Bending the Boyne
Dunn’s story of the early years of Ireland’s inhabitants is a fascinating account of what happened to the residents of the once-isolated island at the beginning of the Bronze Age. The home of the resident “Starwatchers” has been attacked by invaders from the Continent. These invaders are searching for gold and copper—and tin with which to make bronze in order to fabricate weapons, jewelry, and other objects. The invaders care nothing for the natives’ peaceful ways and understanding of astronomy, and the leader of the invaders, Elcmar, demands Boann, a native woman, as his wife. Cian, a young man already working with the invaders, can do nothing to help her—Elcmar expels him to the Continent, where he meets Taranis, a powerful trader.
Through a somewhat tangled plot, the book follows the activities of Cian and Boann as they work to help their people. Cian discovers the gold that eludes the invaders, and Boann has a son, Aengus, who features prominently in the book’s ultimate confrontation. Readers will find this fact-based tale of archeology and astronomy both informative and fascinating.
