Brendan Cathbad Myers

honestly, this is the first main character i've openly hated in years. i feel just the slightest sadness for her, but more, i feel like she deserves every bad thing that happens... i'm about half-way through the book, and i'm thinking seriously of DNF, she's that bad. the guy who starts out as her boyfriend is almost as bad... these young adults are in need of serious psychiatric help.

finished.

the idea behind the book is interesting, but the writing, the frequent problems with continuity, show more and the character issues among the two main protagonists are simply too silly to care show less

A fun, if brief, story about Jillian and her discovery of a world beyond her expected everyday reality. I enjoyed escaping the mundane in this novella from Brendan Myers' Fellwater stories. I found it reminiscent of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass, both in the tone of the narrative and in the character of Jillian Brighton. While not physically similar to Pullman's Lyra Belaqua, Jillian certainly echoes her fierce spirit, quick wit, and boundless imagination.

My only complaint is that it's show more too short. Being a novella of approximately 18,000 words, I understand Myers' reason for its brevity. However, the wrapping up felt forced and was ultimately unsatisfying. I hope there will be an expansion of the story into a full-length novel or at least several more novellas or short stories bringing Jillian more fully in the Fellwater world. show less

Some interesting ideas in this book. I am not totally convinced by the main philosophical idea in it, that humanity needs to build a starship in order to come together and overcome its self-destructive tendencies. The last third of the book, where the political machinations really start to undermine the starship project, was the most convincing. The book could’ve benefited from more backstory about how the large states of Éostray, Arethusa, and Gayatri came about, and how new religions show more have suddenly appeared and become major political players. I also found some of the plot developments in the first half confusing; and Glaive’s character arc needed more explanation. I liked the characters of the crew of Navcom Seven: Lorelei, Jiandong, and Sitara. show less

Brendan Myers has an original and insightful take on Druidry.
I've read a lot on Celtic religion- both ancient and modern and gotten rather jaded- it gets to be a lot of the same stuff. He does have a early chapter with introductory information, which makes it fairly beginner-friendly. His strength is the instructions for contemplative spiritual practices such as "peaceful abiding"
Overall the scholarship was quite good, and he included footnotes, though there were a few Victorian ideas like show more Lugh being a sun-god, and personal interpretations asserted as fact, like Maeve of Connacht being the same being as the Morrigan. I also disagreed with his opinion that one must have a college education to be a Druid, it's rather elitist, and it is only one way to be educated.
This is a great resource for both beginners and more advanced practitioners, as well as friendly to different traditions of Druidry and Celtic paganism. show less