http://bookchronicle.wordpress.com/20... ( )

Colman is not quite as good as Juniper or Wise Child, but is still a very interesting book. The story just is not quite as compelling for some reason. It is good the have another book in the series. ( )

This final novel in the trilogy begun with Wise Child and Juniper, was published after the death of the author in 2003. Told from the point of view of Wise Child's best friend, Colman, a boy, this story takes up where Wise Child left off, with Juniper, Wise Child, Finbar, Colman and their friend Cormac, fleeing for their lives towards Cornwall, where Juniper's father is King. When they arrive, they discover that Juniper's brother has been imprisoned, her parents are dead, and the people who supported the royal family are outlaws. Juniper's evil aunt, Meroot, and her husband the Grey Knight have taken over the kingdom, with the help of Juniper's former mentor. With many plot twists and turns, and a lot of suspenseful moments, good magic and love ultimately triumph over evil, and the tale is brought to a satisfying conclusion. While not as accessible as a stand-alone story as the other two books were, this story will be welcomed by any reader who has enjoyed either of the first two stories. ( )

Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman are a trilogy by Monica Furlong. Set in a time of early christianity in the (now) British Isles and Cornwall these books are well-told tales of magic, ethics, politics, and religion. Identifying our gifts and utilizing them for good is one of the main ideas throughout all three books. Strong attention is given to actions being more of a identifier of good than beauty and hard work being a better way than shortcuts.

Wise Child, the first book, is about a young girl who needs care and the magic working healer, Juniper, who takes her in and brings her from spoiled to hard working though love and care. Juniper tells the story of Junipoe's journey from princess to medecine woman. Colman tells of Wise Child and Junipers return to Cornwall and their fight to free the Prince from his evil aunt and uncle.

I would recommend this book to the following people I know: A 12 year old girl wo likes fantasy, a 14 year old girl who likes celtic based stories, and a teacher of 4-6th grade for his class library. I also recommend it to a 45 year old woman who had read Wise Child and Juniper but didn't know that Colman had come out.

Summary: The sequel to Furlong’s Juniper and Wise Child books, Colman completes the trilogy after twenty years. Colman picks up where Wise Child left off; Juniper, Wise Child, Colman, and Cormac, are fleeing the village in Finbar’s ship, because Juniper was tried as a witch and about to be executed. Told from Colman’s point of view, he is about ten or eleven years old, the group return to Juniper’s home of Cornwall. The group discovers that the evil witch Meroot and the Gray Night have taken over the kingdom and hold Juniper’s brother, King Brangwyn, as a hostage/guest in Caerleon. Wise Child and Colman enter the castle at Caerleon as servants, eventually befriend and help free King Brangwyn, and defeat Meroot and the Gray Night.
Evaluation: Colman is a work of low fantasy, the magic in the book is subtle and there are no fairies or dragons. As a teenager I fell in love with Furlong’s first two books and read them both multiple times. I don’t know if it is the book, or my older age, but I found Colman disappointing. The story and plot devices are so similar to Juniper that it feels like the same book. The narration of from Colman’s point of view felt distant from the action and story. ( )