The Bull Raid

Description

This violent, dark, and disturbing tale pulls no punches. GÃÂébler has taken an epic Irish poem, Cattle Raid of Cooley, and expanded it significantly. He frames the story as a tale within a tale, having nearly passed from memory, but magically retrieved to be passed on again through the generations. The hero is Cuchulainn, born half-mortal, half-immortal. From a very early age, he demonstrates superhuman powers. He is the only male who is able to escape a curse on the men of Ulster, who are crippled during the winter season with the pains a woman feels when giving birth. The Bull Raid of the title is initiated by Queen Maeve of Connacht, who uses the curse to her advantage as she tries to obtain Ulster's famous Brown Bull. Initially, Cuchulainn is able to go up against the queen's armies single-handed and dispatches even the finest warriors sent to do battle with him one on one. But ultimately, he cannot escape the tragedy that has followed him from birth. While this sprawling saga takes perhaps a bit long to get started and only really gets going in the final third, the language throughout, while formal, is often breathtaking and occasionally horrific. A book for readers who have a strong interest in fantasy, myth, and legend.

Reviews

"'Gebler definitely has the gift for portraying heroes as real people... Here the hero is something like a modern teenager beginning to probe his more abstract emotions' Irish Times 'Gripping and bloody... a stirring and passionate epic' Publishing News 'The Bull Raid is a book worth thinking about' Vivienne Smith, writeaway"

Author description

Carlo Gebler has written countless reviews, articles and short stories for most national publications, as well as many play-scripts and even a libretto for an opera. He is an award-winning filmmaker and producer and director of TV documentaries, and teaches creative writing one day a week in a local prison. Carlo describes himself as a 'lepidopterist - a butterfly catcher who is constantly searching for that rare butterfly that is a story'. He is married with five children and lives in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.