Since I won the Second Book of the Painter, I thought I'd read the first one to see what it was all about. I'm into the Irish/Celtic type stories since I am part Irish.

Aengus is a typical pby, having to wait outside the pub for his drunk of a father. An elderly man comes up to him after watching Aengus draw a picture in the dirt at his feet. The old gemtleman offers him something that he can't resists. Now starts the adventure of Aengus. He learns about his history when he finds out the old man is actually his grandfather.

It is a wonderful story, so true to life, even with the beatings and death throughout the book. I was fascinated about the storyteller and his painter and wonder what it was like to hear a story and watch the picture unfold with colored sand. The history is rich and the descriptions beautiful. This would be a wonderful addition to anyone's bookshelf. It will be to mine.

Sheila Gillulys Painter-Trilogie erschien erstmals in den 1990ern und wird jetzt in neuer Auflage als eBook beim Book View Café veröffentlicht. Ich schätze mich glücklich, über das Early Reviewer Programm bei LibraryThing auf diese Reihe aufmerksam geworden zu sein. Aber bevor ich den gewonnenen zweiten Teil zum Rezensieren lese, wollte ich natürlich mit dem ersten Band beginnen. Und wenn man so ganz ohne Erwartungen an ein Buch herangeht, wird mit in der Regel positiv überrascht - hier war es mehr als das.

The Boy from the Burren (The First Book of the Painter) spielt in einer Gegend, die ich zunächst in Richtung Schottland interpretiert hätte, es könnte aber auch Cornwall sein. Einsam gelegen, mehr oder weniger baumlose Heide und Steilküste. Sehr schnell war ich in der Landschaftbeschreibung gefangen und konnte das Meer hören und den Wind spüren.

Der Titelgebende Painter erzählt, wie er zum Painter wurde, oder besser gesagt, wie er entdeckt wurde und sein Talent ausgebaut wurde. Von der Anlage solcher Geschichten her ist es auch schnell klar, dass dem Jungen noch eine besondere Rolle zufallen wird, die im Laufe der Geschichte nach und nach enthüllt wird.

Die Spannung in der Erzählung rührt in vielerlei Hinsicht daher, dass die Ausbildung des Jungen im Geheimen passieren muss, da sein Leben sonst durch die Handlanger des fernen Königs bedroht sein würde.

Ein Großteil des Buches beschäftigt sich mit Erlebnissen während der nicht ca. 9 monatigen Ausbildung des Jungen, und dabei darf dann auch gelacht und gefeiert werden. Erst zum Schluss kommt es zum dramatischen Kampf mit den Widersachern. Magie kommt dabei nicht zum Zuge, aber die eher heidnische Religion spielt ansatzweise schon eine Rolle - da erwarte ich, dass diese in den folgenden Bänden stärker vertreten sein wird.

Auch wenn ich die Geschichte in den Bereich der Fantasy stecken würde, haben nicht-Fantasy-Leser mit Spaß an spannenden Geschichten sicher auch ihre Freude daran. Klare Leseempfehlung. ( )

Magnificent. This isn't light and fluffy - there's depth to it, and grim and gory bits, and some very emotional scenes. But none of the grim bits are pasted on; they all fit the story, which sweeps you along in a weird and wonderful saga of lost heirs, ancient rulership, calling the gods back to the human world, and a boy growing up through all that. I wish I could see the sand paintings, they're glorious from the descriptions. And I finished it and immediately began the next book - I want to know where this goes! There are a few oddities - for instance, I know where the Burren is, on the west coast of Ireland. So when they talk about Ilyria being to the west...there's nothing west of the Burren but the sea (it pretty much runs to the Cliffs of Moher), and eventually North America (I don't think it's far enough north to hit Iceland or Greenland). Every time they talked about looking to the West, this question would come up and distract me. And I was similarly distracted, and annoyed, by the interjections from the "adult" - every once in a while, the story would shift from present view (what's happening to the boy now) to his adult self considering how this relates to later events and his later perceptions. I don't _care_ about those yet, let them happen when they happen. ( )

Really very good, despite not quite being my usual fare. Fairly standard sort of pig-boy start, but the with the unusual inclusion of artistic ability, being a companion for a vocal storyteller. The setting is the west coast of County Claire in Ireland, in some pseudo Iron Age times. Metal work of any kind exists but is rare and precious. Most villagers live hard subsistence lives, hand to mouth in small tribes and clans. Religion and superstition rule widespread.

Our hero Aengus lives with his drunken father, in a small village. The father works off his debts and villagers aren't too concerned. However when they visit a small local town, he is only saved from a savage beating by the intervention of Bruchan, who buys Aengus off him as an indentured servant for the wild tribes who follow the Wolf god. Bruchan is a storyteller too, and Aengus' native artistic talent starts to reveal his unexpected heritage. However it's a fierce time, and the factions within the Wolf clan lead to violence Aengus needs more than just paint to help his new family survive.

I really enjoyed this. The setting of the dramatic broken lands and islands of the Burren was great. Some of the more mystic inclusions seem a bit odd. I don't knwo why the pirates have to be dwarves, nothing they do seems to add to their non-human status. The characters work well and the action fast paced but controlled. I'm always a little dubious about a pigboy start and some of the scenes with the interventionist gods were a little bit odd but generally the engaging writing made up for it. THere's a few distracting instances of foreshadowing, some of which seem to predict events that turn-up in later books (or not at all?) but generally well written.

First of a trilogy it ends well enough on it's own, but distinctly leaves you wanting to read more to find out what happens. ( )

I found a number of things in this book distract, that I probably wouldn't have been as bothered by a few years ago but now served to take me out of the story a bit more than I would have liked. At the forefront is the shortage of female voices. I just wish that it wasn't so blatant and alienating. I also didn't feel particularly fond of any of the characters. Intended wisdom comes across as smugness, courage as apathy, and cockiness as abrasiveness.
I like a few of the unique elements in the plot - for example, painting as a special skill with powers is interesting - but overall it was fairly standard fare, with nothing for me to particularly differentiate it from other fantasy books that I have more of an affinity for.