While beautifully written, I could bring myself to care one iota about any of these characters, except maybe the dark horse and Meradoc, and I'm pretty sure the only reason I care about those two is because I'm a horse person and because they died tragically, even if you don't get to read it when it happens.

Dinas and Coadagan are cousins (and relative opposites), but in all honesty the sub-plot about Dinas's mother and Vintrex (Coadagan's father) having an affair is completely superfluous and doesn't really do anything but distract from the rest of this hum-drum story. I'm sure the author put it in there to try and make the reader feel something for these characters, and you do... for all of like a page. Then it becomes a weak line, at best for Dinas to mull over when nothing's happening.

The purpose of this work of fiction is to bring attention, on what happened to Britannia after Rome pulled back its legions, an under-utilized time frame for novels. It's supposed to show the brutality of the Barbarians and the Saxons on the former Roman citizens who'd forgotten their Celtic roots and become, for the time, spoiled and pampered city dwellers as well as those Celts, Druids, and other factions who maintained the old ways with general obedience to Rome and went back to their warring ways after the Romans left. Unfortunately, in terms of engagement, it falls flat. Britannia was comparative chaos after Rome retreated and left the wild isles to their own devices. While that comes across clearly on these pages, it is the most boring chaos I've ever read. ( )

This was a bit lighter on plot than some of her older works - "Finn McCool" will forever be a favorite- and the characters were a bit flat. Decent bedtime reading though. ( )

Interesting historical period and characters, but it seems like such a brief part of their lives. ( )