Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Swan Maiden - Jules Watson

Title: The Swan Maiden
Author: Jules Watson
Pages: 540
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Rating: 3/5

In this lush, romantic retelling of one of the most enduring Irish legends, acclaimed Celtic historical author Jules Watson reignites the tale of Deirdre—the Irish Helen of Troy—in a story that is at once magical, beautiful, and tragic.

She was born with a blessing and a curse: that she would grow into a woman of extraordinary beauty—and bring ruin to the kingdom of Ulster and its ruler, the wily Conor. Ignoring the pleadings of his druid to expel the infant, King Conor secrets the girl child with a poor couple in his province, where no man can covet her. There, under the tutelage of a shamaness, Deirdre comes of age in nature and magic…. And in the season of her awakening, the king is inexorably drawn to her impossible beauty.

But for Deirdre, her fate as a man’s possession is worse than death. And soon the green-eyed girl, at home in waterfall and woods, finds herself at the side of three rebellious young warriors. Among them is the handsome Naisi. His heart charged with bitterness toward the aging king, and growing in love for the defiant girl, Naisi will lead Deirdre far from Ulster—and into a war of wits, swords, and spirit that will take a lifetime to wage. (via Goodreads)



Thoughts: I read this book for challenge on Goodreads and it took me awhile to finish the book.  IT was slow and seemed to not move the story quickly enough for my liking, but partly the reason I felt the way I did was due to the fact that I wasn't reading the book exclusively and once I did, I was able to get into the book more quickly.  But that being said, it did feel like it took a long time to get to the crux of the book and to have any sort of significant action.  Overall, it was a pretty good book, but not something that I would read again.


5075 / 15000 pages. 34% done!

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