I'm always fascinated by historical fiction, especially historical fiction about periods with which I'm unfamiliar. This new-to-me trilogy from Martin C. Haworth hits me in a place where I'm equally uneducated and fascinated: early Scotland, and the arrival of the Christian missionaries on its shores.

Our central characters are Oengus and Taran: a pair of cousins born quite close to each other, each in the running to become the new warlord when the time comes. On the same night, the two receive tattoos that will foretell their roles in life. Taran, oddly, receives the Z-Rod: a Z-shaped icon intersected with various other iconography (in his case, a snake). This is allegedly the mark of a warlord, given after achieving this status, and to have two bearing this tattoo at once is unprecedented.

A bit of an aside here: the actual meaning of the Z-Rod, as is the case with many Pictish symbols, is a mystery. Author Martin C. Haworth makes some assumptions that work well in context, and that mirror theories put forth by other scholars. In the end, though, it doesn't actually matter what the symbol means historically. For the purposes of the story, it has been couched in such a way that even these fictional Picts' understanding over the symbol is moot. All that matters is what Taran's Z-Rod means to his story: an ingenious approach to such unknown factors.

As Taran eludes the scheming of Oengus—the more driven of the pair—there is another conflict afoot. Believers in the old gods of Scotland are crossing paths with Celts spreading the word of Christ. It's a heightened conflict (one Haworth acknowledges in his foreword), with prophecies and miracles abounding on both sides. How historically accurate this storm front of religions is, I will leave to people who study this period. I was pleased to see that neither side was depicted as inherently Good or Evil, but rather two groups of faithful trying to find their own ways in a world bigger than themselves.

This first installment in the Z-Rod trilogy is a promising read. Haworth's love for Scotland—its land, its history, and its people—is clear from page to page. By the end of the first book, there are still plenty of mysteries to unravel, and a long road ahead for its many protagonists. I look forward to seeing what's next, and what Taran's ever-evolving prophecy means for him and his people.

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