Welsh legend highlights latest novel

Three hundred years before Christopher Columbus set foot in his family bathtub, a Prince of Wales gathered together a group of followers and sailed across the Atlantic to arrive in Mobile Bay, Alabama. Prince Madoc of Gwynedd’s legend began and is the heart of The Prince Madoc Secret, the third book in Midland area author Barrie Doyle’s highly rated series, The Oak Grove Conspiracies.

Previous books looked at the legend of King Arthur ( The Excalibur Parchment ) and the legend of the Spear of Destiny ( The Lucifer Scroll ). Barrie will be signing the newly-released novel at Georgian Bay Books in downtown Midland on Saturday, May 19 between 1 and 3 p.m. Other book signings across Canada are scheduled as is the North American Festival of Wales in Washington DC on the Labor Day weekend.

Legend says after arriving in Mobile Bay, Prince Madoc and his followers followed the American continent’s river systems and disappeared into the mists of history, leaving behind intriguing glimpses of their presence including stone villages modeled after Welsh towns, and stone fortresses such as those found in north-west Georgia found high on a promontory after the Welsh fashion and unlike anything the indigenous people had built before.

One of the more persistent stories described a Welsh-speaking tribe in the heart of the continent. It was a legend so strong and a story so believed that US President Thomas Jefferson made finding the tribe one of the mandates of the famed Lewis and Clarke Expedition. In the 1950’s, the Daughters of the American Revolution even placed a plaque commemorating Madoc’s landing, on one of the barrier islands at the mouth of Mobile Bay.

While each of the three novels is a stand-alone story, the same protagonists are the main thread between the books. From the valleys of South Wales to the famed Yns Mons/Anglesey and Snowdonia in the north, Wales is a featured setting. But the books travel beyond Wales to Venice, Istanbul, Washington and London as well as parts of the American West and the famed Georgian Bay area of Canada. The stories also roll across time, from a fourteenth-century Welsh abbey in the south, to twelfth-century Gwynnedd in the north, and to Constantinople, Jerusalem and Nazi Germany the stories whip readers on an exciting, nail-biting journey.

Reviewers and readers have compared Doyle’s books to Ken Follett, Tom Clancy and Steve Berry for their unique blending of history and legend into modern-day thrillers.  “It reads like an epic movie,” one reviewer for the UC Observer noted, while another with the radio program “Arts Connection” concluded, “this action-packed tale will leave you breathless and reading until the wee hours of the morning, wondering what happens next.”

The books are available from Chapters/Indigo in Canada and online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble (US) and Waterstones (UK) as well as independent bookstores across North America.

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Contact:  Barrie Doyle,

T 705-533-0361; C 705-209-3137; excaliburparchment@gmail.com

www.barriedoyle.com

Sample reviews

The Prince Madoc Secret (May 2018)

I kept reading and telling myself, “okay, just half an hour more and then take a break”.  No breaks.    I really got pulled in.  I have found many authors have one or two good books in them, but they continue to write more. You, however have improved.  While I thoroughly enjoyed the first two,  Madoc  is clearly the best”.  

The Excalibur Parchment & The Lucifer Scroll

A delight to read. (Doyle’s) tale of the sword is convincing and realistic. It reads like an epic movie.

June Stevenson, fmr. editor United Church Observer

It’s a fun read, almost cinematic in scope with one accelerating scene after another. (There’s) rich atmosphere in the rough and tumble of the good guys, the Welsh monastery and the Welsh Valleys, and the lagoons of modern day Venice. Look forward to the sequel

Bruce Rogers, CBC Radio

What a great read! The plot is thick and surprising. I’m a picky reader and this one is as good as Tom Clancy!

Dr. Doug Davis, Eastern Illinois University

Barrie Doyle has woven a distant past with a very dangerous present. Mystery, adventure and sacrifice planted in ancient times causes a frightening modern conflict.  You’re going to enjoy this book. It is a fresh telling of one of the great myths of western culture.

 Coleman Luck, Hollywood Screenwriter, TV producer, (The Equalizer)

and author, (Angel Fall)

This action packed tale will leave you breathless and reading until the wee hours of the morning, wondering what happens next!

Robert White, host “Arts Connection” 103.3 FM

(It) reminds me of Ken Follett. Fast paced. Deep local colour, plausible characters and a unique story line. A satisfying and illuminating readd

Kirk Vanderzande, Toronto Today

“I’ve never read anything Arthurian, but we were given this book as a gift and read it aloud as a family. We were immediately swept into another world that we found absolutely irresistible. Each chapter left us craving for more, anxious for the next time we could imbibe in this feast of words. Written almost like a screenplay for a thriller, we loved all the rich colourful details that transported us from one epic scene to another. The second book is on our Christmas list, and we can hardly wait. This book, and likely the rest in the series, must certainly be made into movies.

Josh Tiessen, artist

"The reader hops from country to country in a nail-biting drama that pulls back the curtain on the little-known historical facts surrounding one of Hitler’s obsessions. Here, fact is more intriguing than fiction and makes The Lucifer Scroll one of those books you can’t put down. I keep waiting for the militia to come to the rescue of the weak and end the tension but it goes on. I sense a parallel to the events of history today. Perhaps the sequel will tell all or leave me wondering."

Lloyd Knight, Roundtable Assoc.

I have just read Barrie Doyle's latest book The Lucifer Scroll . It is excellent. moves fast and never drags. It is a follow on to T he Excalibur Parchment, another excellent book. The Lucifer Scroll is about a conflict between Druids who follow ancient practices and traditions, and the Christian Church and Christian beliefs. The story is action backed with narrow escapes and intrigue. It moves rapidly between America, Canada, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Wales and England. I highly recommend both books to those interested in mysteries involving ancient history, especially the history of England and Wales.

Gwenith Cosgrove,

Great Plains Welsh Heritage Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska

The reader hops from country to country in a nail-biting drama that pulls back the curtain on the little-known historical facts surrounding one of Hitler’s obsessions. Here, fact is more intriguing than fiction and makes The Lucifer Scroll one of those books you can’t put down. I keep waiting for the militia to come to the rescue of the weak and end the tension but it goes on.  I sense a parallel to the events of history today. Perhaps the sequel will tell all or leave me wondering."

  Sandra White

What a great story! Now I am anxious to read the "Lucifer" book and was delighted to get "Madoc" already.  Thank you.

You are a creative, interesting writer!  What a lot of research that must have taken, too.  Will we meet Stone and Mandy again?

Amy Farrell

Gulf Coast Welsh Society, Sarasota, Florida