I've had a long time interest in dark ages Britain and Ireland, and this book scratches that itch with a compelling conceit, that of a fictionalized Byzantine travelogue of those "dark isles". The travelers cover all quarters, encountering British Celts (both in the kingdoms of southwestern Britain and and in what is now southern Scotland and Wales), Irish & Dal Riadan Gaels, Pictish tribes, and Saxon warlords. They even show up in Din Eidyn (Edinburgh) in time to accompany the Gododdin on their fatal march to battle with the Saxons at Catraeth (as chronicled in the ancient poem Y Gododdin). The travellers also meet some famous saints and bards (hello, Taliesin) and meet many dangers on their rough journey. The fictionalized format makes for livelier reading than most dark age histories, and makes for good fodder for a historically based rpg campaign (maybe King Arthur Pendragon or Ars Magica?). ( )

This was an interesting way to impart dry historical data.

Simon Young, a Celtic and Dark Ages historian, created a fictional Byzantine travelogue, narrated by an adviser to the Emperor. The Emperor is always "planning" for the eventual reconquering of the barbaric isles of Britain and this travelogue is from a previous, fateful expedition. The narrator makes many "helpful" comments, giving insight into both the actual period and various misconceptions that other peoples had about England, of the time.

The journal entries refer to the names of places at the time, but footnotes clarify which are still existing places. Copious footnotes and end-notes provide additional details.

Overall, I enjoyed this approach and I now intend to seek out some other works by Young, just because of how he wrote this one.

Fun, for fans of the time and place. ( )

Interesting, well-researched overview of life in the British Isles in the 6th century, fictionalized as a guide for travelers from Byzantium. Some of the main text is extrapolated beyond the evidence specifically available for the British Isles, but is not beyond the bounds of plausibility, is based on actual research (e.g. continental and/or later practices), and is flagged as such in the endnotes. ( )

I was in the mood for some light non-fiction and when I saw this on the library shelf I thought it would fit the bill. It is definitely light and the concept had promise but the end result was disappointing.

The author describes this as fictionalised history ... not historical fiction and the idea is that a scholar in Byzantium is transcribing the log book of an expedition to the British Isles with the idea of the Emperor reclaiming Britain as part of the empire. The time is 100 years after the Romans withdrew the legions and Britain is shown as a barbaric and dangerous place to be. OK the author does base his account on some archaeological and historical accounts but he seems to have chosen the more outrageous possibilities and one by one the members of the expedition meet their end until only the log is left to return to Byzantium.

I guess Simon Young's intention was to present his information in a quirky and interesting form but for me it doesn't quite deliver. Not totally bad but not a book I would ever want to re-read and this one doesn't make me interested in finding out whether he has written anything else. The notes and sources do provide some ideas for further reading though. ( )