History and fantasy come together in a novel that tells the story
of Patrick, a boy born to a noble family, kidnapped and sold into
slavery, and destined ultimately to become a great leader of men
and a saint. Lawhead uses the facts of Patrick's life as far as
they are known and leaps in with gusto to fill in the gaps and
create a character of immense stature. Those looking for preaching
and religious insights had better look elsewhere - this is a
warts-and-all account of a strong but fallible individual and the
way harsh times shaped his destiny. The story is told in the first
person, which gets the reader immediately into Patrick's mind. We
are in Britain in the early fifth century, long before Patrick
assumed the name by which we know him today. Indeed, he is to
undergo several metamorphoses before revealing himself as a prophet
and seer. As Succat, the wilful teenage son of a nobleman, he is
kidnapped by a band of marauding Irish raiders and shipped with
other victims across the sea. In Ireland he is sold into slavery
and has to endure the harshest of conditions under a vicious
master. But after a series of adventures he rises to power,
develops a humility not always apparent before, and goes on to lead
his people through the events for which he is best known. Lawhead
has blended fact and fiction into a seamless whole while creating a
character with whom it is easy to empathise. Patrick may be a
headstrong young man but you can't help but like and admire him.
The violence of those pagan and early Christian times is presented
in graphic detail, as is the setting of damp Welsh hillsides and
brooding Irish bogs. This is an enterprising story well imagined
and equally well told. (Kirkus UK)
Set in an era of brutal conflict and turmoil, this epic adventure
is the first novel to tell the full story of the slave who became a
saint, of the man who rose to the challenge of his time and changed
the course of history. In the summer of 405AD, Irish raiders attack
the western coast of Wales, carving a fiery swathe through the
peaceful countryside. Among the survivors who are rounded up and
taken back to Ireland is Succat: an impulsive sixteen-year-old son
of a powerful Roman family. Succat is sold as a slave and put to
work tending sheep. Repeated escape attempts lead to ever more
brutal and savage beatings, until he comes to the attention of
Cormac, a young novice druid. The two strike up an unlikely
friendship and, as Succat learns the ways of the Irish people, he
is given a new name by the druid: Patrick. With a new name begins
Patrick's new life: he is married, and returns to his home to claim
his inheritance, only to find his father's estate in ruins. So
begins a calamitous journey that will lead him to Tours, see him
join the Roman Legion as a soldier, suffer the the horrors of a
plague-filled Rome; and thence back to Ireland, where he will
embark on a mission for which his name will be remembered
throughout history. In the spirit of Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian
cycle, Patrick is a gritty and unsentimental portrait of one of the
Western world's great icons, featuring an accurate and compelling
rendering of the historical period - an era full of brutal
conflict, adventure, turmoil, and visionary inspiration.
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