The Sword And The Song

Conor followed Daigh at a near run, aware of Aine a step behind him. His thoughts bounced between the socking revelation Aine had just give him – he was going to be a father! – and his inability to comprehend how someone had breached the fortress. Who would dare? How was that even possible?

Book: The Sword and the Song (The Song of Seare) by C. E. Laureano, NavPress, 2015

Genre: Speculative – Allegory

Target Audience: Boys and Girls 14+

Subjects:  Trust in God, God’s Will, Prayer, Spiritual Gifts, Sacrifice, Fear

Summary: When a woman thought dead appears at Ard Dhaimhin one night claiming knowledge of another thought dead, one who may hold secrets they are in desperate need of, a chain of events is set off that will resolve the battle once and for all – in one way or another. Conor sets off on the journey to rescue the man they hope holds the secrets. Aine battles fear as the child within her grows and her time for birth draws near. Eoghan continues to wrestle his attraction to Aine and his uncertainty at being the high king. All desperately search for answers on how to defeat the evil druid before he conquers the rest of Seare, either through force of waiting for them to starve to death under siege.

Notes: The Sword And The Song is the third and final book in The Song Of Seare series. This fantasy/allegory style series sets up a kingdom that feels a bit like medieval times.  There are kings and lords and castles. As with many fantasy/allegory books, there is a prophecy that one of the main characters seems to be the fulfillment of, but it’s a bit vague so that the scholars are unsure of exactly who it points to. There is an ultimate being, representing God, protectors like angels, special powers gifted to various individuals for the purpose of serving the ultimate being and helping the people. The good guys in the story live according to the teachings of the ultimate being, attempting to follow Him and trust Him even when it seems nearly impossible to do so. An interesting and somewhat unique element in this book is the existence of a community resembling a monastery, but that hosts thousands of men who are not only trained in the words of the ultimate being, but also in how to be master warriors. They spend their entire lives training in the skills required of a warrior. Yet they are completely separated from the rest of the world. Once they take the oath of brotherhood, they rarely leave, and in fact have to prove themselves in a test in order to be granted permission to leave. Yet they are a key to protecting the people from the evil that wants to infiltrate the land.

Book three of this series pushes the characters to the extreme, placing them in exactly the situations they feared the most. It asks them just how far they will go to defeat evil. Fear versus faith is a continuing theme as the characters have to trust Comidu for the victory they are seeking.

Spoiler Alert: Do NOT read this series if you want happily-ever-after endings. The author does not end the story on a happy note, but rather very tragic.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

John 15:13 - Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Bonus Content: To get perspective on the series from the author, check out this interview with her here: 

FAQ’s for C.E. Laureano/The Song of Seare Trilogy 

1.How did the Song of  Seare Trilogy come about ? 

I’m a longtime fantasy reader, starting as a child with the Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit, but this particular series began with a single premise: what happens when you have a young man who is raised to rule, but his personal, religious, and philosophical beliefs are different than the country over which he’s meant to reign? The story went through a number of iterations. In the early drafts, Conor was already in his twenties and about to take the throne of Tigh. But I realized that the real story began much earlier, where those personal beliefs were formed: his fosterage with a rival king. As I dug into the story, I realized that Conor was only a small part—or maybe the culmination—of a generations-long struggle that has at last come to a breaking point. And so the final storyline of the Song of Seare trilogy was conceived.

   

2. Why Celtic fantasy? 

I’ve been interested in Ireland for as long as I can remember, maybe because of my distant Irish heritage. I had the opportunity to travel there during college, and I’ve never felt such an instant affinity for a place. While America will likely always be the place I “hang my hat”, I realized that Ireland was my heart’s home. Ever since then, I’ve written Irish characters and settings. But it was only when I started reading books by Juliet Marillier—wonderful historical fantasies that showed the pagan/Christian conflict from the pagan point of view—I knew I wanted to do something similar with a Christian slant. 

3.How much is based on history and how much was made up?

The culture of Seare is very much based on ancient Ireland before the 10thcentury, but since relatively little is known about that time period, much of it is extrapolated from research done in the 1920’s. (Some of that research, like the idea that the Irish wore kilts, has since been disproven.) But the food, weaponry, law, and social structure of Seare is very similar to how things might have been in ancient Ireland. Of course, the addition of magic changes things, so I got to imagine how the existence of supernatural gifts and blood magic might have affected their culture. I also re-envisioned the faerie mythology from a neutral, mischievous role into something more malevolent.

4.What kind of research did you do to write this book?

I have a fairly extensive library on Irish history, and what I wasn’t able to buy, I checked out from the library (thank goodness for inter-library loan...some of my books came all the way from Nebraska.) Because Seare was united by a man who had been a mercenary in the Holy Land, I also did a lot of research on the Near East and the Roman Empire from that time period. You’ll see traces of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Greco-Roman influence in the Fíréin brotherhood, especially their fighting and training styles. I also usedmy background as a martial artist and fencer to create a fighting style that was believably cross-cultural.

5.Why did you choose to write Christian/inspirational fantasy?

I didn’t start out to write fantasy for the Christian market. I’d originally envisioned the series as having a Christian worldview but little overt religion. However, the coming of Christianity so heavily influenced the history of Ireland, removing it left my society feeling flat and unrealistic. Not to mention that I quickly found out Conor wasn’t happy without a wider perspective and deeper goals than just bringing peace or winning the throne. The spiritual thread came along organically and tied the story together.

6.Who is your favorite character and why?

That’s almost an impossible choice, but I’d have to say Conor, my primary hero. He’s definitely the one I find most personally relatable. He knows he was created for something greater, but he doesn’t always make the right decisions—he lets his emotions sway his thinking and he lets down the people who depend on him—but he always comes through in the end. In that way, he’s something of a Biblical hero than a superhero...David was described as a man after God’s own heart, but he still did some seriously stupid things.

7.What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

I didn’t want to write a “safe” story where you know that everything is going to be okay and everyone will come out unharmed—because real life isn’t like that. It can be scary and messy and unpredictable. But through it all, if you look hard enough, is the ever-present thread of God’s grace and provision. My greatest wish is that readers come away with the understanding that they have a purpose, that they matter, that God cares for them as individuals and not just as a face in the crowd. I’ll consider my job done if readers walk away with hope.

8.If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be?

Aine...because it guarantees that I would also get to spend time with Conor and Eoghan! After all, one or the other is always shadowing her. Plus, she just seems like the type of person I’d like to hang out with: practical, no nonsense, and filled with interesting knowledge She’s also the one you want around if you’re going to do something dangerous—her healing ability would come in handy! 

9.What do you think makes a book Christian or not?

Christian authors can’t help but create a world that reflects our beliefs in some way. Sometimes, it’s an overt parallel to historical Christianity as it is in the Song of Seare. Sometimes, it’s the presence of the values that we learn from the Bible: faith, love, hope, loyalty, perseverance. Even if God isn’t mentioned by name, if you look closely, you’ll often find Him there.

10.Who are your fantasy writing inspirations?

My two direct inspirations for this series are Guy Gavriel Kay and Juliet Marillier, both of whom write lovely historical fantasy. But I also enjoy Karen Hancock, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, David Farland, C.J. Cherryh...the list goes on.

11.What’s on your bookshelf /e-reader?

My reading habits are rather eclectic, so you’ll find everything from non-fiction, biographies, and spiritual memoirs to romance, steampunk, literary fiction, and fantasy. Some of my current favorites are Patrick Carr, Mary Weber, A.G. Howard, Billy Coffey, and Susanna Kearsley. But I have at least a dozen paperbacks waiting to be read and hundreds on my e-reader. There’s just not enough time to consume all the wonderful books I come across. Not to mention all the research books I keep around to spark ideas for new projects!