I once answered a call for submissions based on ghost stories of my local area. Now, the funny thing with Caithness is: most people seem to believe in - and many people will share stories about how they've witnessed - supernatural happenings around the county. However, there aren't many well-known stories. Of course, there's the standard young-maiden-falling-out-of-castle-window story for at least two of the castles up here, and there's the eerie story of the man whose brother locked him up in Castle Sinclair Girnigoe with no food. Both characters feature in Caithness ghost stories. But it's high time someone actually explored the individual's ghost stories. In fact, that's something I might do, if I ever actually get sufficient time on my hands! Where are the stories which are connected to the "ordinary" buildings? We've been sharing our Stempster Spectres in our monthly newsletters and, believe me, there are plenty of those! A little further...
This is a fascinating book, blending history and fantasy in a way which makes each seem somehow more believable. Marie Powell uses historical figures and settings to give an expert voice to her work and makes the reader believe that they could be reading an exciting history of Welsh culture rather than simply a work of fiction.
Powell’s descriptive writing is beautiful and evocative, although sometimes I feel a Young Adult audience may have preferred a slightly different descriptive to dialogue ratio.
Overall, a clever mix of fantasy and history to shed new light on a dark period of British history.
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