| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
Warring kingdoms, bloody feuds and a battle for survival... Step back into the Dark Ages with this riveting, epic adventure from a debut writer.
Product Description
In the wild landscape of Dark Age Britain, Essa is abandoned by his father in a lonely marsh-village trapped between two warring kingdoms. Destined to become tangled in the bitter feud, Essa's part in it is more important than he ever dreamed. But how will Essa save those he loves and discover the secret of his true identity when he can trust no one?
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The story is set mostly in England in the Dark Ages, where war is about to break out between two tribes. The central character is a boy named Essa, whose travelling father (sometimes a bard, sometimes a spy) has abandoned him to be brought up by one of those tribes. Essa has a role to play in trying to prevent war, alongside discovering the true identity of his mother, and in turn his place in the world.
I didn't initially have high expectations of this book. The Dark Ages is one of my favourite periods of British history, but so often historical novels are ruined for the reader if the details of the period are inaccurate. The Dark Ages are particularly hard to get right, as so much is unknown, even to historians, that authors must often extrapolate likely situations and customs, without losing the authentic feel of the period. Katy Moran does this beautifully and subtly, without allowing the history to slow down the plot. There is a real sense of what it was like to live in the period, helping the reader to understand the choices facing Essa, in the context in which he faced them.
From the first page, the plot doesn't slow, and the characters are rounded - even Essa's enemies have some redeeming features. If the book had a flaw, it was that it seemed to end too soon. Essa's journey, and his efforts to secure peace, were incomplete. Although the author does pull the ending together, it still has the feel of the first half of a larger novel, rather than the first book in a series. I wondered if the author had originally written a longer book, that had been split into two to make each book a more realistic length for a teenage audience?
It isn't a major flaw though, as when a debut novel is this good, it suggests the sequel will be worth waiting for!
I didn't initially have high expectations of this book. The Dark Ages is one of my favourite periods of British history, but so often historical novels are ruined for the reader if the details of the period are inaccurate. The Dark Ages are particularly hard to get right, as so much is unknown, even to historians, that authors must often extrapolate likely situations and customs, without losing the authentic feel of the period. Katy Moran does this beautifully and subtly, without allowing the history to slow down the plot. There is a real sense of what it was like to live in the period, helping the reader to understand the choices facing Essa, in the context in which he faced them.
From the first page, the plot doesn't slow, and the characters are rounded - even Essa's enemies have some redeeming features. If the book had a flaw, it was that it seemed to end too soon. Essa's journey, and his efforts to secure peace, were incomplete. Although the author does pull the ending together, it still has the feel of the first half of a larger novel, rather than the first book in a series. I wondered if the author had originally written a longer book, that had been split into two to make each book a more realistic length for a teenage audience?
It isn't a major flaw though, as when a debut novel is this good, it suggests the sequel will be worth waiting for!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a really excellent book for an older reader, a fine introduction to historical fiction, and very evocative of the misty origins of the British Isles.
Essa is a half British, half Anglish boy, son of a 'scop' or bard, who becomes embroiled in the high politics of the 7th century, as rival British and English kingdoms struggle for power in the post-Roman landscape of Britain. In addition to this, Essa not only has to deal with the awkward process of growing up, but also to manage his unique and mystical gift which connects him to the natural world and the spirit world.
This is beautifully and evocatively written, and impeccably researched. So many historical novels are awfully clumsy in their handling of their research and their prose style: it's really refreshing to find a book like this which achieves both with seemingly effortless ease.
Very much in the tradition of Henry Treece and Rosemary Sutcliffe - more from this writer please.
Essa is a half British, half Anglish boy, son of a 'scop' or bard, who becomes embroiled in the high politics of the 7th century, as rival British and English kingdoms struggle for power in the post-Roman landscape of Britain. In addition to this, Essa not only has to deal with the awkward process of growing up, but also to manage his unique and mystical gift which connects him to the natural world and the spirit world.
This is beautifully and evocatively written, and impeccably researched. So many historical novels are awfully clumsy in their handling of their research and their prose style: it's really refreshing to find a book like this which achieves both with seemingly effortless ease.
Very much in the tradition of Henry Treece and Rosemary Sutcliffe - more from this writer please.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
My daughter [age 13] asked me to get this book from Amazon. Bloodline is Essa's story. He was born in the dark ages around the time of the epic saga Beowulf. Essa was 'nine summers old' in 631 AD. My daughter is an avid book reader and reads up to a book a day. After an hour into Bloodline, she told me 'it's really good'. Two days later she had finished it. I asked her to say what it was like in a sentence or two to help people decide if they should buy it for their kids. She said "It was a well written book. You get a surprise and a new twist all the time. Some people seem to be traitors, then they don't, but you never know. It's sad in places, and the ending is what you would expect, but you have to read it to understand what I mean. It's about being a young warrior in the violent Wolf Clan feud and being faithful to people [and they give you a ring as a symbol of their trust and your loyalty]. Lots of people die - naturally mostly the male warriors - and you just know it must lead up to a great battle, but you never know who, if any, will survive".
I asked her if it was the best book she has ever read, and she said no, that would have to be Michael Morpurgo's books ['My Friend Walter' being a particular favourite] - these even top her Harry Potter and Princess Diaries books she has re-read many times. But Bloodline still comes very highly recommended. Despite the apparent boy friendly nature of the storyline, it was certainly was a hit with my daughter who is the target age for this book. On the back of the book it states 'For readers aged 12+' and 'Bloodline continues in 2009', so the books themes and writing style are not aimed at adults. The book's sequel 'Bloodline Rising' has arrived, which my daughter also bought and really enjoyed - this second book follows the life of Essa's son [hence the series running title 'Bloodline' I suppose]. Both books are pretty standalone, there's no cliff-hanger not to be resolved until the next book, which my daughter also liked.
I asked her if it was the best book she has ever read, and she said no, that would have to be Michael Morpurgo's books ['My Friend Walter' being a particular favourite] - these even top her Harry Potter and Princess Diaries books she has re-read many times. But Bloodline still comes very highly recommended. Despite the apparent boy friendly nature of the storyline, it was certainly was a hit with my daughter who is the target age for this book. On the back of the book it states 'For readers aged 12+' and 'Bloodline continues in 2009', so the books themes and writing style are not aimed at adults. The book's sequel 'Bloodline Rising' has arrived, which my daughter also bought and really enjoyed - this second book follows the life of Essa's son [hence the series running title 'Bloodline' I suppose]. Both books are pretty standalone, there's no cliff-hanger not to be resolved until the next book, which my daughter also liked.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
New Epic Fantasy Series Begins
Historical fantasy set in Dark Age Britain gives this book a feel of something new and exciting. Essa is left in a village caught between two feuding kingdoms. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2009 by H. Pierce
Loved it!
We read this book for my book club and it's the only book in two years of meetings that we have all enjoyed.
I couldn't put it down, a gripping read. Read more
I couldn't put it down, a gripping read. Read more
Published on 6 May 2009 by Racheylou
Gripping read, bravo Katy Moran
What a fantastic book! I was gripped from start to finish. I then passed it to my children, my parents and all my friends. Read more
Published on 21 April 2009 by Anna
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Essa's father brings him to a camp one day and leaves him there without any explanation. Essa's forced to grow up in the village without any sense of home. Read more
Published on 8 April 2009 by TeensReadToo
Not too bad.
My son read this aged 10 and still found it a little taxing...I'm not sure I'd say this was suitable for a nine year old unless they were very accomplished.
Published on 18 Sep 2008 by A. Cresswell
Not my cup of tea
I am a frequent reader of books aimed at children and have recently read some excellent new books of this genre. Sadly, this was not one of them. Read more
Published on 18 July 2008 by E. Heckingbottom
MIssing Masterpiece
This looked like an ideal book for my grandson. Unfortunately it never arrived. I hope that you have better luck ordering it - and I look forward to reading other reviews.
Published on 17 July 2008 by Darrin Stevens
Fair window into the dark Ages!
I am an avid reader of historical novels, which is why I chose to review this. I would recommend it to readers with similar tastes, but I doubt whether the target audience will be... Read more
Published on 28 May 2008 by The Librarian
A ethereal dark age setting for an interesting early teen read.
This carefully-researched and well-written story is set in the tribal dark ages which is unusual for a children's book and sets it apart from the crowd. Read more
Published on 22 May 2008 by ELH Browning
Not my kind of novel
To be honest, didn't read it all, because it was just so boring, not a great novel to say the least. Really couldn't get into this one, not alot else to say.
Published on 22 May 2008 by Ken Smith
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
