitious character who is in that person's inner circle. In this tale, Manly Wade Wellman choses the latter, and our narrator is a Saxon warrior, fresh out of Buyzantine service, named Wulf. Wulf is a failed priestly acolyte-turned-soldier looking for meaning and finds it in the doomed resistance of the Cahena who, he also has a torrid, if doomed, affair.
The entire story is set a generation later, as Wulf tells the tale to Charles Martel on the eve of the Battle of Tours, which works quite effectively. As an historical novel, the work has decided flaws of authenticity, suggesting that Wellman was either consulting very dated arms and armour sources, or just hadn't updated his own knowledge since the pulp-era. The Berbers are fairly accurate, the Muslims are really far more an Arab army of the 18th century, sans guns, than the eighth. (The famed curved sword of the Islamic world did not enter the Middle East until the late Middle Ages, the advancing Arabs would have been armed and armoured little different than their foes in mail (or nothing), simple helmets, round shields and straight swords. I cringed when Charles is described as wearing a horned helmet, a trope that was long known to be nonsense by the 80s, when this book was written.
So, the martial historian in me cringed at the anachronisms in a way others might not. But as a story, the action is compelling and page-turning, the characters generally well-drawn. Wulf comes close to being a Mary Sue, but not quite -- in the end, he cannot prevent the Cahena's fate. The one failing is in the Cahena herself. A fascinating character, both historically and in this novel, her fall is hastened by a rather trite and contrived "silly woman" bit of naïve hubris that seemed decidedly out of character and showed a little too much of Wellman's 30s pulp origins. I think the same thing could have been done with a slower build, but it feels forced as is.
It should be noted that the novel is, strictly speaking, historical fantasy. There are three different supernatural elements hinted at in the novel: the Cahena's ability to speak to spirits and heal ailments, a mysterious woman who may be centuries old, and Khro a minotaur-like being that haunts the doomed the night before battle, and may be a lingering, now forgotten deity. Only one of these is essentially confirmed as supernatural, and I do wonder if Wellman's publisher wanted him to make this a fantasy because that is how he was best known. I would have preferred that all of the fantastical elements were muted and "maybe real, maybe not" or failing that, they all had been truly magical and given more space.
This sounds like a three star review, but it really isn't. Despite the flaws (some of which may be because Wellman was in a series of final illnesses and racing to finish the book), there is a sad, melancholic beauty to the novel, Wulf is a decidedly likable protagonist, and we see how an experienced author can weave a tale about little known places and people effectively, in not even 300 pages. This book deserves to be in print, and if not perfect, it is still a fitting coda to a 60-year career. I am glad DMR Books rescued it from obscurity.
The Cahena (Kahina) was a real person, a warrior queen of the Berbers who fought the Muslim expansion. There are two ways to tell stories about historical people. One is to go ahead and make the person your protagonist; the second is to see the story through the eyes of a fictitious character who is in that person's inner circle. In this tale, Manly Wade Wellman choses the latter, and our narrator is a Saxon warrior, fresh out of Buyzantine service, named Wulf. Wulf is a failed priestly acolyte-turned-soldier looking for meaning and finds it in the doomed resistance of the Cahena who, he also has a torrid, if doomed, affair.
The entire story is set a generation later, as Wulf tells the tale to Charles Martel on the eve of the Battle of Tours, which works quite effectively. As an historical novel, the work has decided flaws of authenticity, suggesting that Wellman was either consulting very dated arms and armour sources, or just hadn't updated his own knowledge since the pulp-era. The Berbers are fairly accurate, the Muslims are really far more an Arab army of the 18th century, sans guns, than the eighth. (The famed curved sword of the Islamic world did not enter the Middle East until the late Middle Ages, the advancing Arabs would have been armed and armoured little different than their foes in mail (or nothing), simple helmets, round shields and straight swords. I cringed when Charles is described as wearing a horned helmet, a trope that was long known to be nonsense by the 80s, when this book was written.
So, the martial historian in me cringed at the anachronisms in a way others might not. But as a story, the action is compelling and page-turning, the characters generally well-drawn. Wulf comes close to being a Mary Sue, but not quite -- in the end, he cannot prevent the Cahena's fate. The one failing is in the Cahena herself. A fascinating character, both historically and in this novel, her fall is hastened by a rather trite and contrived "silly woman" bit of naïve hubris that seemed decidedly out of character and showed a little too much of Wellman's 30s pulp origins. I think the same thing could have been done with a slower build, but it feels forced as is.
It should be noted that the novel is, strictly speaking, historical fantasy. There are three different supernatural elements hinted at in the novel: the Cahena's ability to speak to spirits and heal ailments, a mysterious woman who may be centuries old, and Khro a minotaur-like being that haunts the doomed the night before battle, and may be a lingering, now forgotten deity. Only one of these is essentially confirmed as supernatural, and I do wonder if Wellman's publisher wanted him to make this a fantasy because that is how he was best known. I would have preferred that all of the fantastical elements were muted and "maybe real, maybe not" or failing that, they all had been truly magical and given more space.
This sounds like a three star review, but it really isn't. Despite the flaws (some of which may be because Wellman was in a series of final illnesses and racing to finish the book), there is a sad, melancholic beauty to the novel, Wulf is a decidedly likable protagonist, and we see how an experienced author can weave a tale about little known places and people effectively, in not even 300 pages. This book deserves to be in print, and if not perfect, it is still a fitting coda to a 60-year career. I am glad DMR Books rescued it from obscurity.
August 28, 2023
It took me a while to piece together. I’d read some Manly Wellman before (his survivor of Atlantis tales) and here the text was enjoyable but different - it was not bereft of humor but less lost in mirth, yet replacing the humor was a sort of celebratory light quality - and then it struck. I’d read something once before with the same tone. This reminded me of stories of Robin Hood.
I was reading the story of a folk hero.
And that is just what we have here, with an expertly narrated take that is instantly enjoyable populated with interesting people from the past adrift in desert sands and struggles from long ago.
Regarding the prose: it’s surprisingly bare bones and consise, which I usually don’t like as I feel like that’s lazy and boring prose, but there is just enough allusions and symbolism and word play put in to keep it interesting and engaging. Further, often there are words behind the words - a quiet energy that I found charming. So while this is no Robert Howard, it is strong enough to keep me reading and enjoying.
Central to the story is of course the
Cahena - woman and prophetess and warrior, love interest and the stories symbol, perceived and regarded by Wulf and the others as something enchanting. As with the prose, there is a simple kind energy to the characters and the interactions thereof, there in the interactions of the camp followers I felt like I was in a scouts camp with its teasing, playful energies. This fit in perfectly with the celebratory, pagentary ways of a folk hero tale. The writer does a good job of pointing out the dichotomy to her character: though she is presented as some sort of warrior, she looks young in the moonlight to Wulf, and her boots are small, saying a lot with a little here.
I really liked the cultural and mythological bits that were sprinkled here and there; i.e. Talk of Khro, the bull headed being that selects who is fated to die before each battle, camp scenes set about old dusty tombs, etc. That sort of thing. Like most I was not familiar with the culture introduced here, so its promise was exciting and engaging.
As with Wellman’s other works, there are occasionally good philosophical/sociological asides, such as this tid bit:
“What happened to gods when their people perished, or turned away after other faiths? Did gods die then? What happened to the gods of Greece and Rome, of Babylon and Canaan, what about the three hundred and sixty grotesque idols at Mecca, one for every day of the Arabian year, before Mohammad cast them out? It might be unchancy to be a god when worship stopped, when prayers were chanted no more, when the odor of incense, of sacrificial blood died out of the air before the alter. In Wulf’s England the church was strong, but here and there the people still built the Beltane fires, stayed awake all night to welcome midsummer, trembled in fear of the spirits out and wandering on tte eve of All Hallows. And what about here, with the Imazighan bowing to gods of all sorts? How long could those gods live and prevail?”
However, as I continued to read, I started to grow bored. The prose - while flecked with brief shimmering imagery - was usually too tame and simple. The love scenes didn’t interest me. The fighting and campaigning was interesting enough as was some of the landscape and some of the characters and I kind of liked the almost arrogantly direct diologues … but it wasn’t enough. My attention was slipping.
*spoilers*
And then came the matter of Khalid, bringing new social elements and under texts and I was suddenly interested again as new questions rose. Was the Cahena really a folk hero figure? Was she even good? Were the voices that spoke to her? And what about Khro and the other characters - what was her relationship with Khro? What was her relationship with Bhakrann? The text was good about not over staying there, but suddenly, like some strange puzzle of a ghastly image, it was forming.
*MEGA S P O I L E R S *
***********************************
“‘What you mean is to leave them no loot,’ said Daris at last.
‘That’s just what he means,’ declared the Cahena. ‘Level our towns, lay our fields to waste, leave nothing. We can do it ..’”
Yup, at this point I was pretty certain of my interpretation of the Cahena, the sorceress. I think it was done subtly enough that it’s open to interpretation, but that’s how I read it at least.
Of course, this revelation is soon followed by another key scene:
“She leaned closer, as once she had leaned to him in the days before Khalid came.
‘Love,’ she said softly. ‘You’ve said that you loved me. Shouldn’t love make us wise, make us sensible?’
He did not lean back to her. He frowned silently for a moment. The Lamia, too, had spoken of love, had offered it. At last he said: ‘I don’t agree that love does that. When you’re in love you need to be wise and sensible, but it doesn’t work like that. Love confuses you. You’re blinded by lightning flashes, you’re deafened by rolling thunder. Your blood races, your heart beats like a drum, you believe dreams and not realities. You’re not rational.’
She was quickly on her feet, and so was he. Her splendid eyes glittered fiercely.
‘You’re irritating,’ she said between set teeth.
‘You asked me a question about love and I answered it as well as I could.’
She motioned at the door. ‘Perhaps you’d better go.’”
Wow. Lots of imagery and symbology there. The sphinx all over again and the Lamia; it is interesting to note the Cahena’s teeth are briefly focused on, which was also a narrative focal point for the sharp teeth of the Lamia, thereby drawing a symbological bond once more between the two figures.
********************************
**** end spoilers somewhat *****
In the end, of course, there are many interpretations of the story and its characters. Tone and sympathies certainly shift back and forth and despite the magic and the ancient times we are left with a human story and a love story of sorts. In the end we are left with a story of Wulf and the Cahena perhaps best encapsulated thus:
“‘Pray?’ she repeated. ‘To what gods? The gods don’t answer prayers anymore.’
Wulf said nothing, but he felt that she spoke the truth. He himself would put no reliance in any god he had heard of. He’d trust only in himself, Wulf the Saxon, prone to error, limited in vision, but himself. All he had to trust.”
It’s a hard story to rate. The ending is really *spoilers again * bitter and sad I thought. *end spoiler.* But it’s a human ending, and sometimes sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, and other tales of violence and brutality present the human experience best … life can be that way sometimes, like a brittle breath lost in the breeze. That said, I can’t give this story a 5….I don’t think I can really give it a 4. But three out of five Death gods? Well, that sounds about right.
I was reading the story of a folk hero.
And that is just what we have here, with an expertly narrated take that is instantly enjoyable populated with interesting people from the past adrift in desert sands and struggles from long ago.
Regarding the prose: it’s surprisingly bare bones and consise, which I usually don’t like as I feel like that’s lazy and boring prose, but there is just enough allusions and symbolism and word play put in to keep it interesting and engaging. Further, often there are words behind the words - a quiet energy that I found charming. So while this is no Robert Howard, it is strong enough to keep me reading and enjoying.
Central to the story is of course the
Cahena - woman and prophetess and warrior, love interest and the stories symbol, perceived and regarded by Wulf and the others as something enchanting. As with the prose, there is a simple kind energy to the characters and the interactions thereof, there in the interactions of the camp followers I felt like I was in a scouts camp with its teasing, playful energies. This fit in perfectly with the celebratory, pagentary ways of a folk hero tale. The writer does a good job of pointing out the dichotomy to her character: though she is presented as some sort of warrior, she looks young in the moonlight to Wulf, and her boots are small, saying a lot with a little here.
I really liked the cultural and mythological bits that were sprinkled here and there; i.e. Talk of Khro, the bull headed being that selects who is fated to die before each battle, camp scenes set about old dusty tombs, etc. That sort of thing. Like most I was not familiar with the culture introduced here, so its promise was exciting and engaging.
As with Wellman’s other works, there are occasionally good philosophical/sociological asides, such as this tid bit:
“What happened to gods when their people perished, or turned away after other faiths? Did gods die then? What happened to the gods of Greece and Rome, of Babylon and Canaan, what about the three hundred and sixty grotesque idols at Mecca, one for every day of the Arabian year, before Mohammad cast them out? It might be unchancy to be a god when worship stopped, when prayers were chanted no more, when the odor of incense, of sacrificial blood died out of the air before the alter. In Wulf’s England the church was strong, but here and there the people still built the Beltane fires, stayed awake all night to welcome midsummer, trembled in fear of the spirits out and wandering on tte eve of All Hallows. And what about here, with the Imazighan bowing to gods of all sorts? How long could those gods live and prevail?”
However, as I continued to read, I started to grow bored. The prose - while flecked with brief shimmering imagery - was usually too tame and simple. The love scenes didn’t interest me. The fighting and campaigning was interesting enough as was some of the landscape and some of the characters and I kind of liked the almost arrogantly direct diologues … but it wasn’t enough. My attention was slipping.
*spoilers*
And then came the matter of Khalid, bringing new social elements and under texts and I was suddenly interested again as new questions rose. Was the Cahena really a folk hero figure? Was she even good? Were the voices that spoke to her? And what about Khro and the other characters - what was her relationship with Khro? What was her relationship with Bhakrann? The text was good about not over staying there, but suddenly, like some strange puzzle of a ghastly image, it was forming.
*MEGA S P O I L E R S *
***********************************
“‘What you mean is to leave them no loot,’ said Daris at last.
‘That’s just what he means,’ declared the Cahena. ‘Level our towns, lay our fields to waste, leave nothing. We can do it ..’”
Yup, at this point I was pretty certain of my interpretation of the Cahena, the sorceress. I think it was done subtly enough that it’s open to interpretation, but that’s how I read it at least.
Of course, this revelation is soon followed by another key scene:
“She leaned closer, as once she had leaned to him in the days before Khalid came.
‘Love,’ she said softly. ‘You’ve said that you loved me. Shouldn’t love make us wise, make us sensible?’
He did not lean back to her. He frowned silently for a moment. The Lamia, too, had spoken of love, had offered it. At last he said: ‘I don’t agree that love does that. When you’re in love you need to be wise and sensible, but it doesn’t work like that. Love confuses you. You’re blinded by lightning flashes, you’re deafened by rolling thunder. Your blood races, your heart beats like a drum, you believe dreams and not realities. You’re not rational.’
She was quickly on her feet, and so was he. Her splendid eyes glittered fiercely.
‘You’re irritating,’ she said between set teeth.
‘You asked me a question about love and I answered it as well as I could.’
She motioned at the door. ‘Perhaps you’d better go.’”
Wow. Lots of imagery and symbology there. The sphinx all over again and the Lamia; it is interesting to note the Cahena’s teeth are briefly focused on, which was also a narrative focal point for the sharp teeth of the Lamia, thereby drawing a symbological bond once more between the two figures.
********************************
**** end spoilers somewhat *****
In the end, of course, there are many interpretations of the story and its characters. Tone and sympathies certainly shift back and forth and despite the magic and the ancient times we are left with a human story and a love story of sorts. In the end we are left with a story of Wulf and the Cahena perhaps best encapsulated thus:
“‘Pray?’ she repeated. ‘To what gods? The gods don’t answer prayers anymore.’
Wulf said nothing, but he felt that she spoke the truth. He himself would put no reliance in any god he had heard of. He’d trust only in himself, Wulf the Saxon, prone to error, limited in vision, but himself. All he had to trust.”
It’s a hard story to rate. The ending is really *spoilers again * bitter and sad I thought. *end spoiler.* But it’s a human ending, and sometimes sword and sorcery, dark fantasy, and other tales of violence and brutality present the human experience best … life can be that way sometimes, like a brittle breath lost in the breeze. That said, I can’t give this story a 5….I don’t think I can really give it a 4. But three out of five Death gods? Well, that sounds about right.
April 9, 2021
I discovered MWW through DMR’s Heroes of Atlantis and Lemuria collection. I absolutely loved the Kardios stories.
Cahena is a historical novel revolving around a real woman, Daia, who was the last pagan queen of the berbers.
MWW has a very practical, minimalist and almost dry prose in this book. It is very unique and in a way evokes the deserts of North Africa, and the tragic tone of the story.
Ultimately this is a tragedy and a romance novel. The romance is a bit more Tawdry than say Burroughs, and I found the love triangle stuff trite and off putting.
The themes around magic are interesting.
For me, like MWW’s Hok the MIghty, I found this decent. However, I think if the unique prose and fatalistic outlook click with you, you’ll probably love it.
Cahena is a historical novel revolving around a real woman, Daia, who was the last pagan queen of the berbers.
MWW has a very practical, minimalist and almost dry prose in this book. It is very unique and in a way evokes the deserts of North Africa, and the tragic tone of the story.
Ultimately this is a tragedy and a romance novel. The romance is a bit more Tawdry than say Burroughs, and I found the love triangle stuff trite and off putting.
The themes around magic are interesting.
For me, like MWW’s Hok the MIghty, I found this decent. However, I think if the unique prose and fatalistic outlook click with you, you’ll probably love it.
June 17, 2025
Not one of Wellman's best, but a solid adventure story. Mostly historical with a touch of fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews