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Review: Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle, by Manda Scott


Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle is the fantastic story of Boudica, warrior queen of the Iceni tribe (or Eceni, according to Manda Scott). This novel is the first in a series, and covers Boudica’s (called Breaca) early years, from the age of eight to 21, when she faced the Romans in battle. Other major characters in the novel are Ban, who later goes to the Continent and experiences a sort of rebirth as a Roman citizen; and Caradoc (Caractatus), leader of the Catuvellauni, with whom Breaca has a tentative alliance.

You could say this book is divided into two parts, with the first half devoted to the struggle between the Iceni and Catuvellauni, and the second to the struggle between the native Britons and the Romans.

It must be very tough to write a novel about a people whose culture was oral and not written. The Romans wrote about Boudica, but their opinions were hardly objective. Not much is known about Boudica, and even less is known about her childhood, so a lot of this novel is, as the author admits in her note at the end, fictional. But Scott does a fantastic job with what little information she does have, and her characters seem real and believable. Her information about the Romans is a little more complete, because they, of course, left written records. The historian Dio Cassius described Breaca as having flaming red hair, and boy, does Manda Scott run with that.

I took a real chance when buying this book, because I’d never even heard of the author before and didn’t know if I’d like a 700-page novel about Roman Britain. And, at first I was a little wary of the “dreaming” concept that drives the book. But I was pleasantly surprised. The dreaming isn’t over-the-top, and the animal imagery is simply amazing. The story takes a little while to gather momentum, but reading through the first 50 pages or so yields a really rich, rewarding reading experience. This is a very strong start to what promises to be a very engaging series.

Comments

Daphne said…
I just finished the third book in the series (Dreaming the Hound) and thought it was very good. The "dreaming" aspects and animal imagery throughout the series is a little much sometimes, but by the third book, I thought it fit in with the story better. Glad that you liked it!
Gwendolyn B. said…
I've had my eye on this book. Even though I don't believe Boudica could have possibly understood the might and power of the Romans at that time, I still think she was extraordinarily brave to take them on. I'm glad to know you enjoyed this book.
This series is a favorite of mine, I loved all of the books! Glad you enjoyed it!

Carey
Marg said…
I really enjoyed this series when I read it a few years ago.

I also enjoyed Jules Watson's Dalriada trilogy which had a similar feel.
Lana said…
I just finished Dreaming the Eagle, and I enjoyed both seeing aspects of Celtic life before the invasion and the battle scenes. I also didn't think the dreaming aspects were over the top - though I teetered on the brink when it came to the section on Mona.

I've linked to your very enjoyable review here.

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