Sword of Fire and Shadow: The Third Chronicle of Fionn Mac Cumhal

The life of the ancient Irish hero Fionn Mac Cumhal is brought to its close in the resounding conclusion to the trilogy begun in Master of Earth and Water. In his weary maturity, Fionn and his fianna (national guard) serve the Ard Ri (High King) Cormac mac Airt while striving to keep blood feuds from destroying his country, Eriu. He himself succumbs to a feud when his protege and dear friend, Diarmuid mac Duibhne, runs off with his promised wife, Grainne, daughter of the High King. While Fionn and his men pursue the fugitives for years, his son Oisin by his long-lost love, the Sidhe Sabd, experiences his own unhappy love. Though evading an attempt to embroil him in a war among the Sidhe, the ancient fairy people of Eriu, Fionn falls victim to treachery and hatred among humans. The authors poetically portray a lost culture, breathing life into ancient myths. (Aug.)