The Circle and the Cross

Set in ancient Ireland and blending historical fiction and fantasy in a tale of the relationships and conflicts between paganism and Roman and Celtic Christianity, The Circle and The Cross has been described by Dr Colleen McCullough (author of The Thorn Birds) as "a sumptuous feast of storytelling". First published in Australia in 1995, where it was an instant bestseller, the book is both a first novel and the beginning of The Wanderers trilogy with The Song of the Earth and The Water of Life following. The multi-talented Caiseal Mór also creates his own Celtic-inspired art and has composed and performed successful albums of harp music as the "soundtracks" to each book! Mór certainly can tell a rattling adventure with the voice of a born storyteller, "Hear the wind wailing down a chimney on the darkest night of winter. Sit at the fire warming flesh that has blued in icy air. Rest eyes that ache, feet that are weary..." even if at times, writing Celtic fantasy from down-under, his vision does seem contrived and just a little too self-consciously poetic. While Mór strives for balance with sympathetic individual Christian characters, his heart lies with the pagans, whom he romanticises enthusiastically. Beginning with Taliesin, Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle covers similar material with greater maturity and more excitement from a Christian perspective, while Melvin Bragg's Credo is an epic of love and religious war in 7th century Britain and is simply one of the most brilliant novels written in years.--Gary S Dalkin