THE OAK ABOVE THE KINGS

Another of Kennealy-Morrison's (previously billed simply as Kennealy) Keltiad yarns and the second installment of a trilogy, the Tales of Arthur (begun with The Hawk's Gray Feather, not reviewed). The idea is that the Danaans left Ireland in the fifth century in a fleet of spaceships led by Saint Brendan the Astrogator, to found the space empire of Keltia. Not surprisingly, Keltia's history resembles reworked stories from the age of Celtic myth. Arthur's story is narrated by the bard Taliesin; Arthur's sister, whom he will marry for reasons of state, and whom he loathes, is Gweniver. Together they lead the Counterinsurgency against the evil Theocracy of the powerful druid-wizard Edeyrn. Intriguing stuff—if you can tolerate the author's ghastly blend of pseudoscience, fantasy, myth, gnarled prose, absurd plotting, and general air of self-importance.