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A review by salderson
The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike
4.0
This is the second book in The Lost Queen Trilogy. Overall I really liked it, despite some previous historical misgivings.
The first book was difficult for me, owing to the fact that medieval Welsh poetry and warrior society is my main field of study, and Pike uses a lot of that poetry, along with Scottish poetry, to place the myth of King Arthur in Scotland, rather than Wales, and that her research is based on the findings of a lawyer who took an interest in Scottish history, rather than an historian. However, she does note that she has tried to use as much other data, from archeologists and historians, in order to help recreate the world of sixth-century Scotland as much as she can while still allowing for an engaging story, which I can respect. While I feel like the element of and ties to the Welsh is overlooked and left out (there were very old ties between the two), and I do not agree with all of her conclusions, I felt like she did justice to the world of sixth-century Scotland with the evidence available. As much as I would LOVE for writers to be perfectly true to fact in historical fiction and fantasy, that is often not possible, especially in the misty regions of late antiquity.
I really enjoyed the way Pike used the concept of magic in pagan religions. In her Author's Note, she talks about how in modern society we allow for miracles in Catholic and Christian belief, but the same miracles are magic and fantasy in pagan beliefs. I felt like her portrayal of "magic," such as the rivers talking to Angharad and other Priestesses, visions, and the ghosts Lailoken encountered were all just as valid to their realities as any Christian seeing saints or hearing the voice of God. The way Pike wrote these experiences made sense and were believable to our reality, and I loved seeing them on the page.
This book was more exciting, less wooden and better paced than the first. I really enjoyed the buildups to battles, the different points of view, and the different reasons for things. Her characters are multi-faceted, and most are neither absolutely good or bad, they are just people, and this makes for a richer reading experience. There is no doubt that Pike is a talented story-teller and writer, and I love how she brought the old Welsh and Scottish stories to light. It is nice to see someone who appreciates the old stories as much as I have, which has become more apparent in this book than in the first.
Overall, I would still call this historical fantasy, because this particular history is so hazy and the nature of poets was to make kings and heroes seem grand in the history, and we know so little of these famous characters. I would also say, however, that I hope and would believe that this book could spark historical interest in the region and time period. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good historical fantasy/fiction set in late antiquity/early medieval Scotland, or who likes Arthurian sagas.
The first book was difficult for me, owing to the fact that medieval Welsh poetry and warrior society is my main field of study, and Pike uses a lot of that poetry, along with Scottish poetry, to place the myth of King Arthur in Scotland, rather than Wales, and that her research is based on the findings of a lawyer who took an interest in Scottish history, rather than an historian. However, she does note that she has tried to use as much other data, from archeologists and historians, in order to help recreate the world of sixth-century Scotland as much as she can while still allowing for an engaging story, which I can respect. While I feel like the element of and ties to the Welsh is overlooked and left out (there were very old ties between the two), and I do not agree with all of her conclusions, I felt like she did justice to the world of sixth-century Scotland with the evidence available. As much as I would LOVE for writers to be perfectly true to fact in historical fiction and fantasy, that is often not possible, especially in the misty regions of late antiquity.
I really enjoyed the way Pike used the concept of magic in pagan religions. In her Author's Note, she talks about how in modern society we allow for miracles in Catholic and Christian belief, but the same miracles are magic and fantasy in pagan beliefs. I felt like her portrayal of "magic," such as the rivers talking to Angharad and other Priestesses, visions, and the ghosts Lailoken encountered were all just as valid to their realities as any Christian seeing saints or hearing the voice of God. The way Pike wrote these experiences made sense and were believable to our reality, and I loved seeing them on the page.
This book was more exciting, less wooden and better paced than the first. I really enjoyed the buildups to battles, the different points of view, and the different reasons for things. Her characters are multi-faceted, and most are neither absolutely good or bad, they are just people, and this makes for a richer reading experience. There is no doubt that Pike is a talented story-teller and writer, and I love how she brought the old Welsh and Scottish stories to light. It is nice to see someone who appreciates the old stories as much as I have, which has become more apparent in this book than in the first.
Overall, I would still call this historical fantasy, because this particular history is so hazy and the nature of poets was to make kings and heroes seem grand in the history, and we know so little of these famous characters. I would also say, however, that I hope and would believe that this book could spark historical interest in the region and time period. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good historical fantasy/fiction set in late antiquity/early medieval Scotland, or who likes Arthurian sagas.