GeekDad: The Words of Kings and Prophets: A Book Review

Last year I reviewed Shauna Lawless’, Children of Gods and Fighting Men; a historical fantasy, set in Ireland, during the reign of Brian Boru. Now Lawless is back with a follow up, in what has become the “Gael Song” series. The Words of Kings and Prophets is even more impressive than its predecessor. 

If you haven’t read the either book in the series, do check out my review for Children of Gods and Fighting Men. The following review gives a potted overview of events, but I’ve kept it as spoiler free as possible. 

Why Read The Words of Kings and Prophets?

The Gael Song books are centred on the real-world politics of 11th Century Ireland and the rise of Brian Boru to High King. In the first novel, there are a lot of large-scale (for the time) political manoeuvrings, with many factions vying for supremacy on the battlefield. 

Interleaved between this are the stories of Fódla and Gormflaith. One a hidden spy for the Tuatha Dé Dannan and the other, a Fomorian; the Tuatha Dé Dannan’s mortal enemies. Both were hidden, both unaware of the the other’s true identity. Whilst I very much enjoyed Fódla and Gormflaith’s stories in book one, as well as the descriptions of battles and faction politics, the latter two things made Children of God and Fighting Men quite a dense read.

The Words of Kings and Prophets is set during an uneasy peace in the land of Ireland. This gives Shauna Lawless space to let her story breathe and her characters shine. There is still politics at play here, but it is on a more personal level. There are many plans and machinations afoot, as well as treachery and self service. As the reader, we are privy to it all and its powerful stuff. To top  everything off, there is a great sense of history and perhaps best of all, the gentle presence of Celtic magic permeates the entire novel. 

The Middle Game. 

It’s tempting to describe The Words of Kings and Prophets as a “holding novel,” which in different circumstances might not be considered a compliment. Much of this novel does involve setting up things for the next instalment, but much like a game of chess the moving of the pieces is utterly absorbing. 

If book one was the opening, with pieces being swapped and brave knights falling, then The Words of Kings and Prophets is an intense middle game where plans are hatched within plans, and pieces are manoeuvred ready for the end game. The interplay between the players and the factions is enthralling. There are some truly horrible people in the book, that we hope won’t succeed, yet things seems stacked for them. 

As the novel concludes the story is beautifully poised for a titanic end game struggle. The factions are ready but how will the contest fall out?

What Next?

It is notable that these books are part of the Gael Song “series” and not trilogy. With the position of the plot after book two, it is easy to see that things might conclude with a third novel. Nevertheless, with the another 1000 years of Irish history to explore, there is no reason for the series to stop at 3 books. The lifetime of Brian Boru may have been finite but the Tuatha Dé Dannan and Fomorians live for many human generations and both races in the books are are multi-generational. Their stories could span many decades of human stories.

If Shauna Lawless can continue this sort of quality across a multi-generational narrative, I’d love to read her stories for as long as she keeps on writing them.  

One Final Word.

I have recently started a new venture on YouTube, “In the Book Garden” for reviewing and discussing books. If you’re interested do consider subscribing. In the meantime, here are my thoughts on The Gael Song books in video format. 

If you would like to pick up a copy of The Words of Kings and Prophets you can do so here, in the US, and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links)

If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here. 

I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.

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