The Scots of Dalriada – Fergus Mor, by Rowena Kinread
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scots-Dalriada-Rowena-Kinread/dp/1800164610
Good historical fiction draws you into a different world, a different time and, at its best, allows you to live vicariously the lives of people from points in history.
Rowena Kinread achieves this in many respects. The book is
well-researched and is written in an accessible and entertaining style. The use
of the present tense took a little time to get used to but while I wondered
initially whether a more conventional narrative would have fitted better, my
doubts did not impede my enjoyment of what was a fine novel. The historical period and the story of the early
kingdoms of Scotland and Ireland was largely unknown to me and I emerged with a
clearer understanding of the period and a mental image of the key protagonists.
The story was gripping, with enough heroes and villains, intrigues, plots and
counter-plots, betrayals, acts of savagery and cruelty, and loves lost and won
to hold the attention throughout. I would, perhaps,
have liked to see the characters fleshed out more. I only occasionally felt the
kind of in-depth engagement that has you rooting for the main protagonists.
However, there was more than enough happening to keep the pages turning.
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