The BookViral Review:
Beginning with the marriage of Erc of Dalriada to his first wife Marca at the age of fifteen and covering the period up until his death in 474AD, Kinread gives us a rousing historical novel and a fine example of what can happen when good writing and extensive research come together.
Erc of Dalriada is a man whose belief in honour and whose love for his second wife Mista, family, and clan make him a figure to cheer for and it’s through him that readers are drawn into the lifelong conflict between his sons Fergus and Cartan who would see himself as King.
What’s best about The Scots of Dalriada: Fergus Mór is the vivid images Kinread conveys of time and place (fifth-century Ireland and Scotland), and the kinds of personalities produced by a world where alliances were often fleeting and fraught with danger.
Suffice it to say that Kinread weaves an exciting web of a story that is interspersed with gem like facts and insight that so often many writers of historical fiction fail to mention and her superb eye for detail is a tribute to her desire to bring the many facets of a tough existence to life.
Given the extended period of The Scots of Dalriada the story outline could have produced yet another tired historical epic with which the genre has become inundated with but Kinread juggles an extensive cast of supporting characters to retain the intrigue throughout. Among them, the return of Saint Patrick as his story from The Missionary is continued and other significant historical figures such as Ceretic Guletic of Alt Clut who was king of Alt Clut.
Central to Kinread’s narrative is the conflict between Fergus, whose subsequent importance as the founder of Scotland in the national myth of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland is not in doubt, and Cartan. Theirs is a complex tale with Cartan’s bitter hatred for Fergus painting him as a cunning and despicable character who is credited with the murder of Erc of Dalriada and his wife Mista among other heinous crimes against Erc’s lineage.
Another original and applaudable novel from Kinread which is sure to appeal to fans of historical fiction and avid historians alike, The Scots of Dalriada: Fergus Mór is highly recommended.
