Recently reminded of The Eagle of the Ninth I didn't have a copy to hand, so decided to re-read this instead. It's definitely aimed very much at children, and is quite a small book, but it's very moving, and very evocative of a time long ago and very alien to our own. The story goes back earlier still than the Romans and tells of the horse lords of the Iceni. Good stuff. ( )

Even though Rosemary Sutcliff is known for her young adult fiction, adults shouldn't pass this one up. This is the story of Lubrin Dhu, the youngest son of the chieftain of the Iceni of the Chalk Hills - a horse tribe. When the Iceni are conquered by another horse tribe, the Attrabates, young Lubrin Dhu is left in charge of what remains of his people. How Lubrin, through responsibility, self-sacrifice, and joining together art and spirit , manages to win the freedom of his people, is the very heart of this story. Sutcliff brings to life through her imagination the Iron Age people of Britain and how the famous White Horse of Uffington may have been created, still seen today carved into the chalk hills of Great Britain.

Loved it, loved the ending, though not your typical one by today's standards. ( )

This story is set in prehistoric Britain and was inspired by an ancient white horse sculpture cut into a chalk hillside. The Iceni, a tribe living in that area, is conquered by invaders. The tribe's chief is killed and the people enslaved, so the chief's son (who has a fascination with all things artistic) offers to sculpt a horse into the hillside as a testament to the power of their conquerors, in exchange for the freedom of what is left of his people.

It's been awhile since I've read this book so the details might be rather foggy. The biggest thing I remember about it is that I absolutely, categorically, emphatically hated the ending. The book has Sutcliff's signature prose that is simply excellent, but even that couldn't make up for the disappointment. I think it is a book that will mainly be of interest to hardcore Sutcliff fans. ( )