Along the Far Shores

Celtic Knot

by Kristin Gleeson

A 12th Century Irish woman sets out on the legendary voyage to America of Prince Madog of Wales.Aisling, a failed seer, stows away on the ship belonging to the Welsh prince, Madog, to be with her brother. After months at sea, she falls overboard during a storm and washes ashore on the American gulf coast. Caxna, a Tlingit trader and former shaman, finds her and reluctantly agrees to let her join him on a trading journey to the Mayan city of Xicallanca and later Etowah (modern Georgia), in the hopes she might find Madog and her brother. For Caxna the journey is a means to eventually free his clan. But Aisling changes everything.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance

330 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2014

About the author

USA Today Bestselling author, Kristin Gleeson is originally from Philadelphia but has lived in West Cork in Ireland for a number of years where she plays the harp and sings, in addition to painting the beautiful landscape around her. She holds a Masters in Library Science and a Ph.D. in history, and for a time was an administrator of a large archives, library and museum in America and also worked as a public librarian in America and Ireland. She has won numerous awards for her writing

Myths and other folk tales have always fascinated her and she combined her love of these tales with her harp playing and performed as a professional harper/storyteller at events in Britain, America and Ireland.


She has also written history freelance and published articles and essays in reference works and academic books.

Reviews

[Cynthia Neale]

A riveting page turner, I did not wish for this book to end and hope there is another one about Aisling, the 12th century Irishwoman who goes on a voyage from Ireland to Wales and eventually ends up in the Gulf Coast. Using the setting of a legendary voyage to America by Prince Madog of Wales, the author weaves a story of adventure, survival, and a slowly blossoming love between two unlikely people. The depictions and images of the Tlingit people and the Mayan city of Xicallanca are fascinating, as well. I entered into a different culture and could see the colors, hear the music of the sea, and even experience the fears of superstition. The evolving relationship between Aisling and Caxna, the Tligit trader and former shaman, is beautifully and sweetly rendered and revelatory that love can overcome impossible boundaries. Kristin Gleeson's writing is mellow and unobtrusive, even comforting in the midst of gripping scenes and terror. It is the kind of writing that instills the feeling that we can ride out the storms of life with grace and thrill. And as Aisling doubted her gift as a seer, but learned it required her belief, perhaps we, too, can be seers.

[etherealfire]

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[Diane]

This book was pretty good. I would have given it a better rating if not for a few elements. I liked the author's development of the two main characters, Aisling and Caxna. However, she failed to make me care about any of the other characters. I also was really puzzled about where exactly the ship she was on was intending to go. In 1169, the new world was mostly undiscovered. Were her brother and Madog hoping to settle on Greenland or future Canada? So when she ended up in a seemingly tropical climate after she had been tossed overboard by one the the crew, I was pretty confused. There had been little said about how much time had passed. How close to shore were they when this huge storm happened? Despite this, the story held my interest for much of the book. I think Aislings trip to other parts of (Mexico?) was probably the most interesting part of the book. But after they saw the Sun King, it seemed like the story seemed to be somewhat illogical. Why did the ship and its crew stay in the area when one of the crew members had raped a native woman who ended up killing herself? Why would the King have just let this man leave and only expected some sort of payment in goods of some kind from the crew? I won't go on, but in my opinion the author did not think her storyline through to the end and then got stuck in figuring out how to bring about a good ending.
I was really disappointed in the way she ended the book. There was no mention of the family members Caxna was supposed to be rescuing his family from a lifetime of slavery after a certain point in the action. Caxna was too trusting of a "friend" of his and made some poor choices(mostly to help Aisling) that basically doomed his plans to marry someone whose family would be influential in getting his family their freedom. Instead, he decides to save Aisling and her brother, etc. and then ends up getting hurt and having to leave with Aisling in the ship. Then they decide to stay together, but we don't find out what happened after they made this decision. I think the author left some loose ends, which is never satisfying. There also could have been better editing. Words left out or in the wrong order - makes you pause in your reading to figure out what the author meant to say.

[Piedad Botero]

FANTASTIC!!!

I loved this book, and I hope Ms Gleeson has many more of this type for me to enjoy. I particularly like how well she developed the relationship between Caxna and Aisling with no need for a step-by-step description of their physical encounters .

[Betty Hansford]

An Interesting Book

I chose this rating because although the story is good, it simply is not as good as "Praise For The Bees", also by Kristin Gleeson.

[jodi m white]

Adventure in a time of discovery

Fast paced and interesting adventure of a young Irish women in new and strange land. I enjoyed it very much

[Roland Clarke]

Full review follows. For now: engrossing with good plot and characters

[judith reed]

Enjoyed this yarn but felt the characters could have had more identity.

[Leonide Martin]

Aisling, a young Celtic woman in 12th century Ireland and Wales, stows away on a ship to be with her brother and escape an untenable situation at home. The Welsh ship is sailing to unknown Western lands far across the seas, reputed to have treasures and rich trade. In a storm, a sailor who hates Aisling pushes her overboard and she washes up on a strange shore, where an older woman rescues her and revives her in a simple hut. Gradually Aisling picks up the language. A young man shows up, the old woman's friend and a trader, and Aisling persuades Caxna to take her on his travels so she can search for her brother's ship. It's unclear where this happens, but the people appear to be coastal Native American. The story follows Aisling and Caxna (a Tlingit) through many adventures, with interesting details of canoe navigation along the coasts and the lives and customs of the native people they encounter. Both protagonists have issues around their missions and spiritual powers, and although attracted to each other, they stay apart. They go to Xicallanca, a once great city with towering stone buildings now deteriorating, but still a large trade center, a pre-Toltec culture of the Veracruz region. Aisling rediscovers her shamanic powers there and saves them from being imprisoned. The story moves to Etowah, major city of the mound-builder culture, probably Cahokia in present-day Illinois. Intrigues get them in trouble leading to Caxna rescuing Aisling who was given to wed a local noble, and an escape to where her brother and his crew are staying. As this group quickly departs to restore their ship and evade Cahokian warriors, Aisling and Caxna must make choices about their future.

This story explores the idea that cross-Atlantic travel occurred much earlier than Columbus' voyages, and that western hemisphere peoples traded and interacted extensively. It doesn't make completely clear where action is taking place, and the pace is often slow. Aisling is an appealing heroine, with great resilience and determination. Caxna is also admirable in his kindness, restraint and dedication to his people. Their love story is an underlying theme with a sweet ending.

[Billy Buttons]

This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:

Title: Along the Far Shores
Author: Kristin Gleeson
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 23
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Style: 9/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 23 readers:
22 would read another book by this author.
23 thought the cover was good or excellent.
12 felt the blurb was enticing.
2 felt the blurb was a little over-descriptive and gave away too much.
9 thought the well-developed characters were the best part of the book.
20 felt the author’s no. 1 skill was balancing historical/cultural knowledge with a strong plot.

Readers’ Comments
‘The cover is fab! For me, it was a finalist even before I read it. The best cover in this year’s awards.’ Female reader, aged 55
‘There’s so many interesting titbits in here relating to Celtic history and the 12th century. And, best of all, it’s all wrapped up in a wonderfully plotted story and rich language. Very enjoyable.’ Female reader, aged 47
‘By far the best part of this novel is the setting. The author works hard to described America hundreds of years ago. I thought it was fascinating. But, thankfully, she never allows her historical knowledge to stand in the way of plot. So there are plenty of scoundrels, twists and turns and even romance to keep the reader enthralled.’ Male reader, (editor) aged 51
‘I know very little of Madog and the legend but I still very much enjoyed this warm novel.’ Female reader, aged 44
‘Marvellous!’ Male reader, aged 39

‘A totally engrossing, powerfully written historical novel. A FINALIST and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

[Patricia]

Alas, sometimes when I try a new author, I stumble into a book with content I don't want to read. I like my books squeaky clean. I say alas because it was an otherwise interesting story. However, I am not going to finish it.

[Faye]

Unrealistic reactions by the protagonist, pretty far-fetched, but interesting premise. Immature character development.