Book Review: “Stonehenge” by Bernard Cornwell

I recently wrote that I was listening to this book, an example of the historical fiction that is a guilty pleasure, so I thought I would review it for all y'alls...

Set in prehistoric Britain, more than 4000 year ago, this book follows several tribes as they search for religious fulfillment at the hands of their various gods. Names such as Saban and Orena, struggle as fictional characters living their lives in the wilds of the British Isles, struggling with their view of the gods which control everything from the rise of the sun and different seasons to the amount of wild animals their clans hunters will be able to find. It is the effort to please these gods and influence them in some way that leads to the creation of a giant stone temple, that we commonly call Stonehenge now.

As historical fiction books go, this one has a lot going for it. Through his writing, Cornwell espouses a theory about the how’s, when’s and whys of this creation. After the end of the story, he includes a chapter that details much of what is known, not known and conjectured about this monument to the gods. Additionally he includes just enough of what I like to call “Neanderthal Porn” to make it interesting yet not cross into the “Neanderthal Romantic Novel” format of a Jane Auel or Sue Harrison. Sorry but I do not have to have every sexual encounter detailed in order to understand the importance of continuation of the species.

And now a couple of notes on the audio book process. I have come to understand no after listening to several audio books, that the person doing the reading provides a great deal of influence over the enjoyment of a book. When one reads, we do so in our own voice but these audio book actors (I guess that is what they are) are fleshing out the story in their own way. When I listened to Bryson read a couple of his books, it added to the enjoyment. Bernard Cornwell does not read this book but an actor with a bit of a British accent does and this made the conversations more believable for me. This will come up again when I review my next book and I will talk more about it then

So, in my initial use of the new Penguin Rating Scale, I give this book 3 Penguins…

Yes, I did finish it and found at times wishing it was going to continue, yes, I was entertained. A couple of things go right here - interesting subject I did not know much about, good voice of the reader made it more believable, and I like historical fiction, especially when it provides plausible historical context. I would not hesitate to recommend it to others who let it be known they enjoy historical fiction too.