Just Me

No one in 5^th century Britain knows more secrets than master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth, and that makes him a dangerous man. It also makes him a hunted one. For nearly three decades he has manipulated stubborn, irascible kings and warlords in a quest to not only unite them against foreign invasion but to stop them from destroying each other as well. And along with his beloved wife Claerwen, he has followed a greater, even more perilous pursuit—to forge a clear path for the fulfillment of Merlin the Enchanter’s famed prophecy that one day a great king will take command, the king known as Arthur of the Britons.

I normally do not like reading a book that is well into a series.  For some reason, when I signed up to review ‘A Land Beyond Ravens‘, I did not realize that this was the fourth installment in the Mascen’s Treasure Series.  Sometimes starting mid-series you are left wondering who the characters are, what their backstory is, and all the relevant details already given in the first books.  Kathleen Cunningham Guler makes sure her readers have nothing to worry about in that department.

In the prologue we are thrown head first into the story by meeting Claerwen and her somewhat mystical ‘powers’.  There is a tension that comes off the page as she meets The Lady of Avalon and we learn that she will be key in shaping what happens in the future.

As with the prologue, we are thrown right in the thick of things when we meet Marcus ap Iorwerth.  Our formidable main character who is the greatest spy of his time that is in charge of making sure Arthur makes it to the throne.  Immediately we sense that something is amiss with his relation to the various lower kings and the high king Uther.  The background of their strained relationship is no doubt expanded upon in the previous books though Guler does a great job of giving us the condensed version to catch us up.

The book is filled with mystery, intrigue, passion, and historical references.  We feel the passion that still exists in Marcus and Claerwen’s 20 year relationship, the hate between Drysi and Marcus, and the strain of those involved insuring Arthur’s safe ascension to the throne.  Set in the 5th century, Guler does a fantastic job of painting a picture of what it was like to live in the Dark Ages of Britain.  While reading, you can picture the warm homes, the family trust of a clan, and the battles.  Wrapped up in all of this is the pain of lost children, estranged family members, unknown connections, strained relationships, secrets, mysteries, and the love of Marcus and Claerwen.

Marcus fights to help along a plan for Arthur, Uther’s son, to take over once Uther is no longer king.  Uther is getting sicker each day and others in the land are working to see that the Christian church step in and take over.  Throughout this time, Claerwen is having visions of an uncertain future and not knowing what could happen to her husband as he fights for Arthur.

Some story lines took a few chapters to fully evolve and some didn’t until the very end.  But it is those twists and turns that kept me turning the pages long into the night.  I found myself getting anxious in wanting to know what the deal was with a few characters and had to restrain from flipping ahead.  But when the truth is finally given, it stops you then and there with the cleverness of the twist and how everything just falls into place.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book-it took me just a couple of days to get through it.  I did find some of the names of places and people to be a bit hard to keep track of at first.  But Guler gives a glossary in the beginning for some of the more difficult names that shows how to pronounce them.  For the first few chapters I found myself flipping back to the front to make sure I had them right.  But it didn’t take long to get a handle on it.

The author states that this series is “based on a combination of the era’s known history and the legend that was subsequently spun out of the oral tradition of the time.  The rest is pure imagination.”  I love historical fiction books for this reason-the two sides of the story are woven together in a way that flows nicely.

I highly recommend this book!  I am even going to get the earlier books because I want to know the full story to this cast of characters.

ISBN-13: 9780966037166
ISBN-10: 0966037162
Hardcover ~ 384 pages ~ $25.95