Druid's Bane (Book 1, The Arkaelyon Chronicles) [Kindle Edition]

Druid's Bane: Book 1 of The Arkaelyon Chronicles by Philip Henderson

This is a helluva book - both in size and breadth of subject.

The king's only daughter, Danielle de Brie, and her twin brother, Kane, are preparing to face each other with swords in the tourney ring as the Illandian Spring Tournament approaches.

Determined to free herself from the fear of her twin brother and to demonstrate that such men can be defeated, Danielle's ambition is to take her brother's title for herself on the field of arms.

But Danielle has no idea that an expelled group of druids are about to change her world and that the twins' hate for each other will provoke civil war. And never more certain is ignorance of the ancient gift hidden in her ancestry.

An odd dream is the only hint she has of the dangerous manipulation that is stirring in the shadows of her father's realm and her involvement in it. But when she makes passing mention of the dream to the Lord Protector, Father Joseph's response and the secrets he and a priestly order protect are destined to set her on a desperate and perilous path to save her father's realm from an unimaginable evil.

A brother and sister, a prince and princess. The brother: scheming, selfish with neither conscience or religious belief to hold him in check, unpleasant, with nothing to recommend him. The sister: a little too good for a medieval world character, is a somewhat unlikely candidate for the tourney which - should she triumph over her brother - will bring a heavy weight on her slight shoulders.

Neither one, we feel, is going to be good for the kingdom but Danielle has the backing of many wise heads among the court and, should she choose to listen to advice, will prove the more successful head of state.

We see the effort that Danielle puts into training for the tourney, her self-doubts and her stubbornness and these traits are contrasted with the utter cruelty and malevolence of her brother who's ambition is to re-establish slave trading as a means of enriching himself and his allies.
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Compare this book with, say, the Pillars of the Earth - it's view of medieval life and the unconcern of nobility for those of lesser birth much like the disdain felt towards African slaves more recently than the medieval era.

Compare it too, with A Game of Thrones which has a similar breadth of cast and wide borders.

This is a chronicle which takes a huge view of this fictitious kingdom. In fact such a breadth that it is occasionally difficult for the reader to switch their own viewpoint as we move from one character or location to another. This aside, we find an attention to detail which can sometimes be at the microscopic scale and shows us what life is like for individual or family living ordinary lives - they don't care too much who rules them, taxes and tithes will be the same, their lives neither shorter or longer.

Philip Henderson has drawn a grand picture, a pleasure to read, set aside plenty of time.

I have never been a fan of Fantasy novels, but agreed to read this as a kind of a challenge. I'm glad I did for I find Phillip Henderson has a gift, and is indeed a rare talent. His style of writing is on a level with almost all of the wordsmiths I have read, and I've read many over the years. This is a novel that would sit comfortably on the book shelves along with other giants of the genre; even with historical novels of repute. Druid's Bane is so well written that it seems remarkable that Henderson has been able to hold together the various warring factions in this epic and not lose sight of the major thread running through it; the battle between good and evil. The main character is Danielle de Brie, the Lady Brie who strides like a colossus through the epic battles that flood the story. She has a healthy passion for the love of her life, James Sydney, and for the common folk who she would defend with her life if necessary. Indeed, throughout the story, Danielle is called upon to fight against the evil that stalks the land of Arkaelyon and beyond in a conflict that is riven with inherited evil, demonic sacrifice and family bitterness. This is a powerful novel and should elevate Henderson to stand shoulder to shoulder with his literary peers.

This is a story of epic proportions.

The world into which you are drawn is so vividly portrayed, you can feel the chain mail pinching your skin. Not only is the novel extremely well crafted and written, the story telling is superb. I found the authors characters convincing and began from an early point in the plot, to anticipate their reactions as you might an aqaintance of years.

It is very pleasing to know the story continues in Maig's Hand (The Arkaelyon Trilogy) which equally will not disappoint.

A very worthy five stars.