Red Branch by Morgan Llywelyn

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
In a land ruled by war and love and strange enchantments, Cuchulain — torn between gentleness and violence, haunted by the croakings of a sinister raven — fights for his honor and his homeland and discovers too late the trap that the gods have set for him in the fatal beauty of Deirdre and the brutal jealousy of King Conor.

My thoughts:
Red Branch is a well written novel about "Ireland's mythical warrior-hero Cuchulain." It brings Cuchulain to life and sets him up in the company of enemies, friends, lovers and even an ancient goddess in the form of a raven. The story starts out when the child Cuchulain is know as Setanta. The man who Setanta believes to be his father is a warrior of the Red Branch, the army of the King of Ulster. Because Setanta feels entitled to be with the Boys' Troop in training to become Red Branch, he runs away from home to find Emain Macha...the stronghold of the King. He finds the stronghold and the course of his life is set in motion. Along the way Setanta becomes a man, earns the name Cuchulain (hound of Cullen), trains with a warrior woman on the island of Skya, becomes the champion of Ulster and all the time is followed by a mysterious raven.

Cuchulain is an absolutely enthralling character. He is kind and sensitive but when the Rage overtakes him....woe to his enemies. He turns into a kind of berserker and is virtually unstoppable. Red Branch is filled with intriguing characters. There is Emer, Cuchulain's wife, who reveals in her own way what true love really means. The deep friendship between Cuchulain and Ferdiad is stunning in it's passion. Laeg is exceptionally loyal and faithful in his role as Cuchulain's charioteer. These characters and many, many more fill the pages of this book with life and make Red Branch a wonderful read.

Etruscans by Morgan Llywelyn and Michael Scott

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

In the early days of the Roman Empire, the noble Etruscan civilization in Italy is waning, Vesi, a young Etruscan noblewoman, is violated by a renegade supernatural being. Outcast then from Etruria, Vesi bears Horatrim, a child who carries inexplicable knowledge and grows to manhood in only six years. But a savage Roman attack leaves Vesi unresponsive and Horatrim homeless and vulnerable. He travels to Rome where his talents confound powerful businessman Propertius, who arranges to adopt Horatrim as a son, changing his name to Horatius.

And all the while his demon father is seeking him to kill him, for Horatius is a conduit through which the demon might be found and destroyed.

My thoughts:
Etruscans is a great result of the collaboration between Llywelyn and Scott. Vesi is raped by a demon. When her child Horatrim is born, he attains manhood in only 6 years! When Vesi is kidnapped and eventually possessed, Horatrim has to cross the river Styx and venture into the depths of the Netherworld to find her. But Horatrim's demon father is hunting for Horatrim. A demon's spawn is too dangerous to the demon to be allowed to live. This novel takes the reader from the Earthworld to the Otherworld to the Netherworld. We encounter humans, demons and gods. We see spirits beneficial, benign and also malicious.

The authors do a fantastic job of making the environments tangible. Whether it's the streets and palaces of Rome or the plains of the Netherworld, I was able to clearly visualize the environs. Etruscans is a fantasy not soon forgotten!