Moyra Caldecott: Guardians of the Tall Stones

[Ashlea]

I read some books, British in origin I believe, maybe 15 years ago. There were 3 books in the series, printed in one volume.

Main characters name was Kyra, she had a brother named Karne, other characters were Aquila and Fern.

Set in prehistory, religion based around standing stone circles, the religious center and school was at Stonehenge. Kyra travels there, partially by boat, after defeating an evil shaman/wizard figure in her home village. She falls in love with one of the heads of the shamans, called Lords of the Sun, and eventually becomes one herself.

These shamans communicate by some sort of out of body experience/travel, using the energy of the stones.

Anyone have a title for this? I read it when I was about 13, and it's really stuck with me despite the fact that I haven't seen the book in years.

 

[headpodd]

I believe that may be Guardians of The Tall Stones which was originally published as three separate books: The Tall Stones, The Temple of the Sun, Shadow on the Stones. I could be wrong though.

 

[Ashlea]

That's it! I just googled it and the author's name is Moyra Caldecott. I'm going to try to find it again - I hope it's as good as I remember. Anyone else read this?

 

[Halo]

Never read it, but it sounds quite good!

 

[Ashlea]

Well, finally found this on Amazon and bought it, and read it in just a few days.

First of all, it's always a bit odd re-reading books you read at 13, especially one that I remember so vividly. There are nuances that I caught that I'm not sure I caught the first time. Plus I have to wonder if my enjoyment then colors my enjoyment now, or I would like it just as much if I was reading it for the 1st time.

I don't know of many other books set in Prehistoric times, except Clan of the Cave Bear, and this isn't really anything like that. This is a society with a full developed, if pre-literate, culture, and is especially well-developed in the spirituality department. While they spend most of the time in their respective villages, they also communicate within the culture and with other cultures.

The book is heavily influenced by the new-agey stuff that was especially popular at the time it was written (late seventies) which dates it slightly but does not diminish my enjoyment of the story. The language itself was a little bumpy - probably could have used a better editor - but also not too obtrusive to overshadow the plot.

The shape of the work is itself traditional fantasy (3 novels, adolescents embarking on adventure in 1st novel), actually I would say this was the first "fantasy" series I ever read.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, will probably read it again at some point, but I would imagine it would not find much audience today. Would be very popular with wiccans and other people who have spiritual ties with nature. Someone used to more traditional fantasy might not like it so much.