Songwoman (Skin #2) by Ilka Tampke
22 November 2018 
Songwoman is the sequel to Skin and based on historical events of the time is a story that is absolutely fascinating to read and rich with description. I really enjoyed this although I would point out that this isn’t a fantasy novel which is more often than not the type of book I review on here. There is of course an element of mysticism, talk of Journeymen/women and the Mothers and the Isle of Albion seemed to be almost bewitched, at least outsiders seemed to view it in that way – but, at the end of the day, mist rising from a stream in a valley isn’t dragon’s breath and swords and sorcery are not contained within these pages.
Songwoman starts out more or less a year after the conclusion of Skin. I don’t think it’s essential to read the first book as I think this reads as a self contained and gripping historical novel however reading Skin will definitely give you a greater understanding of Ailia and the events from her past that haunt her still. If you haven’t read the first but intend to do so then perhaps stop reading this review as it may contain spoilers.
The story here follows a War King known as Caradog. Caradog continues the rebel movement against the Roman invasion and Ailia, after having spent a year of self imposed exile in the wilds makes her way to his Welsh camp to aid his efforts by bringing the support of the Mothers. The Romans are determined to eliminate any remaining hopes of thwarting their rule and send in a new and ruthless Roman General, Scapula. The events depicted in Songwoman are a fictional account of what took place and the author mentions that the timeline has been altered in order to accommodate the story but otherwise many of the characters depicted played a real role in the history of Albion.
Ailia doesn’t find quite the welcome at the King’s camp that she anticipated. Caradog’s own Journeyman, Prydd, is a funny onion – by which I mean he seems to have his own agenda and part of that includes reducing Ailia’s role to little more than that of a figurehead. Ailia has her work cut out to do anything useful but eventually her persistence pays off and she finds Caradog relying more and more on her help and advice. Another character from the camp who plays a vital role in Ailia’s story is Rhain, Songman of Caradog. He helps Ailia to focus and to find her true goal. By teaching her the nature and role of ‘song’ Ailia finds a way to keep the Mothers and the spirit of Albion alive and strong.
In terms of the characters. I guess you could say there is an element of sadness almost to many of them but then living with war and brutality for so many years, seeing the things you value stamped into the mud, well, it has a toll. Caradog is an enigmatic leader but at the same time suffers from what can only be described as depression and self doubt. Why does he persist in battle, are his own ambitions what he really cares about, why keep fighting with the amount of lives lost when a truce can be formed? Ailia herself condemns herself for the events in book 1 although realistically she can’t truly be blamed. Her guilt and fear of detection come across strongly. She feels like a lonely character but at the same time she has determination and grit, particularly when she realises the bitter irony of the role she must eventually play.
If you know anything about Roman history and particularly in relation to Albion then you’ll no doubt be aware of the conclusion but regardless of whether or not you guess the outcome for the characters involved I would still recommend reading this and I would also suggest not trying to second guess the outcome as I failed quite miserably in my attempt to do so. The detail about the way of life, the battles, the countryside, the struggles, they’re so well written. For me, the most fascinating aspect of the book was reading of the clashes, the treachery and the eventual outcome. Ailia and Caradog’s roles almost played second fiddle to that because the events here are so well portrayed and clearly well researched.
I’m not going to go into too much more detail. I think if you enjoy reading historical novels, if you have a love of Roman history, if you enjoy reading of events that are depicted vividly and imaginatively, if you would enjoy reading a fictionalised story of real characters who fought with strength and passion for a world that they felt a great connection to then this could be just what you’re looking for. It’s an impressive piece of work to say the least.
I don’t really have any criticisms to be honest. As mentioned above this isn’t really a fantasy novel although there are spiritual type moments. I think the writing is evocative, the descriptions made the world and characters pop off the page and maybe some readers might find this slows down the plot a little but I loved it.
I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Skin by Ilka Tampke
Just finished reading Skin by Ilka Tampke which is a very unusual and intriguing book.
The story gets off to an immediate and rather gory start – so be warned on that front. Set in Iron Age Britain around AD 43. Britain is poised on the brink of Roman invasion and in the village of Caer Cad the locals look to their ancient rituals in order to guide them.
The people of this age were superstitious, they lived by ritual and believed in the sacred laws of nature. They are governed by laws of skin whereby a mother passes her skin down to her children (not literally you understand!). The skin to which a person is born rules their future, enables them to learn and to marry and pass on their stories to future generations. The main character, Ailia, was abandoned at birth and therefore her skin is unknown. As such she lives outside of the tribe – she cannot marry or learn, not even to swim. Fortunately she was taken under the wing of the Cookmother and serves the Tribesqueen and she has already been fortunate enough to survive the clutches of death twice for it seems that the ancient Mothers may have use for her.
I don’t want to give away too much about the plot as to be honest the plot isn’t the strongest part of the story. Not that it’s weak, just it’s not the show stealer. For me, the writing and the descriptions of life are what chiefly make this novel so captivating. It’s fairly light on fantasy (at the moment at least) and I would say that the more fantastical elements of the story revolve around the druids of the time, the use of herbs and knowledge of the land.
As I said above the story gets off to a fascinating, if slightly gory start. The descriptions of village life, what they eat, how they live and the rituals they undertake were really captivating and all written in a simple and lovely style. I haven’t the first notion as to whether this is historically correct or bears any semblance of real lifestyles during that period but it certainly reads like a well researched and creative account of the time and I found it just hooked me completely.
The main character is Ailia. We are introduced to her in her early years and given a quick account that brings us up to date when she’s approximately 14 years old. Ailia, in spite of her poor start in life has led a relatively sheltered life under the protection of the Tribesqueen however she feels greatly the lack of her own knowledge and in fact she can’t even be taught to swim. Ailia is headstrong however, she has the gift of healing and has caught the eye of the ancient mothers – she longs to be a journeywoman but her lack of skin prohibits this. I liked Ailia although I confess she doesn’t always make the wisest choices – given her age I guess you could forgive her a little in that respect as she is only very young by our standards when she is given such a large burden to bear. She’s going to go down paths that should not be open to her and whether or not this will work out well remains in the balance.
We have a number of other characters. Heka, a bitter woman who plagues the life out of Ailia relentlessly. Ruther – who would take her for his wife and cares not for her lack of skin and then we have the mysterious Taliesin who catches the eye and heart of Ailia.
This is a very entertaining read with secrets waiting to be revealed and plot twists that I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed seeing the strong roles that the women of the age played and I thought watching these tribespeople as they stand on the brink of change made for compelling reading.
In terms of criticisms – nothing really to bring the book down. I thought the start of the book was probably the strongest part of the novel although it ends on a good note with the prospect of more good reading to come.
I received a copy of Skin from the Publishers through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
Books and travelling with Lynn 