A series of nine novels
by Caiseal Mor
Published by Earthlight
Review by Celtic Knight
Caiseal Mór has written a series of 3 linked trilogies with a Celtic fantasy theme. So, in a way, it's a series of 9 books. (In fact there's another book on its way - The Lady of the Lamp, a re-writing of The Tilecutter's Penny - to complete the series).
The first is The Wanderers' Trilogy (The Circle and the Cross, The Song of the Earth and The Water of Life), the second is The Watchers' Trilogy (The Meeting of the Waters, the King of Sleep and The Raven Game) and the final one is the Wellspring Trilogy (The Well of Yearning, The Well of the Goddess and The Well of Many Blessings).
The whole series is set in Ireland in historical times.
The Wanderers' Trilogy is set at the time when St Patrick comes to Ireland to convert the people from Pagan Druidry to Christianity. The Druids decided not to fight against the new religion but instead to mesh as many of their beliefs as possible into the new religion. They make 2 children, Mawn and Sianan, immortal to oversee this task.
The Watchers' Trilogy is set long ago in the times of the Celtic myths. Here we meet the Watchers, Lochie and Isleen, who are immortal and bored and so play with humans to keep themselves entertained. At the same time, we see the interplay between the original mythical inhabitants of Ireland, the Tuatha de Danaan, and how they became the Sidhe when the Milesians arrived.
The Wellspring Trilogy brings together the previous trilogies. It is set in Mediaeval times. We meet old friends again: Sianan, Mawn, Lochie, Isleen, Gobann, Aoife and her brothers. There is to be a big battle but things are not what they seem and first the main characters must journey into the Otherworld and are utterly transformed by their experiences there.
Caiseal's books are wonderful, easy to read (one you get the hang of some of the Irish names) and have a deep spiritual underlying message. They read like modern mythology except they mix elements of Irish history and mythology with great fantasy storytelling. Each of the trilogies that make up the series is told by a different character and so the style is subtly different for each.
Altogether, these are some of the best books I have ever read.
Available from Amazon.co.uk
