Post by DanTheMan on Jan 17, 2007 13:35:18 GMT -5
This was a very interesting book. Brendan the Navigator was an Irish monk who is best known for the legend that he sailed to America around 500 BC. The book paints a very real feeling character as seen by his friend Finn. The author tries to take the legends about Brendan and make them feel as though they really happened. The other characters and environment come across as 3-dimensional, as if you could really feel the splashing salt water, the wrinkled tanned faces, etc.
The style of writing is a little hard to read at times as it is from the perspective of his friend Finn, as if he were really writing the story. Complete with bad grammar and strange sentence structure. I had to read some sentences a few times to get them right. It reminded me of Mark Twain.
The content was good and bad. The bad is some crude moments which might sour the story for some who don't wish to read such things. I would have preferred those moments no been there but having read them I can see why they're there and they do add to the character development. The good is that the characters do go through changes and growth as the years pass. The characters do seem real.
At Amazon, I gave this 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted 1 star due to the crude moments. Lawhead readers of his more recent stuff might really enjoy this book. In a way, it's following in the Patrick mold and it's maybe 40-50 years after him. Also, Bendan journeys to Wales and meets Artor (King Arthur), who tells him of the betrayal by Gwenhwyfar and Llenlleawg. (See the Pendragon series.)
Very interesting and I'm glad I read it.
The style of writing is a little hard to read at times as it is from the perspective of his friend Finn, as if he were really writing the story. Complete with bad grammar and strange sentence structure. I had to read some sentences a few times to get them right. It reminded me of Mark Twain.
The content was good and bad. The bad is some crude moments which might sour the story for some who don't wish to read such things. I would have preferred those moments no been there but having read them I can see why they're there and they do add to the character development. The good is that the characters do go through changes and growth as the years pass. The characters do seem real.
At Amazon, I gave this 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted 1 star due to the crude moments. Lawhead readers of his more recent stuff might really enjoy this book. In a way, it's following in the Patrick mold and it's maybe 40-50 years after him. Also, Bendan journeys to Wales and meets Artor (King Arthur), who tells him of the betrayal by Gwenhwyfar and Llenlleawg. (See the Pendragon series.)
Very interesting and I'm glad I read it.
