STONEHENGE (2000 B.C.)

It took great imagination to write a historical novel about people who left no written history. Not only did Bernard Cornwell succeed, but he spins a compelling, plausible story. I don't remember the last time I rooted so vigorously for the heroes and felt such anger for the villains. Only the actual stones and various temples are a reality. Whether the local tribes worshipped the sun and moon or made those horrible human sacrifices is pure conjecture. It is written so well that I bought the whole package!

The story starts when a stranger from the Sarmennyn tribe (the outfolk) arrives at the Old Temple of the Ratharryn tribe with stolen gold pieces. He is slain by Lengar, son of Chief Hengall of Ratharryn. When Lengar gets back to his tribe, he is confronted by his father, who wants all the gold. Lengar gives up the gold and angerly leaves for Sarmennyn with many of his spearman. Meanwhile Hengall's second son, Saban, is to wed Derrewyn of the Cathallo tribe to unite the tribes in peace. The club footed third son of Hengall, Camaban, after escaping his own death by sacrifice leaves for Cathallo to study with Sannas the Sorceress of Cathallo. On the day of the wedding between Saban and Derrewyn, Lengar returns with many spearman and kills his father Hengall the Chief. Lengar now becomes chief, sells Saban into slavery, and takes a rebellious Derrewyn as his wife.

Wow! There is a lot going on in this book. Still to come are the conflicts between the three brothers, many sacrifices, the years of hauling boulders from Sarmennyn and Cathallo, and the building of the temple for Slaol, the Sun God, and Lahanna, the Moon Goddess. There are many side characters to root for and many villains to hate. The last hundred pages are filled with excitement, twists and turns. When I finished this book, I was hoping it was the first of a trilogy. I highly recommend this novel. It was written in 2000, but is readily available in paperback.

RATING : 4.5 Stars out of 5

Comment: Without written documents from the Bronze Age in England, the use of these boulders is uncertain. Based on all the digs that have been done at the site, the theories of its use are numerous, including for: burial rites, worship, healing, and the observation of the heavens. Bernard Cornwell comes up with a plausible theory on how these boulders were moved to the site and how the capstones were lifted over the arches. Finally, Cornwell continues to demonstrate that he is the king of describing death by combat.