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A review by crystalstarrlight
The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge
5.0
Bullet Review:
Those last 27 pages - can I ugly cry now??? My heart is in complete shambles.
Full Review:
How do you write a review for a book like this - that takes you to this magical world (I say "magical" even though this world 100% exists because the way Gedge writes Albion is so beautiful, so majestic, so ethereal, that words cease to accurately express the wonderment you have when you read this book and get transported here), into these incredibly crafted people and then slowly breaks your heart as you read the tragedy of the Roman Occupation of England?
Probably 95% of the book is the precursor to the more famous story of Boudicca and how she very nearly was able to oust the Romans from Albion. We start out the book with Caradoc (the real life person of Caractus), Togodumnus, Aricia (known as Cartimandua) and Eurgain in their early/late teens. The world of Albion is relatively peaceful - Caradoc's father is looking to extend the borders of Catuvellauni tribe, Aricia faces going home to Brigantia, Caradoc battles his emotions towards Aricia and Eurgain. And then...Rome attacks.
This book took me nearly 4 months to read, but it wasn't because i was bored or dragging myself through it because I hated it. Hilariously enough, I struggled with the sheer size of this book - it is bigger than your typical paperbacks, more like a hardcover size with pages full of text from top to bottom on its 694 page length. So the book was heavy and awkward - in the gym, in the bath, before bedtime, on the plane. Nonetheless, I prevailed!
One thing I discussed multiple times with my buddy, Iset, when reading this was how stunned I was at the page count. You know how there are books where you read 300 pages and you are in awe because not a whole lot of anything actually happened. Trying to remember what actually happened and what the point was is a complete mystery. This book was a different experience - I was stunned at how much happened in these pages, how much I grew to love these characters, from Caradoc and Aricia to the Romans, Plautius and Rufus, and how I was enraptured with the story. Every page, every dialogue, every chapter had a point - either driving character development (and damn, this book does NOT shy on the tough character development!!) or plot or painting a beautiful picture of this ancient world.
Honestly, I could go on and on about this book and never really write a review that does this book justice. There are so many aspects where my comments amount to - this was awesome! I love this! This was great! It feels repetitive and phoned in after awhile, and yet that's exactly my thoughts when reading this book. This book nearly literally sent me back in time. I would come out of the book and have to reorient myself. And then you have the ending that kept me up way past my bedtime and sent my heart and soul into overdrive. (The last two paragraphs may not seem like much if you hadn't invested in the whole book, but when I read those at nearly 1am this morning, I was in near tears, my heart pounding and aching as I tried to go to sleep.)
Before I end this horrible review of a wonderful book, I must talk a little about this magical, mystical world of Albion. Albion is (obviously) England, but when reading this book, it's so much more than that. Iset and I went back and forth, trying to describe in words what you felt in your soul - how achingly beautiful the forests were, how mystical and magical it was, as if it was a real life Lothlorien (no wonder Tolkien wrote Middle Earth the way he did!!!!), how REAL the setting was in every location, from Siluria to Brigantia to Camulodunum. I've had the pleasure of going to England, nearly 3 years ago, and even without reading this book, I was stunned at how old and yet magical it was - and now that I've finished "The Eagle and the Raven", I very much want to go back and soak in the Roman Baths and absorb the beauty of this amazing land - and yet also mourn the men and women who died in the name of freedom.
I've had some bad luck with books in the last few years, reading lackluster and mediocre books. This book is definitely not one of them.
Thank you, Iset, for sharing this lovely read with me!
Those last 27 pages - can I ugly cry now??? My heart is in complete shambles.
Full Review:
How do you write a review for a book like this - that takes you to this magical world (I say "magical" even though this world 100% exists because the way Gedge writes Albion is so beautiful, so majestic, so ethereal, that words cease to accurately express the wonderment you have when you read this book and get transported here), into these incredibly crafted people and then slowly breaks your heart as you read the tragedy of the Roman Occupation of England?
Probably 95% of the book is the precursor to the more famous story of Boudicca and how she very nearly was able to oust the Romans from Albion. We start out the book with Caradoc (the real life person of Caractus), Togodumnus, Aricia (known as Cartimandua) and Eurgain in their early/late teens. The world of Albion is relatively peaceful - Caradoc's father is looking to extend the borders of Catuvellauni tribe, Aricia faces going home to Brigantia, Caradoc battles his emotions towards Aricia and Eurgain. And then...Rome attacks.
This book took me nearly 4 months to read, but it wasn't because i was bored or dragging myself through it because I hated it. Hilariously enough, I struggled with the sheer size of this book - it is bigger than your typical paperbacks, more like a hardcover size with pages full of text from top to bottom on its 694 page length. So the book was heavy and awkward - in the gym, in the bath, before bedtime, on the plane. Nonetheless, I prevailed!
One thing I discussed multiple times with my buddy, Iset, when reading this was how stunned I was at the page count. You know how there are books where you read 300 pages and you are in awe because not a whole lot of anything actually happened. Trying to remember what actually happened and what the point was is a complete mystery. This book was a different experience - I was stunned at how much happened in these pages, how much I grew to love these characters, from Caradoc and Aricia to the Romans, Plautius and Rufus, and how I was enraptured with the story. Every page, every dialogue, every chapter had a point - either driving character development (and damn, this book does NOT shy on the tough character development!!) or plot or painting a beautiful picture of this ancient world.
Honestly, I could go on and on about this book and never really write a review that does this book justice. There are so many aspects where my comments amount to - this was awesome! I love this! This was great! It feels repetitive and phoned in after awhile, and yet that's exactly my thoughts when reading this book. This book nearly literally sent me back in time. I would come out of the book and have to reorient myself. And then you have the ending that kept me up way past my bedtime and sent my heart and soul into overdrive. (The last two paragraphs may not seem like much if you hadn't invested in the whole book, but when I read those at nearly 1am this morning, I was in near tears, my heart pounding and aching as I tried to go to sleep.)
Before I end this horrible review of a wonderful book, I must talk a little about this magical, mystical world of Albion. Albion is (obviously) England, but when reading this book, it's so much more than that. Iset and I went back and forth, trying to describe in words what you felt in your soul - how achingly beautiful the forests were, how mystical and magical it was, as if it was a real life Lothlorien (no wonder Tolkien wrote Middle Earth the way he did!!!!), how REAL the setting was in every location, from Siluria to Brigantia to Camulodunum. I've had the pleasure of going to England, nearly 3 years ago, and even without reading this book, I was stunned at how old and yet magical it was - and now that I've finished "The Eagle and the Raven", I very much want to go back and soak in the Roman Baths and absorb the beauty of this amazing land - and yet also mourn the men and women who died in the name of freedom.
I've had some bad luck with books in the last few years, reading lackluster and mediocre books. This book is definitely not one of them.
Thank you, Iset, for sharing this lovely read with me!