The Celtic Ring [Hardcover]

On a cold January night in the Danish port of Dragor, Ulf - a young Swede living aboard his 31-foot-yacht "Rustica" - gets to know Pekka, an inscrutable Finn who has just arrived in the port utterly exhausted and green with fear. Pekka hands his logbook over to Ulf before disappearing again during the night that follows. After reading the logbook, Ulf decides to sail across the North Sea to Scotland together with his friend Torben in order to find out more about the so-called Celtic Ring, an enigmatic organization dedicated to the obtainment of political autonomy for the former Celtic nations of Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Brittany. Along the way, Ulf and Torben have to battle both with adverse meteorological conditions as well as with shady characters who clearly disapprove of foreigners poking their noses into matters that are none of their own. In the end, the two Swedes succeed in uncovering a vast network of activists fighting for the Celtic cause, although much about the Ring's core organization remains unknown.

"The Celtic Ring" is a gripping novel bristling with nautical detail and historical footnotes that will appeal to experts and laymen alike. The plot is fast-moving and full of unexpected twists. The only part of the book I did not quite like was the end which leaves the reader in considerable doubt about the story's outcome. Also, the map provided in the book is of a too general nature, and I would have greatly appreciated a second, more precise map outlining those parts of the Scottish coastline that are so vividly described in the book.

The book starts out well enough under dark, threatening skies in the harbor of Dragor, Denmark, the cold, wintry setting and empty, inhospitable sea establishing the perfect milieu for the chance and mysterious encounters that are to propel the main protagonist, Ulf, to undergo a nautical and dangerous journey to Scotland where he will soon find himself involved in murder, secret societies and intrigue. The initial stages of this voyage, undertaken in the midst of winter and involving the potentially deadly crossing of the North Sea, are marvelously detailed and suspenseful in the slow unraveling of the plot, each secret revealed further adding to the evolving mystery, and bringing the protagonist closer and closer, not only to answers but the inherent danger the truth may contain. Between the often gripping perils encountered on the ocean and the increasing and murderous attempts to prevent their quest for answers, suspense builds, the mystery deepens and the reader is compelled toward the final, and what will hopefully be, exciting and climactic conclusion.

However, without giving too much of the narrative away, the resolution of the mystery behind this book is predicated upon the existence of a loose confederation of secret Celtic societies, with hints of ancient rituals and possible magic. While during the bulk of the narrative the potential of a hidden and menacing cult's existence propelling events contributes to both the mystery and suspense building within the novel, the necessary resolution never comes, the identity and motivations of the "cult"---the true nature of the underlying conspiracy---remaining vague and tenuous, hidden within a fog of hints and references as veiled as the mists that physically disguise the setting at book's conclusion. Though it is perhaps unnecessary to entirely unmask the "villains" at book's end, too much is left to conjecture, the conspiracy that has threatened the protagonists throughout, and whose exposure is the purpose behind all their efforts and risks, remaining but for its outline unclear and dissatisfyingly revealed. Despite the book's strengths of characterization, plot and description, the absence of any true resolution to the mystery prevents me from wholeheartedly applauding this novel.

Nonetheless, those who love the sea and sailing, or are intrigued by things Celtic---readers who have admired Erskine Childers to whom this book is an acknowledgment---will find much in this novel to recommend it. The author has deftly drawn his primary characters---Ulf, his friend and sailing companion Torben, MacDuff and the mysterious Mary---creating individual and memorable characters, and the basic foundation of the story and its setting are admirably and often strikingly and beautifully established. There is little question that the author himself is a sailor. And even those who have never sailed or visited the western coast of Scotland will likely wish to re-experience the lochs, the islands and rugged coastline, as well as the slap of the waves on a hull firsthand. Had the author resolved the suspenseful mystery he had created more conclusively, with less plot threads left dangling, this book might have reached the full potential the author had within his grasp. As it is, the sense of mystery is left suspended.

As a final note: when reading this novel I would suggest ignoring the map provided at the book's beginning---it is neither complete nor accurate, and is ultimately more confusing than clarifying. Additionally, be prepared to gloss over some momentary problems, due either to errors in translation or poor editing. They crop up enough to attract notice, but ultimately remain only a minor distraction.