THE FEAST

Tells the story of three men who vie for the venerated title of Champion of Conchobor, trading wit and swordplay in their competition, while visitors from the underworld threaten the proceedings

Historical storyteller Eickhoff turns out tight, compellingly grand novels, most recently the story of C-chulainn, the greatest hero of Irish literature (The Raid, 1997), and, with coauthor Leonard C. Lewis, a masterful retelling of the life of Big Jim Bowie (Bowie, 1998). Now he returns to the Boy-Warrior C-chulainn and picks up where The Raid left off. Like The Iliad and The Odyssey, The Raid and The Feast spring from bardic oral traditions dating back to 800 b.c., the Irish sagas having later been transcribed by monks. Eickhoff's recensions of the Ulster Cycle are taken from an 11th-century transcription containing the main stories of the cycle, including ``Cattle Raid of Cooley'' and ``Bricriu's Feast'' and telling of Iron Age Celtic culture as C-chulainn's warriors fight for their rightful land. The best-known tales (many were lost) are about C-chulainn's father, Conchobar, while others bear hints of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; the trickster Bricriu echoes the Norse trickster Loki. Eickhoff's translation from a nearly dead language offers a window into the past and reveals to Ireland today the values of its progenitors. Coming clearly through Eickhoffs his rolling periods is a raw sensuality suggesting that Irishmen in the dim past, like those today, could talk up a fearfully heady storm of words streaming with nose-catching rose-oil, all the while allowing for plenty of tugging and tumbling into rumpled sheets. A fine retelling of an ancient Irish saga. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Continuing his expansive retelling of the ancient Irish epic of Cuchulainn begun in The Raid (Forge, 1997), Eickhoff spotlights the swashbuckling and humorous tale of the feast of Fled Bricriu, god of mischief. Traversing between this and the "otherworld," three of Ireland's great mythic heroes enter into a battle of wits, swords, and elements to be named Champion of Conchobor of Nessa's realm in Ulster and win the accompanying privileges. As the competition unfolds, Bricriu sends them on a rollicking quest. What Eickhoff's modern retelling loses in poetic form it more than makes up for in colorful, lively prose, complete with a glossary that does much to enhance understanding of the historical context. Predating Sir Gaiwain and the Green Knight, this portion of the epic Ulster Cycle has been known since the eighth century. Readers of mythology and lovers of the richness that is Irish literature will find this modern retelling accessible and most entertaining.ASusan Gene Clifford, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The current vogue for all things Celtic has spurred interest in the ancient mythological figures and tales of Ireland. Iron Age Celtic material was recorded in writing many hundreds of years later by Celtic monks who were not far removed from the values and ideals of their ancestors. Eickhoff, who previously recast the great epic Tain bo Cuailnge as the novel The Raid, now turns his attention to the Fled Bricrend, the feast of Bricriu. A sharp-tongued man, Bricriu has been banished from the high king's court for sowing dissension among the warriors. To retaliate, Bricriu stages a great feast, then sets the greatest warriors of Ulster, including the awesomely powerful Cuchulain, to arguing about who gets the "hero's portion," the greatest honor of any feast. Those looking for sentimental Irishness should go elsewhere, for there's plenty of magic and loads of sex in this sprawling, bawdy entertainment. Patricia Monaghan