The Land of the Living and the Dead

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Head of Zeus, via NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the opportunity.

The Land of the Living and the Dead is the third and final book in Shauna Lawless’ Gael Song trilogy and it continues the gripping, many-layered tale of the remaining fire magic-wielding Fomorians trying to discover the home of the Descendants of the Tuatha De Dannan in order to wipe them out. They have inveigled themselves into the court of the High King of Ireland, Brian Boru and their schemes and machinations to put themselves in a position where they will one day rule Ireland are completely gripping. They have also discovered the magical knife which allows them to steal magical gifts from the Descendants through murdering them – if they can only find some.

The characters of this trilogy are unbelievably nuanced and their relationships are complicated yet extremely believable. The morally grey Fomorians are easy to hate, but there are also morally grey characters on the side of the Descendants as we discovered in previous books. Fódla must navigate the legacy of slavery and manipulation left by Tomas’s leadership and explain her discoveries to the other Descendants in the hope that they will believe her. She has hidden away with her warrior cousin, Colmon, while her nephew Broccan grew and trained as a warrior, but now, a decade later, they are all ready to reenter the world in order to save the other Descendants.

Medieval Ireland is heading into war and the author’s extensive knowledge of these actual historical battles lends authenticity and dramatic tension to the build-up to the war between Gormflaith’s son Sitric, with Vikings (and magical immortal Fomorians) on his side and Brian Boru.

The ending of this story is tragic for characters who the reader has come to care for, but history continues without regard for who survives and there are hints that more will be seen from the world of the Gael Song trilogy – I for one can’t wait for more, each of the books in this trilogy have been utterly gripping and the trilogy is up amongst my favourites of all time. Lawless’ prose is atmospheric and tightly-written. Her words are well-chosen and draw the reader into medieval Ireland with ease. I will happily read anything she writes!

I am not rating this book in stars, I will be rating it in sobs. 5 sobs. 5/5 sobs and so many emotions.

As a book, this was incredible and I loved every second of it. As the close in a trilogy I adore, it was everything I hoped it would be despite being distraught and mad about certain character's endings. I don't disagree with anything Shauna did but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I genuinely don't even know where to start with this.

We first start 9 years later, with Gormflaith reminding us why it's perfectly acceptable that she gives you the chills. She is unbelievably ruthless from the get-go. Then we jump ahead another two years, now 11 years on from The Words of Kings and Prophets. Fódla meanwhile is with Colmon and Broccan on Rathlin Island, where they are protected by Colmon's spell over the land, but of course they have to rejoin the world. That means Gormflaith and Tomas too.

We absolutely know there will be a big confrontation between Fódla, Gormflaith and Tomas but I can absolutely say I did not see it going the way it did. I was always not a Tomas fan but after everything in this book alone, he is hands down on my literary hit-list. Nevertheless, nothing he did stood out from what you'd expect from him. It made sense for his character. Just like nothing Gormflaith did deviated from her character. There were definitely some characters that surprised me and I think will very much surprise everyone else who reads the Gael Song trilogy.

I could talk about the Irish politics happening in and around all this but Shauna's note on the historical side of the book really lays out the true events nicely. Consequently, I think this was a fantastic meeting of magic and history and just brought it all together.

Without question, and despite the endless 'no, no, no' I silently cried while reading, The Land of the Living and the Dead closes off Gael Song beautifully. Not everyone got the ending I would have liked for them, but they certainly didn't feel wrong. And with all three books now done and two novellas to add to the world, I can say with absolute certainty, this has cemented Gael Song as one of my favourite series, if not my no. 1 favourite.

Another brilliantly detailed and engaging historical fantasy set in 11th C Ireland. Really enjoyable - I was hooked from beginning to end.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for a review copy of this novel. Packed full of drama and tension Lawless offers us another instalment of the sweeping and moving tale of Irish God descendants and mortals in the time of Brian Boru. Like the others before it, the novel provides engaging, rich characters, immersive plot and a real sense of the time period to create an unputdownable read.

When the novel opens Ireland is experiencing peace, united under one king, Brian. His son, Murchad, though still missing his beloved Fodla, is proud of his father’s accomplishments and wishes only for peace, and proud of his son, who has become a skilled warrior in his own right. Brian’s second wife, Queen Gormflaith, now possessing the witch power of a descendant to add to her own Fomorian fire magic, watches and observes events, plotting to shape them to her advantage, along with her brother, Murchad, the King of Leinster. Fodla herself, a descendant, hides with her now grown nephew in Raithlinn with her cousin Colmán. Away from Tomas, her former husband, and away from the dangers in the mortal world. But peace is short lived. The machinations of those who are greedy for land, power and wealth ultimately bring both the Descendants, the Fomorians and mortals into perilous conflict with deadly consequences.

With high stakes playing out on all sides, Lawless leads us through an incredibly tense and twisting narrative that weaves the history in such a compelling and at once compulsive manner to a dramatic and in some aspects fairly unexpected conclusion. An amazing series and a must read for any lovers of history and myth, especially Irish history and myth. Highly recommended.

I must admit the Gael Song series are probably some of the best historical fantasy books which I have had the pleasure of reading. I was looking forward to this instalment so much.

It did not disappoint, the amazing world that Shauna Lawless has created pulls you straight to where The Words of Kings and Prophets left off.

The two leading ladies Fódla & Gormflaith continue to shine through but the additional points of view from other characters such as Murchad & Colmon are a brilliant addition to the story. These allowed me to really feel the story.

This series has everything a fan of historical fantasy fiction could want, brilliant villains, a great story and a powerful ending.

5 stars and I cannot wait to see what Lawless does next in the amazing world she has created.

This blending of historical and fantastical is fantastic. The amount of research by Lawless is astounding, and I can't wait for further novels from this era.

I honestly do not know how Lawless does it, this series gets better and better with each book and this was the perfect ending to the trilogy.

If you have read the previous two books in the series, The Land of the Living and the Dead picks up almost a decade after the end of the second book and throws you right back into the characters that you know and love (as well as the characters you love to hate, I am looking at you Gormflaith) and the twists and turns begin.

As with the entire Gael Song series, this is a slow burn and is more character driven than action driven (although there is a fair amount of action in this installment) but it is perfectly paced for the story that you are pulled in from the first few pages and it is impossible to put down.

I never want to give anything away for this series and will say no more given it is a third / final book in a series but I cannot recommend this highly enough. Do yourself a favour and pick up this series!

Yep, I binged this. Absolutely excellent and Shauna Lawless is extremely talented at what she does. Was completely sucked in.