Sunday 5 June 2011

The Red Gate - Book Review


The Red Gate (The O'Deirg Family Saga #1) by Richard Sutton

What is it about:
An unexplained drowning...
A muddy fall...

... for a small, tradional Irish family, a chain of unexpected events leads them to uncover ancient secrets about theirselves and their place in the greater world. As the greed and ambition of an unfolding plan begins to threaten their very lives, what will become of their home and it's hidden legacy? What will become of their sheep?

The saga of the Red Gate begins...


What did I think of it:

A beautifully written historical fantasy set in the early years of the 20th century.

I think I love the writing in this book even more than the story. It's lyrical and descriptive and that alone made this book a joy to read. That being said: I also loved the story. It's intriguing and suspenseful with very likeable as well as despicable characters. The viewpoint switches from time to time to give you an overall picture of events and I felt myself fuming when seeing things from the viewpoint of one of the characters I didn't like. All in all Sutton managed to get me totally engrossed in the life of the O'Deirg family (especially Finn, my favourite character) and although the book luckily doesn't have a cliffhanger ending, I'm curious what's next for the O'Deirg family and their sheep.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautifully written, intriguing family saga



Buy This Book from Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide


4 comments:

Katie Dalton said...

Sheep you say? Sheep?!

Sullivan McPig said...

You should see book two: that one even has sheep on the cover!

Demented Wench said...

I don't enjoy reading from the view point of characters I don't like either. Sometimes I will rush through those parts of the book.

I was looking for something to read this afternoon so I may have to buy some of the books on my "To Be Read" list.

Enbrethiliel said...

+JMJ+

I'm always moved by the struggles of people whose livelihood is tied to the land. Everything just seems to hit them harder. So the fact that there are animals as seemingly prosaic as sheep in this Fantasy lets me know that the author must be as emotionally adept as he is imaginative!