THE GREENER SHORE

[A 'mini' book review by Byron LeBeau]

This is the latest historical novel by Morgan Llywelyn, author of THE LION OF IRELAND; The Legend of Brian Boru. It is a must read for anyone interested in Celtic mythology, a glimpse into the world of the TUATHA DE DANAAN, which itself is a web page on this very website, located at:

http://inspectorblebeau.pbwiki.com/TUATHA%20DE%20DANAAN

Yet ~~ it is much more than simply a look into the misty past of Celtic roots, but an insight into all the butchery that war can muster up, in the person of one, Gaius Julius Caesar, pictured as the tyrant who uprooted so many people of ancient Gaul (present day France and several other countries of Western Europe.) It gives one an insight into the positive side of ancient druids through the eyes of one, Ainvar, and his family of druids that had to seek a greener shore, being uprooted themselves by the aforementioned Caesar, and how they found refuge in their new home – Hibernia (present day Ireland.)

And it is so much more than just a historical novel, since through the eyes of a skilled author, one can begin to see the patterns of real life, and have people reflect on real enemies, or who they perceive as real enemies, so that by the end of this “novel,” even Ainvar (AYN-var) begins to see truth revealed in a new and surprising manner. It led the inspector to write the following observation:

All that seems black may not be as dark through & through…while all that seems white may not be ‘true blue.’ Discernment is necessary in all things to catch the larger vision~ and if we “test any spirit” ~ let it be our own dark prejudicial selves – so as to shine a focused light on the whole tapestry before one renders judgments due! [Byron LeBeau]

Morgan weaves into her tale the dawn of pre-history and a lingering truth behind the dreaded Fomorians, who worshipped Baal as a fire god, and used Hibernia to capture sacrifice. The Fir Bolg had to repel them, even to the building of vast stone fortresses on the western coast (of Ireland.) After this, they had to oust the Tuatha de Danaan (TOO-ah deh DAN-uhn.) Yet it took the Milesians (the men of Iron) to finally defeat the Tuatha de Danaan (the magic men of bronze,) and send them scurrying either to the underground or elsewhere.

The novel touched on many subjects (some very poignant and touching,) but it tried to show the Druids in a positive human light, who had gifts that could not be taught – only encouraged! To a Druid like Ainvar, the ‘OTHERworld’ waa real, and ‘THISworld’ was just part of a larger pattern, orchestrated by ‘THE SOURCE’ who has formed unseen patterns that all men must encounter and discover before finishing their respective journeys. Each lifetime may bring out a different painful lesson learned (like Ainvar’s acceptance of an avowed enemy – the Roman Probus,) who himself had seen the horrors of war, and the futility of being subjected to the ignorant ostensible monster, one, Gaius Julius Caesar, of whom the wise first wife of Ainvar, Briga (BREE-ga,) could only pity in her own innate wisdom…as her husband would eventually see through the actions of Probus, who wound up saving Ainvar’s son, even though he was his enemy….{{Maybe there is a truth here worth pondering in today’s troubled world!?!}}

As I gleaned from this novel: BLACK IS NOT ALWAYS BLACK – NOR WHITE ALWAYS WHITE! As one reads the lines, one cannot help but to see through the lines, and possibly being enriched thereby.

A MUST READ IN TODAY’S WORLD OF ENDLESS IGNORANT CAESARS WHO SIMPLY ARE BLIND TO WHAT WILL MAKE THE WORLD WHOLE AGAIN…the way it should be ~ as a greener shore of our potential future world!

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I know the above is a novel, yet the point about there being "good" druids shows a little balance to the historical portrayal of druids; perhaps there are such things as good druids, just like there were good giants of the Earth...like St. Christopher who - after being converted to Christianity, talked about Jesus and converted people to the faith while he was crossing them through a high and raging river; after all he was a giant - but he paid dearly for his faith-chit-chats by being martyred in 250 AD for converting people to Christianity.

Anyway, the historical record (as indicated by Julius Caesar while in Gaul (58-51 BC), massacering the Celts (some of whom were also giants,) showed that the Druids did, indeed, offer blood sacrificies - and their god was Baal. Caesar was doing these things as a "pay back" for what the Celts did in humiliating the Roman army way back in the 4th century BCE, so history becomes a kind of long-range feud between and among nations. [Consult Stephen Quayle's book, Genesis 6 GIANTS to see the historical record as indicated above...especially chapter six of PART ONE, page 178 for details of this.

I also put up a web page called TUATHA de DANAAN which also does not show the Druids in a good light, but as in all of life, there are always exceptions to rules...and I will leave it like that for now.