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The Dark Mirror (The Bridei Chronicles book 1) by Juliet Marillier
01/12/2006 . Source: Eammon Murphy 
pub: TOR-UK. 560 page hardback. Price: £17.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-4050-4105-6. pub: TOR-UK. 667 page paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-330-42669-9. pub: TOR/Forge. 512 page hardback. Price: $27.95 (US), $36.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0765-30995-5. pub: TOR/Forge. 512 page enlarged paperback. Price: $15.95 (US), $21.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0765-30998-X. Buy The Dark Mirror in the USA - or Buy The Dark Mirror in the UK  check out website: www.toruk.com , www.panmacmillan.com, www.tor.com and www.Julietmariller.com
Faith and Begorrah! As a direct descendant of Brian Boru, I chose this book because it appeared to be a Celtic druid kind of romance that might bring back ancestral memories, thrill the blood with the glories of those pre-Norman days and it turns out that Paddy is the bad guy! The heroes are Jocks! (Scottish people, I mean, not athletic Americans.)
This volume is the first part in 'The Bridei Chronicles' which tell the story of the divided Kingdom of Fortriu. Bridei, pronounced Brid-ay, lives in the kingdom at a time of insecurity and gloom: pronounced gloom, for it is under threat from evil Irishmen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph! These are worshipped in the Christian south of the Kingdom ruled by Drust the Boar, a Christian. The north is ruled by Drust the Bull who still keeps to the Old Religion, with druids and so on. (Having two characters with the same name is a bit confusing.) As Drust the Bull is old and frail, the upper classes have started manoeuvring for the succession.
Bridei's father is a welsh king and his mother was a noblewoman of Fortui. He could be a candidate for the throne. At four years-old, Bridei is transported from Wales to live with the Druid Broichan who raises him carefully in a remote household filled with expert tutors. Broichan, his foster father now, teaches him Druidic lore. Two old men teach him of history and statecraft. The warrior Donal teaches him combat. It is an education fit for a King.
The Kingdom of Fortriu stretches along the lochs. The evil Gaels have raided from Ireland in recent times and captured tracts of land along the west coast. They probably intend to grab more when they can. To fight them off, the Kingdom needs to unite but the two Drusts are opposed on religious grounds. A mighty leader is needed to bring the people together and drive out the evil Gael. Bridei might be the man.
Maybe he's a bit soft. He takes in a baby left by the Good Folk and they grow up like brother and sister. But she is one of the Good Folk with strange gifts. Named Tuala, she is accepted by the household as a child but shunned when she approaches womanhood as there are many tales of such females enchanting foolish lusty men to their doom. She is shunted off to a sort of Druid nunnery to become a Wise Woman.
Meanwhile, Bridei goes to war and finds it nasty. Some of his comrades disgust him. His path to the throne is beset with danger. In loyalty to his King and his destiny, he must perform distasteful duties sometimes. One of these things is truly awful and may disqualify him as a hero. It certainly does in my view.
I liked the realism of this fantasy novel. The past is revealed as a time of cold, misery and mud. Sometimes there is not much to eat. Life is hard. War is terrible with nasty men sticking sharp metal things in you so you die horribly knowing your womenfolk will be enslaved, your children perhaps killed. It's not all like that, of course, but the brutality is not shirked. I was glad to be reading about it in a warm, safe 21st century flat.
Being more used to the Science Fiction of square-jawed American males, I found this female authored novel to have a lot of emotional content which made for an interesting perspective. The book is well-written and rolls along nicely. There's a certain predictability to these things (in a trilogy called 'The Bridei Chronicles' our hero can't be in much danger in Book One) but there is tragedy too for Bridei and his friends.
'Story. Story. Damnit, story!' So wrote John D. MacDonald in an introduction praising Stephen King's virtues and I think he was right. It is mainly for story that we read novels. I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the second part, a task on with which I will now get.
Eammon Murphy
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