Jules Watson, Orion, 2007,
£18.99, hb, 499pp, 978-075285-9
This is the third book in
Jules Watson’s Dalriada trilogy.
AD 366: Britain is ruled by the Romans. Minna, a Roman serving girl,
runs away from her home on a villa estate near Eboracum (York) to avoid
marriage to a man she doesn’t love. She meets Cian, an acrobat, and together
they set out to find Minna’s brother who has enlisted in the Roman army, and
been posted to Hadrian’s Wall. But things go wrong, and the two are enslaved
and sold to the household of the king and queen of Dalriada. There, Minna is set
to tutor the king’s children and Cian is sent to the stables. They plan to escape, but when Minna meets
Dalriadan King, Cahir, everything changes.
This is the story of what the
Romans called the Great Barbarian Conspiracy but told from the Dalriadan view.
Watson gives her main characters great motivations for their actions, which
makes for a strong story. She is less
assured when handling other cultures such as the Saxons, and in particular the
uniformly nasty Romans. However, the writing is smooth and pleasing. If you like your Celtic historical romance
well written and constantly interesting, this book is for you.
199 words