Product Description

Set in Iron-Age Britain, the first novel in a magnificent new series recounting the life of Boudica, Britain's first warrior queen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13461 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

Jean Auel
A powerful novel alive with love, deceit, wisdom and the heroics of humanity

Steven Pressfield
A stunning feat of the imagination and an absolute must-read for lovers of historical fiction

Val McDermid
`A staggeringly imaginative invocation of Britain's secret history…Breathtakingly good, it reveals the best and worst in all of us'

Customer Reviews

Sensitive and powerful, DREAMING THE EAGLE, by Manda Scott
BOUDICA, DREAMING THE EAGLE. by Manda Scott

First part of a four part saga. And, dare I say this, it does play in the same league as Lord of the Rings. Although not a fantasy, The novel is set in AD Britain pending the invasion of the Roman Divisions.

The Legacy has been left to Breaca, legendary woman warrior, - the Boudica - to eventually lead the British Warriors, against the mighty Roman Army.

The sense of history, and of legend sequences, that has so inspired many readers of Tolkien, is initiated here, by the Dreamers. A spiritulistic gift, where they can sense events, through dreaming, through nature, to foretell the actions they should take. Where trophies, trinkets and swords, have their own significance, being handed down from one generation to the next. From friend to friend, lover to lover.

Through the dreaming, bonds are formed, between the dreamers and the warriors. Further bonds are established in the heat of battle.

The battle scenes are amongst the most stunningly vivid and involving that I have ever read. I mention here, if I may, THE RELIGION by Tim Willcocks, and GATES OF FIRE, Steven Pressfield. Both excellent historical'fiction novels. Where the author Manda Scott author of, DREAMING THE EAGLE really excels, is in portraying the tactics deployed by the armies of Boudica, and those of the Roman Legions. having said that, she never allows the reader to forget the human element, the love, friendship, chivalry and humanity and heartache, which she bestows upon her characters.

Both a sensitive and poweful novel.

Immerse yourself in a forgotten world - amazing
Having just read all four of the Boudica books back-to-back I cannot recommend them highly enough. Scott has recreated in incredible detail an era of tribal British life which has been largely lost to history. Fictionalised but well-researched and based on what we do know as fact, the world of the warrior Boudica and her family and her people is vividly brought to life and gripped me all the way through. Spiritual, sensual, spectacular battles, brilliantly written, and a poignant evocation of how we used to live in harmony with our lands until the Romans came and stamped out our native culture. Well worth getting drawn into!

Good story, but far too slow paced!
I saw this book after having read many of Bernard Cornwell's, Simon Scarrow's and Conn Igulden's novels, and decided to give it a try. I have to say that I found this book hard work; you need to get past the first 400 odd pages before anything significant happens, and when it does the battle description almost disappoints. It has an overtly feminine perspective, to the point where it becomes irritating, and there is just no need to spent so much of the book descibing the scenery and intimate relationships.

If you are looking for an action adventure about the Eceni and the second Roman invasion, I suggest looking elsewhere (Scarrow's first five books in his Eagle series maybe). If you are more interested in the social fabric of the tribes of britain at the time, however, then I highly recommend this, as it is a very good insight into the tribes living Britain at the time.