Foretold

Antonia
Cyn
Genre: 
Historical

VIKING:  Lothar, a Viking Prince and heir to the Chieftain, is returning from a trading journey when he is attacked by one of his own men during a violent storm where his ship was wrecked. He is presumed dead but washes up on the beach where Dara, a young Druid Priestess, finds the giant of a man barely alive and quickly tries to help.  It soon becomes apparent that she is risking her life in helping this Viking who is a direct descendent of the very man who destroyed their village and massacred so many of her people.

 

Lothar convinces Dara he is different, though, and Dara determines to protect him. But, with her village already thinking her a witch and the humiliation of being outcast, convincing them to allow him to stand by them against attack from the men responsible for his plight may rip their blossoming love and the village itself apart.

 

In this tale of Vikings and Druids, the author has done an admirable job of staying true to the time.  Weaving historically authentic facts throughout the love story keeps the reader learning as well as enjoying.  The problem is the reader is told everything that is happening and what the characters are feeling rather than shown.   There is no emotion felt whatsoever because of this, and the overall experience becomes a very simple relating of events rather than the deep, rich tale that is waiting to be experienced.  Still, the book is full of possibilities and the superstitions, fears and realities of living during this era keep the story interesting.

 

Ruth Lynn Ritter