The Silver Hand (Song of Albion Trilogy) [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

The first thing you'll notice when beginning to read the second book is the fact, that Lawhead switches the narrative view from Llew's to Tegid's, thus causing some confusion at the beginning.

Llews attempt to remove Simon from Albion failed, and problems grow even larger. Tegid makes Llew the new king, angering Meldron, who thought he'd be king after his father's death. Their imprisonment and escape are just the start of a long line of events, Llew loosing is right hand and Tegid his eyesight, both being maimed by cruel Meldron.

Again they manage to flee, and try to build up a new hope.

As in the first book, Lawhead writes and describes very detailed, but far from being boring. His knowledge of the Celtic Culture is used again and brings the world to life. Celtic words and Culture played an important role in creating the Story. The Story has no real "Time outs", where boring passages appear, it is all exciting from the beginning to the end.

I just couldn't stop until I finished reading this book, it was like a drug. It makes you wish to live in Albion for real, i even had alot of dreams about it. Lawheads utopian kind of world owns so many aspects i miss in our world. The book makes you think about everything, you start to see our world from a different angle. Is there some kind of world existing parallel to ours ? If yes, it would be my dearest wish to live there, among lots of honorable people who would give their lives for each other anytime.

Believe me, these thoughts will rumble through your mind, too...

Tegid, the bard, and Llew, the reluctant king, set about carving a new life for themselves while Meldron, the usurper, thinks they're dead. They have time to rebuild and form a company of sorts, but when Meldron catches on to their survival, we know the showdown will eventually come--and to mostly satisfactory results.

Lawhead fills his story with rich details and memorable scenes, but, as in the first book, he makes some apparent blunders. Though I was intrigued by the re-appearance of Nettles from the first book, his character never played a true role in the events of the story. Lawhead seemed to set him up for significance, then let me down. This type of thing happens occasionally in Lawhead's writing, whether due to poor plotting or forgetfulness, I do not know.

Overall, though, I have to give this book a glowing recommendation. Once finished and set aside, I couldn't get it out of my mind. The scenes were still there, the characters still breathing, the questions still rumbling through my thoughts. Maybe, in this fictitous world come to life, like the real world we inhabit, people and events don't always react or go as planned. Maybe, there are bigger purposes, as of yet unknown to this reader. Maybe, I don't care...I just want to believe the Otherworld is out there, and the Song of Albion is being sung, bringing life to all who hear it.