Amazing and Mind Boggling!With this 3rd book in the 4 book series I can tell you each book gets into more dept of Boudica's life. The story is truly amazing with the sacrifices that Boudica takes to ensure her leadership role for her tribe the Eceni in order to raise an army to push back Rome. The Romans see the Tribes as savages yet Rome's actions are brutally horrifying and worse than any savage actions. Rome's greed knows no boundaries and becomes hungry with their taxation of the tribes goods and eventually turns to taking the tribes people as human slaves.Boudica's brother Ban or as we know him -Valerius- heals partly on Mona and becomes what he is suppose to be from the beginning - a dreamer. Valerius is now known as the warrior ghost to the Roman Army.The whole story is just mind boggling in how these tribes were treated, how their lands were stripped from them and how they starved and lost everything they worked for. For instance, Boudica is Queen to King Pasutagos or "Tagos". Tagos is killed and the Curator learns of it and the first thing he does is pull out the Will made between Tagos and the Emperor. In this will, the Tribe King Tagos leaves 1/2 his land to the Emperor and the other half to his daughters. Problem is, Women meant nothing back then and since the daughters were either not of age or married they became the sole property of the Emperor and their belongings such as their lands became the Emperors as well. I don't want to tell the story but Boudica would have lost everything if not for her Brother Ban/Valerius coming in time to stop the Curator from making the killing blow from a Lashing.The Curator had dishonored Boudica's daughters by raping them since he could not kill them if they were still virgins so he had them raped in front of Boudica. The youngest daughter was 7 years old.The ending is left open as Ban/Valerius and the Boudica make ready to raise an army to push back Rome.The author's writing is smooth and the words are visionary keeping the reader glued to the book. Brilliant Writing is how I see this story because the author has captured the reality of history, how women (Boudica) came into the role of leadership, and at the same time probably without realizing it gives a slight glimps into the remaking of our own current world's future destruction.I couldn't wait to jump immediately into the forth book "Dreaming the Serpent Spear." I look forward to learning how the Boudica and her Tribe along with the other Tribes in Britannia survive Rome's hungry greed and destruction. On a side note - reading this as an older person I can see from my point of view since this story is based on true facts regarding the Boudica how history is repeating itself here in America. America is not that far gone to greed as Rome was right now but our country is heading that way fast with the government getting bigger and taxing the people or should I say bleeding them dry. Some may disagree with me but that is ok - they just can't see for the wool over their eyes.The similarities are as such:1. Eceni didn't believe in marriage and therefore slept with whom ever they desired and that meant it did not matter whether they were female or male - the author gives the reader the truth in how being with the same sex was a common practice.**In our own world today, homosexuality is now becoming common and openly accepted. Also marriage is now not just between a man and woman - it is more common today to just live with someone vs marrying them.2. Romes greed - taxing everyone and everything - out of control**Look at America's debt ratio and the tax hike that the American people are having to pay, look at how the IRS is getting away with stuff where only the rules apply to the American people but not the government. Just saying.
So I enjoyed Dreaming the Hound even more and even less than the rest of the Boudica books. My main issue with the book was Boudica and her daughters after Prasutagus died. Because Boudica is an amazing warrior along with her half - daughter. So I just don't understand how they were captured and then raped by the Roman guards. A warrior of such immense power like Boudica wouldn't have let that happen, right? But other than that fault the book was amazing. I loved having Ban/ Valerius find his way throughout the book and come to terms with his actions. His story is just so fascinating and makes me feel so sorry for him. Boudica also had a lot to deal with in this book. Because she is dealing with the grief of losing Caradoc and then losing her children because she doesn't care for them enough and she is also still trying to rally her people. That girl has a lot of tough luck and a will of iron. But I just didn't connect with her as much as I had in the previous books and I am not quite sure why. Maybe it was that she wasn't able to be a part of the main war effort in this book, instead having to deal with the "politics" of it. And Graine was just such a sweet child with a wonderful insight into the world. I am just hoping that she will be able to heal from what happened to her at the end. Overall, though, I really enjoyed Dreaming the Hound and cannot wait to get my hands on Dreaming the Serpent Spear.
It's been so long since I read these that I can't remember what happens in which book, but I just had to leave a review saying that, as well as being generally ridonculously gritty and well-written, these books had one of the greatest characters I've ever read.(view spoiler)[I speak, of course, of Bán. That's more or less the only time I forgave a writer for turning a character basically evil and back again. Why? Cos even when he was mumbleshangingvillages, he was just so damn cool. And, like five years on, I will still never forgive Manda Scott for what happened with the Corvus thing. Or Boudica and Caradoc. Grrrrr. (hide spoiler)]
—A. Murtagh
Breaca is living on Mona, hunting Romans quietly and alone at night. Ban (Valerius) is a smith in Hibernia, away from the Eceni and the Romans. After the death of Veranius, the new governor of Britannia, Suetonius Paulinus, has been tasked with conquering the western tribes, a task he pursues with a vengeance as his tax collector tries to impoverish the tribes. When Breaca moves back to the Eceni homeland in the east to be ready to attack Camulodunum when Suetonius moves west, her life becomes training and arming new warriors to be ready for the battle.
—Neill Smith
This probably my fourth or fifth time re-reading this book and I fall more in love with it every time. I find Graine's character slightly as she does feel overly perfect in this book but she's still a likeable character. I have to admit I was slightly confused by the appearance of Gunovar as in the first book Gunovic's family was said to have been taken by slavers and there was no mention of a daughter among the tribes but I liked her as well. Valerius just gets better with every book and his relationships with Longinus and Corvus are possibly the best in the series. Cunomar improves immensely as a character and his development was another strong subplot.
—Shmendrick
