The Ash Spear is the conclusion of a trilogy that centers around Gwernin, a bard-in-training traveling around sixth century Wales and surrounding areas. While the book is part of a trilogy, it is perfectly readable as a stand alone novel. The time period in which it takes place is not long after the time of King Arthur and Druidic influences also still abound. Gwernin accompanies Taliesin, the bard to who is to be his trainer for the duration of their travels. His hope is to complete his bardic training and become a full fledged, respected bard in his own right. When he takes to the road with Taliesin at the beginning of the story, he leaves behind his old master and teacher to whom he is apprenticed, the head bard Talhaearn. He also leaves behind his girl, Rhiannedd, who has just announced that she is pregnant with their child.

Factional fighting between clans has erupted into full fledged warfare as Gwernin and Taliesin take to the road and before long they are literally in the thick of the battle. The research and detail appearing in the book are extensive and the author explains how she used the available resources and scant information available on that timeframe to weave a story as true to the time as is possible. She's done a very good job it seems, as the story flows along quite smoothly and believably. I felt immersed in this tale from the Dark Ages, of which we technically know so little regarding specifics. On a personal level, as a newbie to Dungeons and Dragons, this story has vastly improved my ability to imagine Druidic type characters and their lifestyle and the setting in which they lived by feeding my imagination so thoroughly with so many details.

Gwernin's adventures, besides bloody warfare, include "helping" his friend through a dark passage, a quite risky coming of age ceremony in which a psychedelic drug is drunk inducing an approximately 48 hour state of hallucinations that can easily prove to be fatal. Unfortunately for Gwernin, a young, insolent, obnoxious and unpopular acolyte is also under the tutelage of Taliesin and has taken a distinct dislike to our protagonist; a feeling that is mutual. This young lad and his foolish behavior very nearly end up being the end of Gwernin.

We are treated to realistic scenes of gatherings and festivities in the great halls of the time, and of course, the performances of the highly respected bards, including Gwernin, who hopes to become a full fledged member of their ranks before long. I enjoyed these scenes immensely, including the songs and stories that we are treated to. There is a refrain at the end of every chapter, as a segue into the next; and I liked that, too.

One detraction for me was the frequent gratuitous sexual escapades of Gwernin's which were eventually explained as something he just couldn't help and with which he continued throughout his life, apparently. All this while having a very pregnant girl back in his village who he was planning on settling down with before long, yet "settling down" he explained did not mean becoming monogamous. It was explained that his girl (presumed to be his wife eventually) allowed him this and turned her head the other way. That didn't sit well with me, particularly as it seemed against the grain of what we had come to expect of Gwernin, though while not perfect, of course, did usually seem to come off as better than that would indicate. I think that was an unnecessary dereogatory trait for him and took away somewhat from my enjoyment of an otherwise quite enjoyable tale of this time frame and setting. ( )

2010 (my review can be found on the LibraryThing page linked)
http://www.librarything.com/topic/104839#2536910

This is a well written book about Britain in the time of kings and bards. It is full of knowledge about the bardic life and the many cattle wars fought between minor kings, as well as slavery and farm life. I truly enjoyed reading this book. The only drawback was the last line of every chapter - it definitely took away from the story and really broke the flow. ( )

It took a long time for me to get around to finishing this book. I go through feast and famine stages with my reading, and unfortunately I was having a hard time sitting down to finish. I've had to resort to audiobooks because I don't have much time at home, and that was obviously not an option with this book.

This is the third book in a series, and I have not read the others so I'm not sure how this tale fits into the grand scheme, but as a stand alone it still held up. I'm not sure if he is a recurring character but the books main character is Gwernin a Storyteller. He is apprenticed to a renowned bard and is hoping to follow in his footsteps.

He grows a lot in this tale, he fights a little, he starts to find his poetic voice, and in the end he finds out more more about himself and his desires than he thought possible. There are elements of his character that I wasn't fond of, mainly his insatiable appetite for women without knowing more about who he was as a man. I don't know if it's his youth, or a permanent character attribute though I expect it's the latter.

It's an interesting book, and I'm glad I finally was able to curl up and read it. ( )

Finally got around to reading this book. I was slightly confused as I hadn't read the others, but it was an intriguing storyline with great characters. I'll definitely go back and reread after I've picked up the previous titles. ( )