Red Branch

by Morgan Llywelyn

Book Overview

"Powerful . . . A lusty, poetic and legendary world based on Ireland's mythical warrior-hero Cuchulain." The New York Times Book Review In a land ruled by war and love and strange enchantments, Cuchulain -- torn between gentleness and violence, haunted by the croakings of a sinister raven -- fights for his honor and his homeland and discovers too late the trap that the gods have set for him in the fatal beauty of Deirdre and the brutal jealousy of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688069460
• ISBN13: 9780688069469
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 558 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.

Customer Reviews

strands of the Ulster cycle woven together seamlessly

This book weaves together the many stories that comprise the life of Cuchulain and the other warriors of the Red Branch. Llywelyn, as usual, shows great skill in telling this story, as well as injecting the book with a feel of what Ireland was like during this long ago time.

The Hound of Ulster Rocks!

I absolutely loved this book. Before picking it up I knew absolutely nothing about the story of Cuchulain, the legendary Hound of Ulster. I found myself enthralled by the story, the characters, the myth, and the setting of this novel from page one. This was the second of Ms. Llywelyn's novels that I'd read -- Lion of Ireland being the first -- and I think it's ranks as one of her best. By the end of the novel, even though you know that it cannot end well, you've become invested in the characters and it's sad when it finally ends. The novel has a lot to say about love and war, what motivates men (and women), and a curious historical tie-in to the modern troubles of Ireland. A great read for anyone interested in ancient Ireland's legendary past.

Another GREAT book by Llywelyn!!

You walk across a lonely glen in Ulster. In the middle stands a solitary stone jutting magnificantly into the air. What stories this stone must have if only it could tell them!Morgan Llywelyn has told the stories of this stone and what it has seen. She takes you back over 2000 years to Ireland of ancient times. A time when when people were able to harness the spirits and powers of nature.Llwelyn tells the story of a young boy in Ireland destined to become the Champion of Ulster, Cuchulain the Hound of Ulster. Cuchulain is blessed/cursed with extraordinary warrior skills and defends Ulster with all his heart.The story brings you back to a time when being a warrior was to be noble, and power was vested in those that could win battles and bring home the spoils. We see the interaction between Connor Mac Nessa and his Connaught rival, Maeve. Years of rivalry between these two provinces result in fierce battles where the Hound proves his worth.Take a step back into time with this incredible book. You won't be able to set it down once you begin!

What can I say?

My goodness, I am at a loss for words. I read the reviews before mine, and they all felt the same as me; great book! It has everything, and it was written perfectly. Congratulations Morgan Llywelyn!

Bored, dull life, THEN Read this....

I have not read a book yet that Morgan Llywelyn has not done an outstanding job on, but when it comes to a real bardic piece of literature combined with the legends of the past, Red Branch excels. I have read the stories in other places, such as The Story of the Irish Race by Seumas MacManus, and passed over them as just another piece of literature. When I read the Red Branch it was transformed into a vibrant, living, pulsating story that wrenched emotion after emotion from the core of your being. It took Setanta, as a boy, and gave his passage into manhood a glorious path, that only when young would you feel so invulnerable, all for the sake of a short but long rembered life. Written for her son, I think she far exceeded anything she has done to date, in his honor.