The White Mare (2004)

Immersive, Evocative and Gripping.

This was a book that made me homesick, not for a place, but for a state of being, and my faith. Though fictional, Watson's attention to detail in re-imagining ancient Celtic traditions and culture, the yearly rituals and passage of time create an excellent emotional pull to something deep and primal within the reader that really gets you attached to the characters and events in the story.

On the other side of that coin, it is very easy to become frustrated with Rhiann, who seems headstrong, spoiled and inflexible, and perhaps yes, she has a reason to hate men, but of all the characters in this well told, gripping tale, she was the one I most wanted to slap. Since she is one of the main protagonists, it seems to me to be a testament to the quality of the writing that I kept reading, because I became invested in finding out what will happen to the people of the north, and as such, I will probably come back to read the rest of the books in the series.

The descriptions are well rounded and engage all the senses, and move the reader through the plot effortlessly and without pretension, immersing the reader in the events as they unfold for a truly enjoyable read. ( )

The White Mare is a wonderful historical story, Jules Watson uses her amazing writing ability to give us a touching romance, along with historical details of the early Celtic culture at the time of Agricola, the Roman general who tried to conquer Scotland in the first century. As the author explains, her story is a blend of fact and fiction, and she stuck to the facts on known places, things and events. But as in all good historical fiction, the story came first and she used her imagination to fill in the blanks. What resulted is a book I will treasure in my memory.

The main characters, Rhiann, the high priestess of her tribe and Eremon, an exiled Irish prince are skilfully drawn and become people that I cared about and wanted the best for. She surrounds her main characters with a host of other interesting people to create a fully fleshed world. If some of her characters are a little too black or white, well, I was willing to go with that as well.

There are aspects of magic, especially when dealing with the religion of the Priestess of Mother Earth and the Druids, but, it blended into the story and as these people lived so closely entwined with nature, I am sure many unexplained things were attributed to the Gods.

This book is the first in a trilogy, so of course, not all things are wrapped up neatly by the end of this volume. I fully intend on reading on and losing myself to this world again. ( )

First in the Dalriada Trilogy, an epic historical saga that begins in the first century A.D. Scotland. This is the story of Rhiann, the Ban Cré of the Epiidi tribe, who dwell in the highlands of Alba, as Scotland was referred to then. It is also the story of Eremon, a Prince of Eire (Ireland) who washed up on the shores of Alba with a small band of his men after a battle with his own uncle for the right to the throne. Coincidentally, they arrive during the funeral of the Epiidi King, who is Rhiann’s uncle. Since the Epiidi are without an heir, it is now Rhiann’s job as last female survivor with royal blood to produce one. After Eremon spends some time with the Epiidi, the scheming leader of their Druid council names Eremon as their war chief and arranges a marriage between him and Rhiann and the saga begins.

I really enjoyed the book despite it having definite “romantic” plot twists at times. It is set during the time of the Roman invasion of Scotland and apparently the next two books in the trilogy span a couple of centuries, so I’m looking forward to those as well. Watson knows how to tell a story, that’s for certain! ( )