Rosemary SutcliffCríticas

A wandering minstrel adopts a sweet-natured dragon pup, and his songs flow more easily and more joyful than ever before because he now has something to love. But the companions come to grief when a wicked showman kidnaps the pup to use in his show. Will the minstrel find his friend again?

The last of the Roman army have set sail and left Britain forever, abandoning it to civil war and the threat of a Saxon invasion. Aquila, a young Legionnaire, deserted his regiment to stay behind with his family, but his home and all that he loves are destroyed. Years of hardship and fighting follow, and in the end, there is only one thing left in Aquila's life--his thirst for revenge . . .

This is one of those stories written for children that's also suitable for adults. This adult liked it, anyway.

Despite the title, this isn’t a supernatural tale. Rather, it’s set when people were superstitious about anyone who’s different to the norm. The ‘witch’ is a wise woman who people are a little afraid of but they seek her help for cures to ailments.

The ‘brat' is the wise woman’s grandson. He’s also humpbacked and lame, which really earns people’s distrust. After his grandmother dies early in the novel, the boy loses his protection and is persecuted.

The plot is set over several years during the first quarter of the twelfth century. Monks and monasteries are the main settings.

I like the first two-thirds of the book much more than the final third when we have a change of scenery. This involves a lot of static description regarding the main character’s journey on foot to London. Once he reaches London, my interest wanes a little. It’s not terrible or boring, but it’s lacking something that’s present earlier in the story.

Overall, though, it’s worth a read.

The action picks up when Rome decides to leave Great Britain. Without Roman "protection", Britain is ripe for invasion. The protagonist of the story, Aquila, a member of the Legion, deserts, and he and his family decide to stay behind. The remainder of the book tells of Aquila's trials and tribulations in repelling the Saxons. I found Aquila not to be a really likeable person, but that is neither here nor there as far as the story goes. "We are the Lantern Bearers, my friend; for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind" This is a book written for YA's. However, teaching YA's, I can tell you that in no way, at least for the current majority, would YA's have an interest in or be able to understand this book's place in history. I enjoyed this book and in the future, on one of my buying "sprees", will look for the other books in this series. 240 pages½

Sutcliff is such a sentimental writer, and she has her particular tropes. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this one a lot more than Crossley-Holland's Beowulf. In the Charles Keeping illustrations, Beowulf wears a helmet made to look like a boar's head. I think that this can not be realistic.

As the gods and goddesses of Olympus scheme, the ancient world is thrown into turmoil when Helen, the most beautiful woman in all of Greece, is stolen away by her Trojan love. Inflamed by jealousy, the Greek king seeks lethal vengeance and sends his black war ships to descend on the city of Troy.

In the siege that follows, history's greatest heroes, from Ajax to Achilles to Odysseus, are forged in combat, and the brutal costs of passion, pride, and revenge must be paid. In the end, the whims of the gods, the cunning of the warriors, and a great wooden horse will decide who emerges victorious.

Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, is one of the greatest adventure stories of all time and Rosemary Sutcliff's retelling of the classic saga embodies all of the astonishing drama, romance, and intrigue of ancient Greece.

In this thrilling retelling of the Anglo-Saxon legend, Rosemary Sutcliff recounts Beowulf's most terrifying quests: against Grendel the man-wolf, against the hideous sea-hag and, most courageous of all, his fight to the death with the monstrous fire-drake. An extra section in the back includes author info, activities and quizzes, a glossary, fascinating facts, and more.

Review from my 13 year old:

“Tells the story of the Iliad, an epic poen by Homer and the prequel to The Odyssey. Starts with the origin of Trojan War and ends with the destruction of Troy. I liked it. Incredibly informative. I didn’t know that much about the Trojan War before I read this.”½

“Beowulf” quotes crop up in several Anglo-Saxon books I’ve read over the past year, and more recently I’ve read one author or another praise Rosemary Sutcliff for her historical novels, so reading this short novel was like killing two birds with one stone.

Although aimed at children, this is certainly suitable for adults as well.

I understand the author has been faithful to the original poem. She does a good job at creating tense atmospheres and frighting scenes, all of which are vivid.

On the other hand, Beowulf sorts the monsters out a bit too easily, and I would’ve preferred more of a challenge; however, I realise this may be owing to the author keeping it simple for a young audience, so this is an observation, not a criticism.

I’ll be checking out some of Rosemary Sutcliff’s other books in due course.

This is the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. The Saxons are threatening and the Romans withdraw the last remaining Legions to protect Rome.
Aquilla is a Cavalry man in the Legion as it is withdrawn back to Rome, only he decides that his future doesn't lie in Rome, it lies in Britain. His father is part of the group that is trying to support Ambrosius against the Saxon and has requested support from Roman legions in France. The go between is a bird catcher who carries a lantern. Aquilla returns to his father's villa in time to be with his family as the Saxons attack. The remainder of the book covers his life from there. It is actually fairly open about the fate of women, what happens to both Flavia is off stage, but implied. There is a fair level of co-incidence, but I suppose there is in every life. Some of the supporting characters are particularly well done, Brother Ninian, for instance, plays a pivotal role and helps, again, make a point about the less glorious side of war. The book ends as there has been a battle that stops the Saxons in their tracks, and the next generation are stepping forward to take on the banner that their parents have carried for so long.
It is quite complex a read and while there are glorious battles, it doesn't shy away from the darker side, while not necessarily showing those in full detail. It also captures something of the divided loyalties that come into play when a people are divided and families take different sides.

Given to me as a gift from M.bellJackson, Mariane,, I was swept away by both the story and the art, both of which blended seamlessly for a book of exceeding beauty. A lone minstrel travels throughout the land searching for inspiration to make the perfect song. On a high cliff with the sea below, suddenly, there is the sound of something falling. Looking down, the minstrel begins a stunningly beautiful song as the egg breaks forth and a tiny kitten sized dragon peaks his way into life.

This is a perfect match for inspiration. The little dragon walks along the roads with the minstrel. Both are happier than they thought possible. Traveling and stopping to sing along the way, the minstrel sings his beautiful music and is rewarded with coins enough to buy food for the dragon and himself.

Alas, the beauty is stolen when a scraggly musician watches in awe at the inspiration provided by the dragon. Sneaking into the inn where they are staying, he steals the color and the tether. Heartbroken, the minstrel randomly travels down paths in the hope of rescuing his dragon. When he finally finds him, the dragon is in the King's menagerie, cooped in a cage, hovering in a corner, he is sad beyond what he thought was possible.

Claiming the dragon, the minstrel is told the King must give permission. The King and Queen's son is in a coma like state. When the minstrel begins his song written previously inspired by the dragon, the young boy gradually awakens.

Promising riches, the minstrel states he simply wants his dragon. With a statement written and produced far and wide, the message from the King states the dragon cannot be taken. Happily, the dragon and minstrel are reunited as they walk down the roads happinly together again.

I was entranced by this lovely tale with the beautiful art. I will look for other works by both these incredibly talented artists.

Five Stars!

16 year old Bjarni is exiled for 5 years for murder and spends them as a hired sword for two sea lords before surviving a shipwreck on his return. While there is some fighting and mention of summers at sea, no stereotypical Viking raiding is more than mentioned in passing. Bjarni himself is a dog loving (the murdered man kicked his nursing bitch) earnest fellow who learns late to foresee trouble.½

En el año 117, la Novena Legión Hispana, de guarnición en el Muro de Adriano, se internó en las nieblas de Caledonia y adquirió estatus de leyenda cuando cuatro mil hombres desaparecieron en las tierras altas de Escocia sin dejar rastro. Veinte año después, Marco Flavio Aquila, hijo de uno de los centuriones de la legión maldita, llega a Britania al mando de una cohorte de auxiliares galos para estacionarse en Isca Dumnoniorum. Su primer mando transcurre plácidamente hasta que aparece en la región un druida que provoca el levantamiento de la población britana. Su pericia consigue salvar a sus hombres y el fuerte fronterizo, pero resulta gravemente herido y debe abandonar el servicio. Retirado y deprimido, se le presenta la oportunidad de correr la mayor oportunidad de su vida porque al norte del Muro de Adriano corre el rumor de que ha reaparecido un poderoso amuleto de guerra: el Águila de una legión romana. Sólo puede ser el Águila de la Novena, y Marco está dispuesto a arriesgar su vida para devolver el honor a la legión de su padre, arrebatar el trofeo a los bárbaros, y resolver el enigma de la misteriosa desaparición de la legión.

Roman centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila has his first command, and, at his request, it’s in Roman Britain. Marcus’s father was part of the lost Ninth Legion, which disappeared after marching north beyond Hadrian’s wall. Not long after Marcus takes command, his men must defend the fort against a British uprising. Marcus’s uncle has retired in Britain, and Marcus goes there to heal from the battle wound that has left him lame for life. Just as Marcus begins to contemplate his future, he gets the opportunity to head into the north country to see if he can find out what happened to the lost legion and recover their eagle.

This story seems like capture the flag on steroids. Finding the missing eagle is only half the battle. If Marcus is successful in locating it, he’ll still need to get it back to the safety of Roman occupied territory. The desperate flight south through Scotland had me thinking of Richard Hannay’s flight across the same landscape almost two millennia later. It’s an exhilarating read!½

The third book in Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman Britain series begins with Rome leaving Britain forever. One many, unable to leave his family behind, stays only to see disaster that changes his life forever. Another rousing read from Sutcliff where good eventually triumphs over evil. The main character of this one--Aquila--is a brooding man bent on vengeance.

The second book in Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman Britain series is set as Rome continues to struggle to keep its island nation even as the Saxons are bearing down on them. Two cousins barely escape as a traitor kills their leader and become part of the resistance. This book was of the same style as the first: honorable men fighting against those who would betray Rome. We meet their feisty aunt and her maid servant and other unusual characters. A rousing read!

Reason read: TIOLI and BAC
This is the first book in a series in the Roman Britain Trilogy. It's an adventure story than could be appropriate for youth and adults. A new to me author. A series that I could read more but not sure that I will.½

The Eagle of the Ninth is part of the reason I like at least browsing the LT challenges even if I am not willing to commit completely. I don't think Rosemary Sutcliff's tale of Roman Britain would even have crossed my path were it not for the British Author Challenge. And what a tale it was: Marcus Flavius Aquila has taken up soldiering in Britain where his own father disappeared twelve years before as part of the Ninth Legion that marched north to put down rebellion and was never heard from again. Sutcliff is a masterful writer, able to balance setting, character and action in a way that draws you into the time and space of the story. I read this for the BAC challenge and have the other two in the series ready to go. We follow Marcus as he heads into the north region to find the lost Eagle standard of the legion.

My daughter loves dragons and I love puppies and minstrels are intriguing
so I chose [The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup] for the first Author Challenge.

While Rosemary Sutcliff wrote many stories for kids, this was the first to be illustrated.
Simply, plainly, and gently this one evolved as the pair wandered and eventually searched for each other.

The tale of how The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup first met along the shore of a "high sea cliff"
with the welcoming music from the harp for the birth of Lucky is one to return to again and again.

Love then inspired new songs for The Minstrel!

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