- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Press; First edition (2 Feb 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0593052579
- ISBN-13: 978-0593052570
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 344,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Boudica: Dreaming The Bull (Boudica 2)
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Product Description
Book Description
Set in Iron-Age Britain and Imperial Rome, the second novel in the bestselling Boudica series.
Product Description
In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome; the culmination of nearly twenty years of resistance against an occupying force that sought to crush a vibrant, complex civilization and replace it with the laws, taxes and slavery of the Roman Empire.
Dreaming the Bull continues the story of Breaca, acclaimed as bringer of victory to her people, and her half-brother, Bán, now an officer in the Roman cavalry. Each stands on either side in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each determined to see the other dead. Caught in the middle are Cunomar and Graine, son and daughter to two of the greatest warriors their world has ever seen. While in the heart of Rome, the Emperor Claudius and his implacable wife hold lives in their hands.
This is a heart-stopping story of war and of peace; of love, passion and betrayal; of druids and warring gods, where each life is sacred and each death even more so; and where Breaca and Ban learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfil their own destinies.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honouring our Ancient Ancestors,
By
This review is from: Boudica: Dreaming The Bull (Boudica 2) (Paperback)
What an incredible book, Manda has proven once more that she can lead a masterclass in the historical novel. It is a rip roaring, thunderous cavalry charge and the pages just seemed to turn faster and faster. I can't wait to complete the set and then re-read them all at a more sedate pace.
Reading other reviews I cannot help but feel as if at least one reader was reading a different book to myself. The author weaves`an intricate web mixing love and hate, war and tenuous peace, human relationships as well as the love and devotion between warrior and hounds and warriors and their horses. The juxtaposition between warrior and dreamers is examined with care and we are shown the importance of animism in the nations psyche as the mix of spirit and energy and the worship of the prime Gods is brought to the fore. As well as being an thoroughly entertaining read I found that I was vastly stimulated and able to escape from now as the pages absorbed me and took me back to the time of my ancestors. To write like this Manda has surely been touched by the Gods and maybe there is an element of past lives seeping in to her in order to create the reality of what was. This skilled storyteller comes across more like a modern foreign correspondent/journalist who saw and experienced what she has written of as opposed to a writer of historical fiction. Manda...bless you for allowing me to enter albeit ever so briefly, the time and lands of my ancestors.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much better than the first novel,
By
This review is from: Boudica: Dreaming The Bull (Boudica 2) (Paperback)
The second of Manda Scott's Boudica trilogy opens with the somewhat older Breaca (known as `The Boudica', Bringer of Victory) ambushing Romans in modern Wales. Removed from the Eceni, now of Mona, she has a son and a husband, Caradoc whilst on the other side of Britain, Ban, now firmly known as Julius Valerius, a duplicarius, is aiding Corvus in planning how they will defeat the Britons. Valerius has lost his powers as an Eceni and now is subservient to Mithras Sol.
Over the first hundred pages we follow Julius as he sweeps into the Silures territory in Rome's bid to disarm the tribes. One by one they find the blades of the Britons and destroy them, best epitomised when he locates Casselliovanus' sword and gives it to his new friend, the Thracian master of the Horse, Longinus Szvede. Together, under the guide of the Prefect Regulus they become the scourge of the Britons and the focus of the hatred of Breaca, Caradoc, Durogenes at al. After breaking out of one `salmon trap' laid by the Eceni, after Corvus nearly died and after Longinus and Julius also suffer injuries it culminates in Cunomar, Caradoc, Cygfa and Durogenes capture by Julius and removal to Rome for the Britannia Triumph. Whilst there Caradoc manages to delay their executions by offering to prevent the Dreamers from killing the superstitious Claudius from afar in return for their lives and earns a temporary respite. This denied it is only during the Triumph itself where he challenges the emperor that he manages to secure all their lives in return for Claudius' own safety. During this period what is of more import is Caradoc's realisation that Julius is in fact the not-dead Ban and all the enormity that comes with that. Julius states his belief in Aminios' lies to Caradoc's frustrations though his own struggle with the inner voices of the Dreamers shows that he must eventually weaken to the truth. On Claudius' death, they are freed and taken by Julius to freedom, though hotly pursued by the representatives of the newly elected Nero. After Caradoc is left alive but on the Italian shore the remainder return to Breaca and th einevitable hostile reunion as Ban and his sister meet again and she realises who he is. It ends with her sending him to Hibernia. This second effort by Scott is much...much better than the first. Gone is the heavy insinuation that Celtic Britain was dominated by totem spirituality and more focus is on providing a tautly narrated story at the end of the invading Romans and the struggle to stop them by the British. The characters are more rooted in reality and likeable, their actions more in tune with their ages. Rome factors far more heavily in this and whilst there is a lack of actual scenery in Rome, the narration of the relationships during this time means it is not overly missed. Ban/Julius' inner struggle is more plausible and whilst you want him to return to his heritage, you suspect that complete acceptance of what he has done and how much he has betrayed his own people would cause an immediate breakdown. It'll be interesting to see how Scott resolves that dilemma in the next installments. One minor annoyance is the continued insistence by Scott on calling the Druids, `Dreamers', but it is not overly important. I stated that first installment from Scott was easily put down, that it lacks any sort of gripping edge. Not so this one. It's not quite a one sitting read but it's close and certainly ensures I will look for eagerly for the third installment. A major improvement.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well Thought Out and Well Written,
By
This review is from: Boudica: Dreaming The Bull (Boudica 2) (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book tremendously, even better than the first one. Although Manda Scott does not stick to the conventional historical facts of Boudica the book loses nothing in the telling.The storyline flows beautiful without any lulls which is a credit to the authors story telling ability. Although the books is quite large (almost 600 pages), I read it in quite a short space of time. This is a good indication of how the story grips you. I would not wish to spoil the plot in any way for the reader. Suffice to say that Breaca (the Boudica) is continuing her fight against the might of the Roman Legions in Britain, ably assisted by her husband Caradoc, a British war chieftain. One particular Roman officer, Julius Valerius is a thorn in their side. He is becoming increasingly renowned for his fighting prowess and his brutality against the British. However he is not all he seems to be. He holds a terrible secret that will affect the lives of all of them. To tell any more would spoil the book for all potential readers.
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