[Mithfānion]

Who's read any of her vast range of books?

I haven't read any of them, but already have Druļds and Lions of Ireland on my shelf. I'm thinking Red Branch (about the legendary Cuchullain) and Finn MacCool may be interesting as well.

[hclark]

I'm in the middle of the book Druids. I put it down for awhile to quick read the Harry Potter books. When I started Druids, I had no idea it was historical fiction. I think after reading this one I will definitely try to catch a few of her other books.

[estranghero]

Hmmm, read the Red Branch when I was younger because I thought it was fantasy. Expectations notwithstanding, it was okay. Interesting look at Irish(?) mythology, which gave me a bigger perspective on the fantasy genre.

[FicusFan]

I have read several of her books. The best to me are:

Druids
Finn MacCool
Horse Goddess
Bard

I didn't like the one with Michael Scott Etruscans: Beloved of the Gods . It was bland and seemed formless.

[Leiali]

I liked Fin MacCool, and I can't remember the name of the book she wrote about Cuchillain, but that was good too. I'm fairly certain I have read other books by her but that would be too long ago for me to remember what they were called, and I borrowed them from the library. What was wrong with the books she co wrote Ficus Fan? And do you mean Etruscans as in the Italian Tombs? (which I missed when I went to Tuscany last year, I had to go to Sienna instead, which Minas Tirith in the LOTR films was based on. We got very very very lost).

[FicusFan]

I spelled it wrong, but no, I mean Etruscans as in the people who were there before the Italians.

I said in my post what was wrong with it: it was bland and formless. It seemed like a collection of scenes, and didn't hang together as a whole story.
I didn't really care about the characters or what happened in the in the story.

[butterfly]

I have read most of her books, except the recent two books both with '19' in the title but I cannot for the life of me remember the full title. :confused:
Druids and Bard are probably her best adult books. Her best kids books are Strongbow and Cold Places, with the latter being the most interesting as it uses Stone age references, rather than celtic mythology.

[Lifino]

Yeah, I got on a kick with her books about 8-10 years ago... I read a few, can't remember all of them today. They were good, and I liked her style. Good characters that I felt personally attached to, and reasonable plot lines...

Druids sticks out in my memory as a great book.

I'd recomend her, but she wouldn't make any of my top ten lists...

[J.M. Martin]

I have Druids but not yet cracked into it. The only other titles by Llywelyn I have read are Finn Mac Cool and Strongbow, both of which I recommend.

As a side story, my copy of Finn Mac Cool almost didn't make it. Not for lack of interest, though. It was years ago when I was reading it and we had just gotten a new Italian Greyhound puppy. I left the book laying on the couch one day while at work and the little bugger decided to use ol' Finn as a chew toy. Evidently hardcovers are wonderful for teething puppies!

Nevertheless, the book survived the predations of our exuberant hound and he was too cute to be mad at as I cleaned the shreds off the carpet. He managed to destroy one whole corner of the book, but it was still readable and I have kept it to this day. Our pup is now 10 years old and his face has turned white with age. He's our "grizzled old veteran" now, and I imagine I'll always keep that ragged "dog eared" hardcover of Finn Mac Cool as a touching little keepsake.

Anyhow, this thread reminded me of that so I thought I'd share.

--
JM

[Paul Lamontagne]

Who's read any of her vast range of books?

I haven't read any of them, but already have Druļds and Lions of Ireland on my shelf. I'm thinking Red Branch (about the legendary Cuchullain) and Finn MacCool may be interesting as well.


Red Branch is excellent. Lion of Ireland as well. Did you end up reading either?