The Curse of Conchobar―A Prequel to the Adirondack Spirit Series
By David Fitz-Gerald
Banished by one tribe. Condemned by another. Will an outcast's supernatural strengths be enough to keep him alive?
549 AD. Raised by monks, Conchobar is committed to a life of obedience and peace. But when his fishing vessel is blown off-course, the young man's relief over surviving the sea's storms is swamped by the terrors of harsh new shores. And after capture by violent natives puts him at death's door, he's stunned when he develops strange telepathic abilities.
Learning his new family's language through the mind of his mentor, Conchobar soon falls for the war chief's ferocious daughter. But when she trains him to follow in her path as a fighter, he's horrified when his uncanny misfortune twists reality, causing more disastrous deaths and making him a pariah.
Can Conchobar defeat the darkness painting his steps with blood?
The Curse of Conchobar is the richly detailed prequel to the mystical Adirondack Spirit Series of historical fiction. If you like inspiring heroes, unsettling powers, and lasting legacies, then you'll love David Fitz-Gerald's captivating tale.
Buy The Curse of Conchobar to break free from the fates today!
Publication Date: 20th January 2021
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Page Length: 171 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Trigger warnings: Violence
MY THOUGHTS
When Conchobar makes the decision to take out a fishing boat, a task that is not one he is accustomed to in his life on the cliffside, among monks and spending his days carving steps into the cliff, he had no way of knowing that his decision would change his life forever. Caught out, and blown away, by a storm, Conchobar manages to survive weeks alone at sea, only to be found, washed up on the shore, by a tribe of people who do not speak the same language as him, and Conchobar is not sure if they have malicious intentions towards him or not.
Finding himself immediately thrown into the middle of a war, Conchobar quickly learns that the tribe he ends up among is unlike anything he has ever known before. Unlike the peaceful tranquillity and routine of life among the monks, the tribe is busy and loud. Not only must Conchobar adjust to fit in, he must also learn skills that he never had any use for before. Why would he have needed to know how to make a club in the most time-efficient manner possible?
I have read one of David Fitz-Gerald’s books before, She Sees Ghosts, and this book, although in the same series, could not have been more different. It is not just the storyline that is different, but also the writing style. She Sees Ghosts was very character-driven, whereas The Curse of Conchobar focused more on the plot. This does not take away from the amount of detail in either book, as, like She Sees Ghosts, The Curse of Conchobar is incredibly descriptive and the characters are written in such a way that none of them feel like background characters, but rather, they all appear as real as the main protagonists.
Having read She Sees Ghosts, I was expecting supernatural elements, and I was not disappointed. Conchobar was cursed by his father, and he has always blamed the effects of the curse for his misfortune. What else would cause such a storm to send him so far away but a curse? Among the tribe, his curse quickly shows itself when those around him start meeting their own misfortune. People die, and get hurt, and the blame falls to Conchobar, even though there was nothing he could have done to prevent the events. Everything that Conchobar goes through made me feel incredibly empathetic towards him. He is given the blame for so many deaths, and the people that had welcomed him into the village turn away and shun him.
There were several characters, other than Conchobar, who I really felt for. One of those is Ferocious Wind, the daughter of the chief and the girl that catches Conchobar’s eye. Ferocious Wind is a warrior, like her father and brothers, yet, she is ignored and looked down upon by her father, simply because she is a girl. It doesn’t matter that she is a warrior as strong as her brothers, and possibly even better than they are. Conchobar gives her the attention she deserves as she teaches him to be a fighter, and she basks in it. Their relationship, while simple in appearance, runs much deeper, for they both need each other. Another character I adored was Three Fingers, one of the tribe’s healers and one of the first supernatural occurrences in this book. Three Fingers can talk to people telepathically and teaches Conchobar the language of the tribe while he is unconscious from injuries. Three Fingers and Conchobar become close over the course of this novel, and Three Fingers turns into the father figure that Conchobar never had.
Conchobar’s connection to the supernatural comes when he is in danger and fears that he is being followed. He becomes connected to a tree, and his spirit travels through the roots of the plants. The trees show him the way, protect him, and provide a constant companion for him when he has no one else. I was a little confused when this first happened, but I quickly realised what was happening and settled back in.
This book is the kind that, once started, you do not want to put down. There is both action and calmer scenes. There is love, betrayal and war, and all have been blended together into a story that I absolutely loved reading.
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David Fitz-Gerald
David Fitz-Gerald writes fiction that is grounded in history and soars with the spirits. Dave enjoys getting lost in the settings he imagines and spending time with the characters he creates. Writing historical fiction is like making paintings of the past. He loves to weave fact and fiction together, stirring in action, adventure, romance, and a heavy dose of the supernatural with the hope of transporting the reader to another time and place. He is an Adirondack 46-er, which means he has hiked all of the highest peaks in New York State, so it should not be surprising when Dave attempts to glorify hikers as swashbuckling superheroes in his writing.
I am so glad you enjoyed reading The Curse of Conchobar. Thank you so much for hosting today's blog tour stop.
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