history – Page 5 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

Novel Addiction review: “Powerful and thrilling … not to be taken lightly”

FIVE out of FIVE … the history was accurately done, the journey is amazing, and Meagan rose to each occasion she was thrown into.— Amanda T, Novel Addiction

The following is a review of Eclipsed by Shadow by Amanda T of the book blog, Novel Addiction:

Novel Addiction | Amanda T (Morning Glow)

“Eclipsed By Shadow” is actually Book One in a trilogy, titled The Legend of the Great Horse. And holy cow, I can definitely see why this needs to be a trilogy. Quite a lot of interesting plot, way too much to be contained in one book.

Disclaimer: I received this book, and this book only, in exchange for a review. The book was posted on the Member Giveaways section, part of Librarything.com‘s Early Reviewers program.

Type: YA fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy/Magical

From the back of the book: “Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of an exciting new trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, a journey through the ages when horses were everyday companions in work, war, sport and spectacle. The story is told through the eyes of a young woman, a horse-crazy teenager traveling through time with a knowledge of 21st Century horsemanship as her only defense.”

Well, wow, the back of the book really doesn’t do this series justice. It makes the whole story sound flippant and childish, even. But really, I found this book to be far more powerful than the blurb. Yes, we do follow a young girl, she’s 15 through most of the book), and yes, she does travel through time, but these aren’t easy things Meagan is dealing with. And despite the young age of the main character, I’m not sure I would give this book to a fifteen year old.. unless he or she was very mature. There are definitely some harsh moments in “Eclipsed by Shadow.” Not to give too much away, but death, rape, slavery, beatings, etc, are all issues Meagan has to see and live in fear of. All this lends to a very powerful and thrilling tale, definitely, but this book should definitely not be taken lightly.

As mentioned, Meagan does travel through time, in this book alone visiting several periods through History, and I’m sure even more in the sequels. As a bit of a History nerd, I was in love with the accurate details during each time period. A lot of research went into the writing of this trilogy, and I think the author should definitely be commended for it. The language was well done – Meagan didn’t just understand everyone she met. In fact, her first several stops on the way, no one spo[ke] English, and she had to find some way to get by without knowing the language. The settings seemed perfectly done, and even the people and their actions fit each time period perfectly.

You could also tell this book was written by a horse lover, knowledge of the breeds, rituals, and the connection one feels to horses is obvious throughout. I rode myself for several years (missing it almost every day), and I was amazed at the details that were mentioned. Even something as simple (or so most people would believe) as grooming is mentioned in perfect detail, with each type of brush and the order. It may seem a little information-heavy, but I think it helps to show how attached and connected Meagan feels to the great beasts.

I’ll be honest, when the “Legend of the Great Horse” was told to Meagan in the beginning, I thought it was a little cheesy. In fact, several of the beginning chapters weren’t really all that amazing. The prose and descriptions were well done, but it wasn’t horribly interesting… I actually thought I’d get aggravated with Meagan quickly. But once Meagan’s real journey began, I was positively enthralled. Meagan definitely showed her true colors, her spirit and her willingness to fight for herself and those she cared about.

I’m going to give “Eclipsed By Shadow” a FIVE out of FIVE. I truly think this book deserves such a good rating – the History was accurately done, even down the smallest detail, the journey is amazing, and Meagan really rose to each occasion she was thrown into. I do hope to find the rest of this series and continue reading them, and I hope everyone checks out “Eclipsed By Shadow” by John Royce.

» See original review online

Eclipsed by Shadow is the first book of the award-winning fiction trilogy, The Legend of the Great Horse, a journey through history–on horseback!

The story follows the time-travel adventure of a modern horsewoman lost in the distant past. The title has won multiple national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

Further information about this unique and imaginative ‘creative non-fiction’ novel can be found at TheGreatHorse.com.

Horses and the Dark Ages of Man

Horses may have pulled and carried humanity up the long ascent from primitive cultures, but it wasn’t a straight line. Human societies have been subject to cycles of falling away from civilized life.

“Dark age” describes the lack of historical records from these periods, such as during the Bronze Age collapse about 1200 BC, which ended the Mycenaean culture and extinguished literacy for several centuries.

The most recent “dark age” of Western culture was the approximately 1000 years after the collapse of ancient Rome, or the Middle Ages. The wonders of ancient Rome included heated public Baths, running water and vast entertainments — the Middle Ages were marked with mud roads, illiteracy, poverty and disease.

What does this have to do with horses?

Horsemanship has been a slow road of progress from brutal subjugation to humane partnership. Understanding the horse, an excitable prey animal, has been a major exercise in empathy for human culture.

A new idea of riding was discovered by the ancient Greeks we now call dressage, which emphasizes the cooperation of the horse rather than forced submission. Dressage develops a harmonious partnership with the horse and provides greater control, balance and athleticism.

This civilized form of riding was lost during the Middle Ages; as humans reverted to illiteracy and brutality their riding became brutal as well.

It’s interesting to note that dressage was one of the earliest classical arts to be reborn in the European Renaissance. The return of humane horsemanship to the world coincided with the birth of the modern era in about the 17th century — not so long ago.

In a sense, good horsemanship is a celebration of empathy, and perhaps a barometer of its presence. Our relationship with the horse started before recorded history, but the goal of humane partnership as practiced today is only a few centuries old!

“The Legend of the Great Horse” is not about horses

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is filled with horses galloping through history — but the story is not about horses. It is about us: for it is ourselves we find in horses, for better or worse.

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is filled with horses galloping through history — but the story is not only about horses. It is about us.

Horses are strange and fascinating creatures, but it their adaptation to our endeavors that bring them into our world. And of course, it is humans who take the prize for strangeness.

It is humanity that put armies of thundering, gleaming chariots in the service of ancient empires … and we ourselves who built the Circuses of Rome to race those chariots in the madness of the world’s first major spectator sport. We were the ones who decked our mounts with leather, armor and gold, charged them into battle, elevated our partnership into art and were inspired by their beauty and power.

We have been entertained and healed and recreated by the horse … we have shared in his speed and strength. Yet Nature remains Nature, brought higher by our good works or brought to destruction by our brutality; the horse remains a horse, always. It is ourselves we find in horses, for better or worse.

History may be seen as a record of bad ideas improved upon, then forgotten, and relearned again. Mankind has suffered countless dark ages, and it is ourselves who slowly reclaim the good ideas of the past; and then forget why. The horse has been only our silent witness, an innocent participant in man’s follies, waiting patiently for us to learn and remember once more.

On the Trail of History

If history may be said to be the memory of the human race, it seems subject to many of the same failings of accuracy and interpretation. We see this even in our most recent history: for example a national self-image embraced by some which holds America to be a militaristic warrior-race which “won” WWII, rather than the gentler truth that we were beloved as the good guys who did not continue war-making but instead helped rebuild Europe.

If even recent incidents can be mis-interpreted (or mal-interpreted), can events further in the past can be accurate and valuable?

An answer is in corroborative evidence that points to explanation, such as archaeological remains that support period documentation. Art is a hugely valuable window into the heart of a culture. Diaries, journals, new items, accounting records—there are many forms of documentation that can lend credence to historical truth.

Without honest inquiry none of this matters but, even with this impulse, how can one find relevance to our own experience? Is it relevant, say, that as our Roman forebears grew prosperous, a merchant class rose that militarized the culture, formed corporations to buy up land in Italy and dispossessed the working class farmers, replacing the food crops with vineyards which led to starvation and the grain dole and the creation of the infamous masses?

These things happened … do they matter today? If so, how to talk of this in a corporate world with a focus that leaves such history uncovered? Is it necessary to careen from disaster to disaster as humanity has done for millennia, or can we use history to connect the dots and create a better world for all of us?