After Whorl

After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks is the third in Nancy Jardine's Celtic Fervour series. The book follows on from The Beltane Choice and After Whorl: Bran Reborn, and I think this series is one that's best read in the right order! This novel takes place over quite a long period of time and the characters all travel considerable distances so the storyline felt quite different to the previous books. I liked Jardine's portrayal of changes in the way Ineda and the Roman Tribune relate to each other. I can understand the difficulty and precariousness of Ineda's situation so it was interesting to see how she dealt with this.

Brennus - or Bran - however seemed to be left out on his own so I wasn't as keen on his storyline. Jardine gave herself a lot of ground to cover which I felt left insufficient room for readers to get to know characters such as Lleia. Consequently they didn't feel as authentic to me and important scenes seemed to rush by too quickly. I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't read Donning Double Cloaks yet, but I wanted more to be made of some of the intensely emotional moments. Instead we got to learn a lot about how the different factions of the Roman army worked and fought together. I enjoy visiting ancient sites like Vindolanda so could envisage their forts and newly laid roads across the countryside!

Donning Double Cloaks did feel like a 'middle book' to me. It's an unusual situation for me as a reader to be rooting for people who I know will eventually lose - history tells us the Romans were pretty successful overall in Britain! All the tribe names did get quite confusing, even though I could look at a map of their territories to refresh my memory. I imagine the final book of this quartet will pull all the threads together and complete this epic Celtic-Roman story.