Calgaich the Swordsman

by Gordon D. Shirreffs

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872166058
• ISBN13: 9780872166059
• Release Date: March 1980
• Publisher: Playboy Press
• Length: 415 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great Read -

This book follows the tale of Calgaich, an exiled cheiftan of the Novantae Celtic tribe in ancient Britain. He is captured by the Romans, and eventually becomes a hero of the Colosuem - even attaining Roman citizenship. It is a lusty story, with some fairly graphic sex scenes, that gives a great deal of detail of what everyday Roman life must have been like. Quite a fun read that has more than a few similiarities to the blockbuster hit 'Gladiator'.

Nice 'Historic' fiction

This book follows the tale of Calgaich, an exiled cheiftan of the Novantae Celtic tribe in ancient Britain. He is captured by the Romans, and eventually becomes a hero of the Colosuem - even attaining Roman citizenship. It is a lusty story, with some fairly graphic sex scenes, that gives a great deal of detail of what everyday Roman life must have been like. Quite a fun read!

History or Fantasy?

This book paralells the life of a great Celtic warrior that beats back the Romans near Hadrian's wall in Britain separating Roman Britain from the wilder regions to the north. It's an excellant tale and like most of it's kind the history is greatly embellished with fantastical details. Calgaich is captured by the Romans here and taken to Rome to fight in the gladatorial arena. He is a madman in battle, becoming "fey" and defeats all his opponents gaining the admiration and devotion of the common Roman people. Eventually he becomes a Roman citizen and returns to his native land. I can't recall the source, but in college while studying ancient cultures, I ran across an excerpt written by a Roman general describing the wild northern tribes of Britain and the way they struck fear into the hearts of the Roman soldiers in battle. In this account there is an excerpt about Calgaich, a great leader of these peoples whom the Romans were never able to defeat, but through trickery and treachery were able to capture and take back to Rome where through the arena he became a citizen of the empire. Even if you don't know that the history behind this story is true it's an epic tale that will thrill you much like and possibly even more than Gladiator the movie. I know it's out of print, but this book is a RARE treasure that is deifinitely worth the seach for.