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The Distant Tide (Hearts of Ireland #1)

Heather Day Gilbert

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Oct 16, 2020 Werner rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

As is often the case, the Goodreads description for this well-written novella (and opener for a projected two-book series) just reproduces the back cover copy. I'd say right at the outset that I don't recommend reading either; they give away two important early plot developments that, IMO, readers are better off discovering as they occur.

Evangelical writer Heather Day Gilbert first appeared on the historical fiction scene in 2013 with the publication of God's Daughter, the first of the two novel As is often the case, the Goodreads description for this well-written novella (and opener for a projected two-book series) just reproduces the back cover copy. I'd say right at the outset that I don't recommend reading either; they give away two important early plot developments that, IMO, readers are better off discovering as they occur.

Evangelical writer Heather Day Gilbert first appeared on the historical fiction scene in 2013 with the publication of God's Daughter, the first of the two novels in her Vikings of the New World series, both of which got five stars from me. Those reads convinced me that I want to read anything else in the genre that she writes, so when I learned that this book was being published in a free-standing edition, my interest was immediately piqued. (It was originally published in 2017 as part of an omnibus volume of novellas by several authors, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection; but though I was vaguely aware of that book at the time, I didn't look into it much, because I'm not a particular fan of "romance" in the usual book-trade sense and wasn't interested in the other authors included there.) She and I are Goodreads friends, but this book wasn't a free review copy; I purchased it, to support her literary efforts. and it didn't disappoint!

Through one of her videos, I learned recently that the author is of Scandinavian stock herself (as am I); her maiden name, Day, sounds English, but her first ancestor in this country adopted it for that reason. That helps to explain her interest in Vikings; she has a considerable knowledge about them, which enriches her work though it's not intrusively displayed, and evokes them well. But here, they're in a setting most modern readers might not immediately associate with them: Ireland in 1170. Historically, though, there was actually a considerable degree of cultural interaction, over a period of several centuries, between the two areas, as noted by Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History... ); Vikings not only frequently raided the Irish coasts, but often settled, intermarried and/or traded there, and Irish captives were not infrequently brought back to Scandinavia as thralls. (I did know that before picking up this book, from some prior reading.) Gilbert brings the Irish setting to life with equal facility; and the medieval era is one of my favorite milieus for historical fiction, so that was a plus for me.

The Ireland of 1170 is balkanized among an array of Celtic clans, mostly Christianized, but largely more culturally backward compared to the High Medieval culture flourishing in England and on the Continent; things here are still more like they were in the early middle ages. Some years before our story opens, 16-year-old Egil Thorvaldsson, son of a Viking chieftain, died in a raid on an Irish castle. Now, his younger brother Ari (who was ten when Egil died; I'd guess him to now be in his early 20s) has led the family's retainers back to the Irish coast to exact blood vengeance. (By the late 1100s, Christianity is spreading in Scandinavia too; but his family has stood aloof from it.) This journey will lead to his meeting with Britta [pronounced Bree-ta], the only child of an Irish petty king. (She's said in one place to be "of marriageable age," which in that time and place I'd surmise to be her late teens.) These two are not, on the surface, a likely couple, and romance is not on either of their agendas; but the original venue of publication will lead genre-savvy readers to suspect where events might be going. :-) Obviously, though, the going is likely to be complex and rocky --not least because 1169 was the year the Normans first made a serious attempt to invade Ireland, and in 1170 they're still hanging around....

Characterization is one of the author's strengths, and both of her co-protagonists here are three-dimensional, realistic human beings who come across vividly and sympathetically. (The supporting characters are also very life-like.) Romance is, obviously, a key strand of the plot, but not the only one; it's balanced and integrated ably into a broader story. (Some critics might complain of an "insta-love" element; but in the pre-modern setting, as I've indicated in other reviews, the nature of inter-gender interactions made this more realistic than it would be today, and the two character's personal qualities, in my estimation, made an early strong attraction between them perfectly credible. While not a warrior, Britta is a strong woman --there are other ways of exhibiting strength besides fighting-- and an intelligent one; she's literate (a skill far from universal in the middle ages, but one that some real-life women did possess) and likes to read and learn. Christian faith plays a natural role in the tale (the Irish here would of course be Roman Catholic, but denominational distinctives aren't displayed; what's brought out is simple faith in Christ, which would characterize a community far removed from the pedantry of the Scholastics and the political intrigues of prelates in the more "advanced" lands of the European world.) At 122 pages, this is a pretty quick read, and at times a suspenseful one --Gilbert also writes mysteries, and she brings a bit of that skill to bear here, too. I'm definitely up for the sequel, and recommend this one to all genre fans! ...more

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