The Raid

A Dramatic Retelling of Ireland's Epic Tale

Ulster Cycle (Volume 1)

Randy Lee Eickhoff

Forge Books

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Queen Maeve has declared war upon the province of Ulster in an effort to take possession of the Brown Bull of Cooley. Ultimately, this is an attempt to match the wealth of her husband, King Ailill of Connacht, who owns a magnificent white bull. Only Cuchulainn, a boy warrior, stands between Ulster and certain annihilation. Supported by the Morrigan, the goddess of war, he begins a reign of terror upon the Connacht warriors. In his heroic stand, the reader discovers the genesis of the determination of the Irish people, their will to stand alone against oppression.

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Book Excerpts

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Chapter 1
 
The Bed Argument
 
 
One night after the royal bed had been laid in Cruachaín of the Enchantments in the province of Connacht for the rulers Ailill and Maeve, known as “She-Who-Makes-Men-Drunk,” they began to argue while lying spent upon the richly embroidered pillows. In the comfortable rubble of their bedclothes Ailill nestled his head, damp from fervent lovemaking, upon Maeve’s lap, admiring her naked breasts above him.
“It is true, my love, what they say about things being good for a woman if she is the wife of a wealthy man,”

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Reviews

Praise for The Raid

"An amazing piece of work. This version has a marvelous ring of authenticity. This is what those wild pagans were really like-before the priests got to them! It's a really magical narrative-a turn-on in every sense of the word." -Thomas Fleming, author of The Officers' Wives

"A tremendous achievement. You don't have to be Irish to be entranced by Eickhoff's earthy magical rendering of one of the world's most ancient epics." -Jeanne Williams, Spur Award-winning author of Home Again.

Reviews from Goodreads

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tory  rated it  
Jul 30, 2007
An interesting take on an early Irish epic. I don't know anything about Irish history, so I can't comment on accuracy or translation, but it was certainly entertaining. Much more human and accessible than other European historic epics or Greek and Roman epics. Lots of sex, killing, and drinking. ...more
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About the Author

Randy Lee Eickhoff

Randy Lee Eickhoff holds several graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in Classics. He lives in El Paso, Texas where he works on novels, plays, poetry and translations in several languages. His translation of Ireland's national epic, the Ulster Cycle, is now a text used in schools in the United States and overseas. His novel And Not to Yield, based on the life of Wild Bill Hickok, was selected as the Best Novel of 2004 by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage. His nonfiction work on the Tigua Indians, Exiled, won the Southwest Book Award. He is also the author of Return to Ithaca, Then Came Christmas and The Quick and the Dead. He has been inducted into the Paso Del Norte Writers Hall of Fame, the local chapter of the Texas Institute of Arts and Letters. Eickhoff served with distinction in the early phases of the Vietnam War, and was awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star. He spends his time in El Paso, Ireland, and Italy, lecturing on Dante and The Ulster Cycle.

Randy Lee Eickhoff

Randy Lee Eickhoff

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Available Formats and Book Details

The Raid
A Dramatic Retelling of Ireland's Epic Tale
Randy Lee Eickhoff

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Tom Doherty Associates
Forge Books
March 2000
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312851927
ISBN10: 0312851928
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 288 pages
$16.99
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