Long but worth the read!Dreaming the Bull - 2nd book in this 4 book series continues to carry on my captivation with Boudica and her life. The blurb basically describes what the story is about however I can add to it by saying - "Only this book focus is more on the Roman'a invasion of Britannia and the single character Ban (Boudica's brother) or better known as Julius Valerius and how he ended up being a Roman soldier as well as moving up the ranks like he did."The author gives the reader a glimpse of the culture and lifestyles the soldiers lived through during war. The story shows how greed hungry the emperor was and the politics of kissing ass to get what they wanted. Also the author gives a glimpse of how the Roman's took the lands by force, by killing - beheading and hanging them out on spears for all to see, by selling them into slavery, or even pimping them out. The roman soldiers raped not only the women but the young boys too. This is not a fast paced read because there is so much detail in explaining where and why the Roman's did what they did which in return gives the reader a fascinating story to read and understand a little of the background from the enemy. There are a couple of things that I want to point out that was interesting. 1. Ban (Valerius) is actually a traitor to his own people. 2. Most of the Roman soldiers are gay. (doesn't matter to me, just wanted to point that out how I could understand how the situation of being away with nothing but men - well lets just say they gotta get their release some way - LOL3. Caradoc - Boudica's man is captured along with their son Cunomar4. Caradoc while in captivity sleeps with another captive warrior and produces a child 5. The captive warrior Caradoc has a relationship with while in captivity just happens to be the same woman (Cwmfen - Warrior of the Ordovices) who he had a child (Cygfa) with before he was with Boudica.6. Ban (Valerius) actually is the one who gets them out of captivity.Overall, I liked the story but was pist at how Caradoc did not go back to his home land to be with Boudica, instead he stays with Cwmfen and their new born but sends his son Cunomar (Boudica's son) and his oldest daughter Cygfa (Cwmfen's daughter) back to Britannia via ship.Personally to me, I lost all respect for Caradoc because Boudica was suppose to be his sunrise in all things - LOL Some sunshine, I saw his action as a slap in the face to Boudica. I can just imagine the jealousy Cunomar felt - actually I could feel the anger from Cunomar in some parts within the story.Anyway, it is all interesting and I know times were different back then and the tribes had their own ways of life and their honor was based on different actions than how we see actions being honorable in our current days. I look forward to the 3rd book in the series.Good Read!
So Dreaming the Bull was a pretty good sequel to Dreaming the Eagle. It didn't quite beat the first book, but it was still riveting. I found Boudica's spirit and willingness to live amazing through out this book and I was really impressed with how she had changed from the first book. Her self perseverance was amazing and what pretty much drove her the entire book. The whole deal with Caradoc being captured was nerve wracking for me. I had no idea what was going to happen to him and all the rest of his family. I was reading these scenes as fast as I could to figure out their fate! And Valerius/Ban..... He was such an interesting character in this book. I felt deeply sorry for him and yet, I was still afraid he would make the "wrong" decision. Not knowing what he was going to do and how he was going to act made the story much more riveting. And all the children. I did not really enjoy Cunomar, because he was just so full of jealousy and didn't fully grasp the danger of what was going on. And I know he was a child and so children don't fully understand the concept of war, but I found he was much too whiny about his sister and not getting enough military honor and stuff. Dreaming the Bull was an riveting book that kept the Boudica story going and made you fall in love with the characters even more.
The second excerpt in the series about the Roman invasion of Britian and the native forces who fought him. Featuring a woman warrior, Boudica, this one is more about her brother and how he lost his way. His family thought that he had died in a big war, but instead he was captured and not only lived in Rome, but became a Roman warrior. He came back to Britian and fought his prior countrymen without mercy. At the end of the book, he is faced with another decision and I am curious to see what he chooses. But I do hope that the next one has more depth to the women characters.
—Carmen
I loved this second installment of the Boudica series, the characters were again brilliantly written and the storyline believable and once again well researched. Scott has recreated the intricacies of Celtic Britain and the Roman Empire very well with a distinct attention to detail that continues to support the story. Each character has been developed well and the situations that arise are again handled and written well and portrayed in a manner to make each as relevent to the reader as possible.
—Sam
I absolutely loved the second book in this series... as a follow on from the first book, we see the characters develop, so many changes, we see Ban turn into Valerius (it was a huge noooo moment for me, but it worked so well for the storyline); Breaca, the kids and Caradoc, a lot of significant changes, which moved the story forward. The fighting scenes completely drew me in, I looooved every single battle fought by the characters; and the last two chapters of the book had me on edge... wanting to know what the outcome was going to be. Can't wait to read the third book in the series. I'd definitely recommend this series to any reader. Its awesome!
—Sadie Anjum
