Signe Pike

The Forgotten Kingdom is the second in a trilogy that takes us back to right before Arthur, telling us the story of Merlin’s sister whose existence is suggested by a 13th-century poem of him in dialogue with his sister. Signe Pike did a lot of research on the literature and history of the era and of the different tribal groups sharing the British Isles and used that knowledge to take a wild leap into her imagination, crafting an incredible story of a woman the world only barely knows show more existed.

This story weaves together three narrative threads, Lailoken (Merlin,) his sister Languoreth, and her daughter Angharad, or as they are named. Lailoken had taken Angharad with him to Uther Pendragon’s kingdom to teach her the ways of the Wisdom Keepers as those with magic were called. Lailoken’s husband joins with Uther’s enemies to attack them even though his daughter is there and she is lost after the battle and Lailoken barely survives, retreating to an ancient hermitage for an ancient and dangerous ritual. Angharad tries to get home but instead ends up far away among the Picts, an ancient tribe of people whose history is lost to memory, giving Pike a lot of freedom to invent. There she grows up among her grandmother’s people. How they are brought back together again is the stuff of legends.

I have mixed feelings about The Forgotten Kingdom. On one hand, it was thrilling to read, bold, imaginative, and breathless in pacing. On the other hand, I read it a week ago and my sleep schedule is still out of whack from staying up to read it from beginning to end. I loved it. I want to read “The Lost Queen” which is the first and frankly, September 2023 when the third book will be published cannot come soon enough.

So, I nearly gave up on the book during the first few chapters, though I think this was a product of reading a second book without reading the first. Overall, the first book was not necessary to enjoy the second or understand the story. Pike did an excellent job of carving out space for this book to stand on its own. However, since people were introduced in the first, she didn’t spend a lot of time introducing them in the second, so at first, I was overwhelmed by the names of people and places. I think it likely that would not have happened if I had read “The Lost Queen” before The Forgotten Kingdom.

And let’s just admit those ancient names are hard. So many consonants! People who avoid books written by African, Asian, or Arabic writers because of difficult names obviously have not read books about ancient Celts and Britons. Anyway, once I just stopped resisting the names and let myself sink into the story, I didn’t come up for air until the end. It is that good.

I received an e-galley of The Forgotten Kingdom from the publisher through NetGalley

The Forgotten Kingdom at Atria Books | Simon & Schuster
Signe Pike author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/09/26/9781501191459/ show less

[The Forgotten Kingdom] is the second book of a trilogy set in Wales in 500 AD. It imagines the lives of Lailoken and Languoreth. Lailoken will later be better known as Merlin of Arthurian legend, but his twin sister, Languoreth, who was a powerful queen in her own right, has been largely lost to history. This book is a wonderful mix of ancient culture and history, the mixing of Christianity and the Old Ways, and a touch of fantasy and romance. I love it and can't wait for the third book to show more come out. show less

Lost Queen - Pike
Audio performance by Toni Frutin
3.5 stars

The queen of the title is Languoreth. She was, apparently, a powerful early queen in medieval, Celtic Britain. In this book she isn’t actually a queen at all. When the story begins, she and her twin brother, Lailoken, are 10 years old. They are grieving the recent loss of their mother. Their father is a petty king during a politically volatile time.There are major threats of invasion, border disputes among the petty kings, court show more jealousies, and Christian threats to the old (druidical) ways. Languoreth knows that she is destined for a dynastic marriage, despite her desire to become a healer and speaker of the old religion. Lailoken is trained to be a warrior and a speaker of the old ways (on his way to becoming Merlin,of legend). There is an undercurrent of mysticism and druidical magic permeating the lives of each twin. Things get ugly. There is a great deal of bloodshed.

The story progresses through Languoreth’s childhood as it is complicated by traumatic changes. Despite of battles, bloodshed, and political intrigue, she reaches the age of love and her politically advantageous marriage. The birth of her first child is a cataclysmic event. And then, the story jumps ahead 15 years, and 3 children later, with a set up for the next book in a series of three.

I liked this book. The setting is richly described and believable. Most of the characters are well rounded and interesting. I had text and audiobook. Toni Frutin was perfect. I doubt I would have maintained interest without her Scottish accent and helpful pronunciations. However, the book did drag a bit, all 527 pages of it. (Full disclosure, I had a nasty upper respiratory infection while I read it. It may have been my energy level that was lacking.) There was much repetition in the conflict situations of the story, but I’m not sure the author could have avoided that in any way. However, since the most frequent appearance of paranormal influences were in the nature of prophecy, every crisis had heavy foreshadowing. There were no surprises in this story. I found the ending rushed and annoying, but that is often the case when the story is …..to be continued. show less

[b:The Lost Queen|38355440|The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1)|Signe Pike|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535882851s/38355440.jpg|60021563] by [a:Signe Pike|4071525|Signe Pike|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523726747p2/4071525.jpg] – 5 Stars

[b:The Lost Queen|38355440|The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1)|Signe Pike|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535882851s/38355440.jpg|60021563] is the first book in an anticipated trilogy, set in sixth-century Celtic Britain and show more featuring the sister of the man who will become Merlin. It's told from the point of view of Langoureth, the “lost queen” who is twin sister of Lailoken, the man who becomes the Merlin of Arthurian myth. If you are looking for more about Merlin, this book might be a disappointment to you because we only get to know Lailoken through the narrative of his sister's life. Langoureth desperately wants to become a Wisdom Keeper of the Old Ways like her twin brother, Lailoken, but her life has already been destined. She is the only daughter of a king who so she must be traded for security, wealth, etc.

The book is composed of three parts. The first is about the twins when they are ten. Their mother has just died and they are being raised by their father, Morken King, and members of the household, including Cathan, head Wisdom-keeper of Strathclyde. The second part tells us of Langoureth as she prepares for marriage to a man chosen by her father. Of course, that's not the man she loves. The final part deals with Langoureth as an adult.

When I first picked up this book the blurbs compared it to Outlander and Mists of Avalon. I think in attempting to appeal to some readers they run the risk of annoying others. I thought this story was so much more than either of those books. [b:The Lost Queen|38355440|The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1)|Signe Pike|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1535882851s/38355440.jpg|60021563] has been meticulously researched and the author states she took six years for the research and writing. I thought it was the perfect blend of history and fiction, since many of the characters are actual historical figures. The writing is gorgeous and while the story is full of details, I didn't feel like it was cluttered with too many details that you had to skim over.

There's a bit of a YA feel here because so much of the book is set before Langoureth turns sixteen. There's a bit of romance, lots of history, some fantasy and of course, an evil monk. There's a real understanding of a time when new new religion of one god (Christianity), clashed with the Old Ways. I feel like that was not beaten to death but done as a way to explain many of the actual historical events taking place in Briton during that time period.

If you are a fan of audiobooks, I urge you to try this book in audio. The narrator, Toni Frutin, was phenomenal. I had not heard of her before this audio and hope she does a lot more narrating in the future. I am so happy that #12 was chosen in the PBT Trim The TBR Challenge. This book had been languishing on my shelf since its release last year. Untitled Book 2 is expected out next year and that one absolutely will not be languishing on any shelf. If you are a fan of historical fiction, history, myth, fantasy or discovering the unknown women of history, you can't go wrong reading this incredible novel. show less