In alternate Britain, where paganism is rampant and the royal family is protected by druids, the country is in dire straits. Queen Victoria’s Rules have been stolen and without them all Briton is in danger from foreign magic and other threats from beyond Bran’s Wall. Desperate, the queen seeks out two non-magical men whom she believes she can trust—Brihtric Donne and John Weston. Donne, a renowned consulting detective, and his sidekick, Weston, agree to assist the queen in finding her Rules and protecting her from the evil Kitchener (who stole them from her). Things, however, do not go easy for the duo as bodies begin to pile up and the druids begin disappearing. Kitchener appears to be having help from foreign magics--beings much more powerful than our heroes have dealt with before. Will they succeed in rescuing the queen or will Briton fall into the hands of a mad man?In Druid's Blood, Friesner blends fictional characters with historical throughout the novel. I’m not a huge history buff, but I was very pleased to see Ada Lovelace and the princes in the Tower make appearances. At times, though, the history did get a bit confusing since characters who would have been dead at the time the novel takes place are alive and kicking. That’s fine, but it did throw me off a bit until I got more used to the flow of the book. Really, the more I think about it, the novel did have me waffling between confused and pleased quite a lot. There were occasionally jumps in the narrative that were a little jarring, and it took a long time to center myself in this alternate world because nothing was explained. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it took me a very long time to care about any of the characters or to know what the heck was going on. I think it might have taken a bit too long since it probably wasn’t until halfway through that I actually started getting caught up in things.Still, I did enjoy the book. The ending was very satisfying and I did love seeing what Friesner did with her versions of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I would recommend this book to people who like 19th century history and literature. It’s a treat to read so long as you stick it out.
In an alternate-universe Britain, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson–like characters must thwart a plot that threatens not only the queen but the magic wall that has protected the island for centuries. I really enjoyed the book; it's a fun fantasy read with a worthy denouement. I've read too many fantasy stories that built up to what should have been an edge-of-the-seat showdown between the protagonist(s) and antagonists(s) only to deal with the final faceoff in what amounts to an eyeblink. This one has a satisfying ending. Its "Sherlock Holmes" captures the essence of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective (although this one doesn't eschew sex with women); the "Watson" character is a little too much the bumbling Watson of old Sherlock Holmes films at times, but redeems himself in other scenes, and he has an interesting backstory that central to the plot. The other alternate-Victorian-Era literary characters that pop in and out, such as H.G. Wells, actually play a role in the story rather than merely being wink-wink backdrop scenery. I've not read other books by this author, but this one makes me want to.
What do You think about Druid's Blood (1988)?
This is an interesting read if not a great one. Freisner takes the concept of a Britain defended by Druidic Magic and throws Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson into a plot to wrest power from Queen Victoria by the wicked Lord Kitchener with a a combinationn of Eastern Magic and iron (which of course is deadly to fairy folk).There are some very clever ideas thrown into the mix here ranging from the happy coexistence of departed kings to a clue left in Binary code, however Friesner's idea of an alternative British history where a magic wall is set up by the druids to keep the Romans and all other invaders out is deeply flawed, as it would also have prevented the Saxon and Norman invasions, which in turn would have meant that there was no Queen Victoria.Also I am at a loss to understand why she changed the names of Holmes and Watson when she quite happily uses real people in her narrative like Oscar Wilde, Lord Byron and HG Wells, in fact I found the renaming quite irritating. So an interesting curiosity but not one I'd recommend spending too much time trying to track down
—Simon
