Mysterious dreams. A lost grail. Secret hoards of wealth. A country ruined by lies and betrayal.
And one brief, shining chance to build a golden kingdom…
No one in 5th century Britain knows more secrets than master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth, and that makes him a dangerous man. It also makes him a hunted one. For nearly three decades he has manipulated stubborn, irascible kings and warlords in a quest to not only unite them against foreign invasion but to stop them from destroying each other as well. And along with his beloved wife Claerwen, he has followed a greater, even more perilous pursuit—to forge a clear path for the fulfillment of Merlin the Enchanter’s famed prophecy that one day a great king will take command, the king known as Arthur of the Britons.
Now, with Arthur at last on the brink of adulthood and already showing great promise as a leader, Marcus discovers that the emerging Christian church is gaining enough power to dangerously shift control of Britain. At the same time Claerwen, gifted with second sight, is plagued with strange dreams that connect inexplicable doom to both Arthur and a long lost grail sacred to Britain’s high kings. As foreboding mounts, Marcus struggles to prevent the church from crushing Arthur’s chances of becoming an effective king. But how he goes about it sets up the very doom that Claerwen sees. Will she be able to stop him? Or will her visions send Marcus to his own doom as well?
WINNER of 2010 Colorado Book Award!
Professional Reviews
From Sharon Kay Penman, author of Here Be Dragons
An intriguing and suspenseful novel of Wales in the time of Arthur and Merlin.
From Jen Delyth, artist and author of Celtic Folk Soul
Evoking the rugged beauty of the raven-haunted lands of ancient Britain, A LAND BEYOND RAVENS illuminates the intrigues between the forces of politics and religion against the coming of the great chieftain, Arthur of the Britons. With intricately crafted language alive with authentic detail, Kathleen Guler's insightful storytelling and multi-dimensional characters connect the reader with the rhythm of time, poetry of place, and the wisdom needed to face sacrifice, betrayal and the ultimate mystery of all, the secret of the Grail.
From Mark Adderley, author of The Hawk and The Wolf
Marcus ap Iorwerth the spy and Claerwen his wife are two of the most attractive and original characters in recent Arthurian fiction. A LAND BEYOND RAVENS is the climax of their story--fast-paced and surprising, it hurtles towards a totally satisfying denouement.
Tralee, Ireland. September 1948.
An arrogant, and highly agitated, priest arrives home after 40 years.
Days later he's dead. Suicide? Or did his past catch up with him?
A novel about a family during World War II, set on the homefront in Springield, Mass., and in the South Pacific. The book focuses on four characters and how their lives were affected and changed during the war years.
A delightfully rare Historical Novel. 85% a biography of a spy, musician, mother and her neice trapped behind German lines in World War I. This background led to a diplomatic post in World War II. Aged 92, Vera disclosed her past life one year before
