The Hawk's Grey Feather by Patricia Kennealy.

True to form, I'll start by saying why I picked up this book. I think it was a few years ago that I found The Copper Crown, and this is a book set in the same universe, although at an earlier time. I find Patricia Kennealy's world very interesting, so I thought I'll see what this story was like.

I barely need to give a plot synopsis here: This is the story of Arthur (as in King Arthur and the knights of the round table). This is the first book in a series, and it is told from the eyes of his friend Taliesin. The story in this book is that of Arthur and Taliesin's childhood and their early victories, and Arthur's growth towards being the High King of Keltia. However, the world in which this is set is perhaps where this book diverges most from the myths. This book is sci-fi, not fantasy. There is space flight, lasers and forcefields as well as swords and magic. It is a strange, but not unappealing, mix of the past and the future.

The book draws heavily from Celtic mythology and this shows clearly. This isnt a bad thing; I find it fascinating how the author has pulled the values and way of life of ancient Britain and Ireland, and given it technology. The book does not feel like a sci-fi book; journeys are slow and on foot, not speedily flying between stars, for example. The world is very well done, and the book feels right.

I have one main criticism, however. I think this book, for all its depth, is very hard to read. You have to get your head around the use of the Keltic language everywhere, with new terminology introduced constantly and names that change depending on who's saying it to who. It is not a book you can just pick up and read, and I actually came fairly close to putting it down and going for another book earlier on, since I found it hard to get started. I'm not going to say that I wouldn't have picked it up later, but I think its a book for when you're in the right mindset.

Perhaps there's some other minor criticisms; for example I wasn't very happy with the ending, for instance, because I did not realise this was a book in a series, and the ending felt like it was cut short. This annoys me, especially given my sporadic buying of books and the relative rarity of this book in the UK; I do not have the sequel, and I do not know where to get it from. I'll give it one thing though - at least I actually want to get it!

I don't really know what score to give this book; in some ways it's a 4 because it's difficult, and in some ways it's a 7 because it's a fairly good story. I think I'll give it a 6. Sure it was difficult to get into, but it was a good story, and I really like the universe. Would I recommend it? Well, I think that depends very much on the reader... I know a lot of people who I think would enjoy it, but I think this is not a book for everyone.

6/10