Dreaming the Eagle

This was another book I got at Comic Con from my foray to the Del Rey/Random House booth that I couldn’t put down.

Dreaming the Eagle tells the tale of Breaca who will grow to be Boudica, the Warrior Queen who fought against the Romans. Little is known of the real Boudica, but Manda Scott makes it seem she knew her intimately. The book is the first in a trilogy about this little known historical character and with so little known about her, an ambitious attempt. I was amazed at how detailed the book was. It is positively littered with data.

The story begins with Breaca’s mother, a leader of her tribe being killed by the Coritani while giving birth and Breaca, only twelve kills the man who intends to kill her, thus earning her first kill feather. The book goes on to tell the tales of many interesting and riveting characters, of life in Breaca’s tribe and of the Romans. I was absolutely swept away into another world.

Much of the novel tells of the importance of the dreamers of Mona, a special island where the dreamers reside and of the trials each young woman or man must go through to find their place within the tribe. It tells of oaths, romance, community, war and the spirituality of the people of the time.

I am much looking forward to the second novel in the series and have high hopes for it.