Bright Sword of Ireland
- Book Review,
by Juilene Osborne-McKnight
From Publishers Weekly
Gentle, peace-loving Finnabair, daughter of the ambitious warrior queen Medb of Connacht, makes a beguiling narrator in Osborne-McKnight's third engaging historical to recast Celtic myth (after 2002's Daughter of Ireland). For years, Medb has used Finnabair as a pawn in her perpetual war games. Determined to win the prized brown bull of Ulster, the ruthless queen promises her daughter's hand to any man who kills boy warrior Cuchulainn, Ulster's legendary hero. Among the many who die in the attempt is Froech, Finnabair's beloved, one of the Others, or fairy folk. The irresistibly charming Cuchulainn himself is half Other and he is sorry to kill Froech, as he confesses to Finnabair several years later. They meet when Finnabair tries to kill herself, overwhelmed by the deaths of so many in her name and by her forced marriage to Ulster warrior Rochad. But her marriage and her meeting with Cuchulainn mark a turning point in her life. Learning to love Rochad and to forgive her mother, she brings peace to both sides, though Medb's insatiable quest for power soon causes war to break out again. In its emphasis on traditional "feminine" values, the novel diverges most obviously from the author's primary source, the epic Tain, "Ireland's Iliad and Odyssey." Warm, playful and eloquent, this is a welcome addition to the genre. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Osborne-McKnight continues to retell mystical Irish folktales in spellbinding fashion. As in Daughter of Ireland (2002) and I Am of Irelaunde (2000), she interweaves documented history with Celtic myths and legends, creating an enchanting tapestry of honor, courage, and love. Forever in the shadow of her beautiful, dangerous mother, Medb, the warrior queen of Connacht, mousy Finnabair strikes back when she realizes that she has become nothing more than a pawn in her mother's costly and seemingly foolish quest to acquire the Brown Bull of Ulster. Sold in marriage to an enemy warrior, she forges an unusually strong platonic relationship with the Cuchulainn, the fabled Hound of Ulster. As Finnabair struggles to reclaim her own destiny, the fates of two powerful kingdoms hang in the balance. Never allowing her magical saga to become inexcusably quaint, the author displays, at all times, an abiding respect and love for the richly textured mythology of ancient Ireland. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Imbued with supernaturally endowed power, Bright Sword of Ireland is of magic, ggreed, love, and duty.
Book Description
Medb of Connaught is beautiful and bold in battle--and in bed. She will do anything and use anyone to reach her goal, the Brown Cow of Cuailnge. This cow will prove to the whole of Ireland that Medb's possessions trump those of her husband--even the fabled warrior Cuchulainn will not stand in Medb's way.
The only one with the power to defeat Medb is her daughter, young Finnabair. She is fair of hair, but her beauty pales next to that of her mother. She is not a warrior nor a lover. Her mother sees her as a pawn; most people do not see her at all. But one day, her mother goes too far and lives are destroyed. Finnabair gathers her strength and rebels-and the entire country of Ireland, and all of the heavens, are changed forever...
About the Author
Juilene Osborne-McKnight is an accomplished folklorist, storyteller, and teacher on Celtic culture and history. She resides in Pennsylvania. Bright Sword of Ireland is her third novel.
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