Dreaming the Serpent Spear : a Novel of Boudica, the Warrior Queen

The second part of the stunning fictionalization of the life of Britains warrior queen, Boudica, immerses us in a world of druids and dreamers, warriors and lovers, passion and courage. Originally a trilogy, this is now a four-part series. Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word boudeg). She was the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph. Book one, Dreaming the Eagle , took readers from Boudicas girlhood with the Eceni tribe to the climax of the two-day battle when she and her lover, Caradoc, faced the invading Romans. Believing her dead, Breacas beloved brother, Bn, joined the Roman cause. Dreaming the Bull , the second book in this compelling series, continues the intertwined stories of Boudica, and Bn, now an officer in the Roman cavalry. They stand on opposite sides in a brutal war of attrition between the occupying army and the defeated tribes, each determined to see the other dead. In a country under occupation, Caradoc, lover to Breaca, is caught and faces the ultimate penalty. Only Bn has the power to save him, and Bn has spent the past ten years denying his past. Treachery divides these two; heroism brings them together again, changed out of all recognition -- but it may not be enough to heal the wounds. Dreaming the Bull is a heart-stopping story of war and of peace; of love, passion and betrayal; of druids and warring gods, where each life is sacred and each death even more so; and where Breaca and Bn learn the terrible distances they must travel to fulfill their own destinies. The fourth and final novel in the magnificent saga of Britain’s warrior queen (Boudica – “Bringer of Victory” and the last defender of the Celtic culture) will capture readers’ hearts and minds, as Manda Scott brings the series to a stunning close. It is AD 60 and the flame of rebellion that has been smouldering for 20 years of Roman occupation has flared into a conflagration that will consume the land and all who live in it. There is no going back. Boudica has been flogged and her daughters raped, and her son has burned a Roman watchtower in an act of blatant insurgency. This is the time to act: the Roman governor has marched his legions west to destroy the druidic stronghold of Mona, leaving his capital and a vital seaport hopelessly undefended in the face of twenty-thousand warriors aching for vengeance. But to crush the legions for all time, Boudica must do more than lead her army in the greatest rebellion Britain has ever known. She must find healing for herself, for the land, and for Graine, her 8-year-old daughter, who has taken refuge on Mona. Is revenge worth it under any circumstances, or is the cost more than anyone can bear? Colchester is burning and London is lost without hope. Amidst fire and bloody revolution – a battle that will change the face and spirituality of a nation for centuries to come – Boudica and those around her must find what matters most, now and for ever. Boudica means Bringer of Victory. She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome and triumph. It is 33 AD and eleven-year-old Breaca (later named Boudica), the red-haired daughter of one of the leaders of the Eceni tribe, is on the cusp between girl and womanhood. She longs to be a Dreamer, a mystical leader who can foretell the future, but having killed the man who has attacked and killed her mother, she has proven herself a warrior. "It has been twenty years since the Romans first occupied Britannia, and the rebellion by Boudica and her people nears its bloody climax. Now, as the Roman army marches on Mona, the last protected village in Britannia, the only hope for her nation lies with Boudica. With so much to lose--the very lives of her children and an entire culture on the verge of obliteration? Boudica must find a way to save her people. In doing so, she will change the face of history forever"--Publisher description