Faux-Celtic worlds are a favorite setting of fantasy. Romantic, thrilling, poetic. Ye olden days in pure culture, with fiercely glorious heroes, fascinating heroines and touches of wizardry. Historical fairyland.
I opened this book imaging it might be one of those. It has plenty of those components. It has a warriors, druids, a maiden to be protected. There are feasts and a great deal of fighting. And there are encounters with fantastical creatures. At its heart is a faustian deal between a would-be warrior and a supernatural being: he can have what he wants, but there will be a price. The story is the working out of that price.
So far so familiar, but it soon became evident that JTT Ryder is actually doing something very different. He is an archaeologist writing meticulous fiction to put blood and sinew on a real world constructed from fragments and relics that he knows better than any of us. He is not using 'ye olden days' as a vehicle for fanciful adventures. He is writing about a specific period and place: around 200BC, at the start of the iron age, on the isle of Skye. It’s a remote and barbaric world, but its people are aware of a wider geography and politics. On the edges of their geographical horizon there are Greeks and Romans, Egyptians even. There are travellers’ tales of Africa and Asia. These are people without written history, but they are tethered in oral lineages that reach back into a time that was ancient even to them. These are people whose world is dominated by conflict – survival requires scrabbling for scant resources: cattle grabs, land grabs, power grabs. And politics cannot be separated from technology: different groups, on slightly different trajectories, are making the transition from bronze weapons to iron - hot on the heels of the transition from stone to bronze, and these transitions entail shifts in power, social order, life chances. On the edges of this world, there is also the transition to the technology of writing… a technology whose absence from this novel fits well with its style of storytelling. Presented as a life-story told by one man to another, the narrative is episodic, its arc slow and low slung, more engaged with the battle than the war. I was reminded of the Odyssey and of the Orkneyinga Saga. In such a history the supernatural components are at ease: it is a world where everything is alive.
In depicting this world, Ryder is seeking create not just a historically possible world, but a historically possible consciousness. He is trying to depict, through fiction, what it may have been like to inhabit that world, to see it through eyes which have seen no other, to be born and die in it. So (unlike the Hollywood version of the period) his characters are not modern people with familiar sensibilities, fancifully adorned with flowing clothes and archaic weapons, elecuting olde english.
They are very different from us. They see the world very differently. The emotional landscape is shockingly unfamiliar.
Did I like this world? No. This is a book about men, told from a male perspective. The hunting dogs appear to have more personality than the women, possibly more value, with the mules and cattle not far behind. There is much too much fighting – and relish in it – than suits my tastes. Certainly too much blood and gore and death. I did not like our hero’s world view: his desire for vengeance at the death of his brothers seemed far more intense than any affection for his brothers in life; his determination to protect the heroine is motivated by the protection of his own honour rather than any real interest of hers. The crystalline moments in his memory are not moments of reflection or tenderness or even grief – they are moment when a man is slashed open in battle, and his viscera pour out in a cascade and he slips on them. No, I didn’t enjoy my visit to this world.
All the same, I was utterly compelled by it. This is a story that grabs you by the hair, doesn't much care if you like it, but simply holds on. As the slow arc of the story progressed, the consciousness of these distant people began to make sense to me. I began to understand them, to inhabit them. I began to want what they wanted. In the end I did not even want to leave.
This is a consummate achievement of storytelling.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022
- Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2022
Top reviews from other countries
- Susan CookReviewed in Australia on January 14, 2023
I personally found this book a bit disappointing.
- RowenaReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2022
An epic world, with a wonderful, localised hero's journey
- JessReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2022
A triumph in historical fantasy storytelling!
In a time where epic fantasy tales are saturating our bookshelves, cinemas and silver screens, J.T.T. Ryder’s ‘Hag of the Hills’ is a refreshing and unique take on a coming of age fantasy quest for revenge, packed with grizzly action and grounded beautifully in the Iron Age Isle of Skye.JessA triumph in historical fantasy storytelling!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2022
Set in remote Britain, in roughly 200 B.C., Ryder paints a gritty, brutal landscape where death is not only gruesome but inevitable. However this reoccurring theme of violent death is juxtaposed against the natural, wild beauty of Skye that Ryder describes lyrically and with a depth and passion for the island that makes it feel so familiar. This almost romantically painted setting is a stunning backdrop for the rich culture and magical mythology peppered throughout this action packed novel.
The meticulous research that Ryder; a professional expert in Iron and Viking Age archaeology; has taken such care and passion to weave into this fictional story is a real triumph and culminates in a richly rewarding lesson on Celtic mythology and culture. Whilst this tale is fictional, the fantasy world Ryder has taken such care to build is very much grounded in his wealth of knowledge and feels like a plausible insight into the mind of a Celt. A completely refreshing and unique take on historical fantasy I have yet to experience in another novel.
My only gripe with this novel is the portrayal of female characters who whilst likeable, are a little one dimensional as described through the eyes of our protagonist Brennus. As a female reader I found these characters lack of substance disappointing however this is unapologetically a story about men told through the eyes of a man and it is not enough of a reason to tarnish my opinion of Brennus as a likeable character. His internal coming of age struggle with leading an honourable life, becoming a ‘real’ man and paying homage to his lineage despite his naivety and initial lack of a warriors skillset are relatable qualities that redeem him as a reliable narrator.
I personally am not an avid reader of historical fantasy but Ryder’s offering of bards, barbarians and magical Celtic mythology ticks all of my fantasy novel boxes. It has a real Bernard Cornwell feel about it and I’m sure fans of The Last Kingdom would thoroughly enjoy this novel. A triumph in storytelling, I’m intrigued to see where Ryder takes us next!
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