The Druid

Warrior Druid of Britain, Book 1

By: Steven A. McKay

Narrated by: Nick Denton

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Northern Britain, AD430

A land in turmoil. A village ablaze. A king’s daughter abducted.

In the aftermath of a surprise attack Dun Buic lies in smoking ruins and many innocent villagers are dead. As the survivors try to make sense of the night’s events the giant warrior-druid, Bellicus, is tasked with hunting down the raiders and thwarting their dark purpose.

With years of training in the old ways, two war-dogs at his side, and unsurpassed skill with a longsword, Bellicus’s quest will take him on a perilous journey through lands still struggling to cope with the departure of the Roman legions.

Meanwhile, amongst her brutal captors the little princess Catia finds an unlikely ally, but even he may not be able to avert the terrible fate King Hengist has in store for her.

This, the first volume in a stunning new series from the bestselling author of Wolf’s Head, explores the rich folklore and culture of post-Roman Britain, where blood-sacrifice, superstition, and warfare were as much a part of everyday life as love, laughter and song.

As Saxon invaders and the new Christian religion seek to mold the country for their own ends one man will change the course of Britain’s history forever....

....the Druid.

"Steven A. McKay's archetypal villains and heroes step vividly into the book from a mist-veiled past of legend to battle for the life of a princess and the fate of Britain. Dark age adventure at its gripping best." (Matthew Harffy, author of The Bernicia Chronicles)

©2018 Steven Alaric McKay (P)2019 Steven Alaric McKay

Excellently done all around!

Im extremely pleased with the realistic feel and awe inspiring descriptions of the atmospheric intensity of the "scenes"! Can't wait for the 2nd book!

Can it get any better?

What a fantastic start to what promises to be an engaging series. Having read, and enjoyed, all of Steven McKay’s previous works, I did wonder if he could match the Forest Lord Series. No worries! With believable characters, the attention to detail, the right mix of action and well thought out plot, brings this together for a fabulous tale of Druids and old beliefs in post Roman Britain. I enjoyed the narration, it was very well read, and I am not easily enamoured of most readers, but Nick did a good job. I am excitedly awaiting book 2

Dire reading

Unfortunately I was unable to get past the first few pages as the narrator was so poor. He seems unable to pronounce the letter L (came out as W) and other words were mangled. Amateurish at best

Don't mess with this Druid!

Just listened to THE DRUID audiobook and loved it. Nick Denton’s narration is a treat, as he has fun with a wide range of accents as Bellicus journeys from Scotland to southern Briton and meets the Saxons. I listened to the 9hr audiobook in 4 days and it flew by. I had already bought the Druid ebook last year when it came out, but I’ve been waiting for the audiobook and it was well worth the wait. Starting with the concept that the druids fled north of Hadrian’s Wall to escape Roman christianity, the story gets going straight away as Bellicus must rescue King Coroticus’s daughter Catia from Saxon raiders. The story, like McKays other books in the Forest Lord series, are inventive and filled with detailed characters. An outstanding adventure through post-Roman Briton and I’m looking forward to the next book. Recommended.

Great Story

This is the 1st book I have read by Steven McKay, and have now downloaded other books. Great story that kept you interested throughout, looking forward to the next instalment.

Please finish book 2!!!

Great story! It had me hooked from the start. I can't wait for the next one.

Not very good

I really didn't enjoy this, indeed I couldn't actually finish it. Therer were quite a few historical problems with it, for example they didn't really have royalty, like kings, princesses and queens, no ladies in waiting and no chargers. The plot is weak, the characters shallow and the writing is rather sexist. The narrator has a strange, breathy style which detracts from it as well. Not a good combination at all.

A very well read book

I enjoyed reading the book but found pleasure of hearing read, Nick does the book justice and I hope he does other that follow. For me the best part is getting the young girl back from the kidnappers, and the fact the head of the order is called Merlin rather than a person who existed.

Enjoyable adventure

Old world post Roman period adventure. Story enjoyable but a bit week, I was glad when it finished as credibility was becoming stretched. Narrator was engaging with a range of characters to voice.

Great story, awful accents.

This is a great story to listen to, it has everything we’ve come to expect from a great writer like Steven McKay. Unfortunately the narration lets this audiobook down. The narrator murders the Scottish accent, to the point where I cringe whenever he attempts it - which is a lot. And then all the Saxons speak like Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently too. It takes away from the story as I can concentrate on nothing else!