Diana by the Moon by Tracy Cooper Posy
Available at Hardshell Word Factory
I’m not sure this story falls into a paranormal category, but I’m going to include it in my report for two reasons. One, I adored it. It was truly an excellent book. Two, there are (a few!) elements of paranormal in it – Arthur Pendragon is one character, there are druids and priestesses, with dreams and visions. And I would consider it a true time travel novel in that it takes the reader right back to the dark ages in Great Britain to a place where magic and old gods existed.
The Romans invaded Great Britain, and the Celts and their druids were either slaughtered or hid, or bowed to the force of the Roman army and became Romans.
Then Rome fell, and the Roman legions left Britain. The Celts came out of hiding and took back their lands and way of life. Some preferred the Roman ways though and Great Britain was divided as different tribes fought each other. To make things worse, Saxons raided from the sea, and their raids became more and more deadly as they took advantage of the Roman army’s absence and Britain’s disarray.
Diana - whose father is staunchly Roman and whose brother has gone to fight with the new army being raised by a certain Celtic upstart named Arthur Pendragon – is torn between two cultures. The story begins when raiding Saxons kill all Diana’s family except her and her youngest sister. When they leave, after wrecking havoc on the villa and farm, Diana must take over the estate. She does so, managing a meager harvest with the left-over grain, supervising the threshing and the storage, and carefully entering everything in the family ledger, for Diana, like many Romans, and can read and write. For a year everything is under Diana’s control, then along comes Alaric with orders from Arthur Pendragon to build a beacon on her hill.
Diana is less than thrilled to have Alaric and his men at her estate. For one thing, she considers herself Roman, and they are nothing but Celtic savages. Times are hard, and the little food she and her people have gleaned will not hold them all winter. All her arguments are in vain – Alaric installs himself and his men in her estate.
I loved this story. The characters are all convincing, the setting is
real, and the conflict between cultures is sharp and unrelenting. The love
story between Alaric, captain of Arthur’s new army, and Diana proud Roman,
is well done and compelling. The story is believable, the ending satisfactory,
and I would recommend it to anyone.
Reviewed by Jenny