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Revision as of 13:46, 5 September 2020
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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Winter Isles
|sort=Winter Isles
|reviewer=Ani Johnson
|genre=Historical Fiction
|summary=A wonderful historical fiction introduction to Somerled, a 12th -century Scottish warlord and hero. Action -packed and yet told with an underlying sensitivity, authenticity and with a definite celtic Celtic atmosphere, this is literary magic.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|isbn=978-1782396581
|website=http://www.antoniasenior.com
|videocover=1782396586|amazonukaznuk=<amazonuk>1782396586</amazonuk>|amazonusaznus=<amazonus>1782396586</amazonus>
}}
Somerled's quick brain takes him through the ranks on an accelerated learning curve to end them all. One thing he learns pretty quickly is that leadership isn't just about raids, he also has to keep his people together mentally and physically against sundry challenges, human and natural. It also means that he has to make decisions for the good of the many and, in some cases, to the detriment of himself and those he loves.
We also learn about the woman's life in the clans. While in many respects we realise from the era that the women's fate was at the whim of their men, we see there are ways and means of attempting a power balance. Unfortunately , it's not always successful and politics can sometimes dictate its own direction.
The historical factoids are satisfyingly seeded throughout the story. For instance, you've heard of the Scottish icon Robert the Bruce, the spider watching chap? Well, he was actually French! It's also interesting to see Christianity sitting alongside their ancient Norse religion. Not only were both religions tolerated, at least locally, mixing and matching where it was deemed appropriate was an accepted necessity.
Whether you want to fill in the gaps in your historical education or just fancy a good yarn, this is the book. It not only fulfils both functions, it's lyricism and totally absorbing population leaves us with the urge to find out more. Whether you enjoy it with a dram or not is completely optional but I'm guessing you will enjoy it.
(Huge thanks to the folk at Corvus for providing us with a copy for review. We also have a review of [[The Tyrant's Shadow by Antonia Senior]].)
Further Reading: If this appeals and you'd like to read more of Scotland's past, we also highly recommend [[Corrag by Susan Fletcher]].
