I liked some of this: I found Watson's exploration of the code of honour followed by the Red Branch extremely compelling and the descriptions of nature and countryside extremely beautiful. But I found the long passages describing the nature of the love between Deirdre and Naisi went on and on until I started to skim over them - the first one was insightful, but the author seemed to re-state it over and over. If you're looking for masterful re-workings of ancient fairytales and myths, I'd far prefer Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest and for an amazing telling of Deirdre's story, read "The Harpers's Daughter" by Barbara Samuel a long short story in a collection called Irish Magic. "Fates are woven not by gods, but by the choices of humans--their greed and jealousies, their loves and courage...Fate is but one moment the gods extend to us, a test for us, but it is the choices we make that take us to that fate, or away. And so I will forge my own life!" One of my favorite lines ever from this novel. Sums up exactly how I feel about fate and how our choices affect our lives. The book was really great until the end. It has been so long since I read it that I can't remember all the details, but I remember being disappointed with the ending.
What do You think about A Lenda Do Cisne (2010)?
Just not the book for me, way too much fantasy, magic and sex.
—artistgirl
Semi good story, a whole bad book. Don't waste time.
—mnatilda
