The Amber Seeker
The Amber Seeker is the second volume of the Stone Stories. It explores the great journey from Pytheas' own point of view, from his departure from Massalia, through his adventures around the west and north of Britain, up into the Arctic and across to the Baltic. It takes the form of a letter that Pytheas is writing. He thinks 'the epistle of Pytheas' has a ring to it, but in fact it is a kind of confessional statement that gives both a blow-by-blow account of his adventures and also his own thoughts, feelings and explanations for his actions.
There can be no doubt that there were great differences between the culture Pytheas came from - the patriarchal Greek empire - and the cultures he encountered on the shores of the Atlantic ocean and the Baltic sea, and therefore his interpretation differs of some of the events presented from a different perspective in the first volume.
The reviewers seem to have enjoyed it. Alan Massie said in the Scotsman, ‘Marries great storytelling and convincing research … enthralling.’ Alastair Mabbott in the Sunday Herald, said, ‘Haggith’s woman’s-eye view of the Iron Age feels fresh and distinctive.’ The Dundee Courier review said, ‘Compelling … The story is visceral and visual, crafted with a lyrical prose.’
It was the Editor’s Choice in the Historical Novels Review: ‘A gripping, haunting and, at times, visceral novel… Lyrical and poetic prose, the author has created a convincing and entirely believable world… One of the best books I have read so far this
year,’ said Penny Ingham,
I hope those who enjoyed The Walrus Mutterer will find much to interest them in Pytheas' own account of events.
£8.99