In The Sons of Maeve, Thann and his friend Gimble, both raised as orphans, grow up in the shadow of a great mountain whose mystery and legend eclipse both their lives and their village home. When an accidental meeting with a hermit reveals that Thann’s father may indeed be alive somewhere inside the mountain, the boys determine to find out. Stumbling through a concealed entrance, Thann and Gimble discover a land divided between two rival brothers, Darmid and Dagda. To them, a land outside their cavernous home is superstitious mythology and largely ignored by their people. Accused of killing his parents, Dagda, the oldest brother, is spirited away by Pallig, an evil Shaman whose origins are shrouded by time. Introduced into this explosive situation, the boys find they must overcome Pallig’s manipulative influence over Dagda and his band of warriors; but unbeknownst to all, the Shaman's maniacal ambition is nothing less than the total destruction of a kingdom he believes is rightfully his. With the help of their new friends, Darmid, ruler of the city that bears his name, and Rhianna, a healer and slave-girl in the house of Dagda, the boys challenge Dagda and his warriors to a contest of strength and skill. But the contest is a smokescreen for Gimble’s attack on Dagda's camp. The Sons of Maeve ends as the boys move further into the mountain, still hopeful of finding Thann’s lost father.

In  The Sons of Maeve: The Order Of the Feather, Thann and Gimble find themselves the guests of Fenris, a young monk of the Banian Order and Keeper of the Bell Book and Candle Inn. Fenris tells them of a traveler who taught the people of his world how to read and write. According to local legend, when the traveler moved on, he left behind the quill used to teach this new skill. The people now believe that whoever possesses this venerated object should rule over all others. This new talent and symbol of power create a schism within the community and upset the balance of power triggering an exodus among the inhabitants of Banian. Retreating to various places within their part of the mountain, these peoples evolved into four kingdoms: Banian, Sauria, Kobold and Naraka. Once the ruling class but now deposed by the new cult, the Naraka refused to fade into oblivion. In an attempt to regain supremacy, the Naraka, alchemists dedicated to better living through chemistry, create a formula promising longevity. But the potion’s unintended side-effect mutates them into grotesques and they retreat into the caves beyond the Fakir Wastes. Pallig, fleeing from Darmid, is captured by the Naraka, and taking a double dose of the potion, becomes the leader of these belligerent misfits. Desirous to get even with his rivals Thann and Gimble, and still bent on the destruction of Darmid, Pallig sends a decoy force to destroy the three kingdoms, while he takes the larger force through the Caves of the Allodial. In the midst of the impending turmoil, Thann and Fenris determine that the relic is a fraud and expose the fact just as the three kingdoms are on the brink of war. While attempting to come to grips with this new revelation, the Naraka decoy force attacks them. The sneak attack threatens to annihilate the assembled armed forces, overcome the ancient citadel, and capture the feather. When the boys learn that Pallig has taken the larger force back to Darmid, they pursue him. As they depart on their mission, Fenris promises to follow with a united army.

In The Return of the Sons of Maeve, Thann and Gimble pursue Pallig and his Naraka army (the Army of the Allodial) through the Dabbat Caverns hoping to reach Darmid and warn the people before Pallig does.  In their travels they meet Idris the Imbolc, a member of a dissenting group of Naraka dedicated to learning how to reverse the potion that turned them into monsters. A master alchemist and enemy of the Naraka, Idris shares some of his most successful potions and guides the boys to the exit in an effort to help them head off Pallig’s Army. Arriving too late, Thann and Gimble see first hand the destruction wrought by Pallig and his minions. Returning to Dagda's former woodland camp, they discover the remnants of Darmid, refugees of Pallig’s rampage. After a rendezvous with Fenris and his army, Thann and Gimble call their rival out to a final battle in a clearing just beyond the camp where they meet Pallig and his forces in a final battle.

This story is a winner! It is currently being read and reviewed by the St. Peters School, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England and has been vetted by numerous individuals of several age groups locally. Like similar works of young adult fiction, The Sons of Maeve is a classic fantasy-adventure that chronicles the journey of Thann, Gimble, and their friends on their evolutionary growth into adulthood. 

Where the story takes place:

These stories take place inside a mythical mountain near Thann and Gimble’s home. Accessible by a concealed entrance, the mountain hosts undiscovered and untamed worlds of its own.

The main characters:

While there are many interesting characters in this collection, the five main characters are: Thann, a bright, educated, adventurous young man raised by his Grandfather after the loss of both his parents;

Thann’s lifelong friend, Gimble, a ruddy complexioned, rough and plain talking country boy. Also an orphan, Gimble was left to raise himself, Thann and his Grandfather acting as the his only family. As a result, the two boys are closer than brothers, and have spent their formative years growing up together;

Rhianna, daughter of a healer, a chosen group with special knowledge of plants and animals; now a slave-girl in the encampment of Dagda. Learning the trade at her mother’s side, the young maiden was taken captive by the Dagda when they were ambushed while identifying plants in the woods near Darmid. Rescued by the boys, Rhianna and Thann begin a tentative yet tender relationship;

Pallig, initially the Shaman of Dagda, is a vengeful old man bent on the total destruction of the Kingdom of Darmid, a kingdom he believes is rightfully his. Thwarted by the boys in his initial pursuit, the Shaman travels to the land of the Allodial where he becomes the leader of an army of mutant cave dwellers. Unable to rule Darmid in the way he desires, Pallig returns with his army of monsters, bent on the total destruction of Darmid;

Fenris of Banian, a brother of the Order of the Feather, befriends Thann and Gimble when they arrive in his country. By helping to narrowly avert an all out civil war in his territory, the boys earn a loyal friend who pledges to help them when they learn that Pallig has returned to Darmid to raze the peaceful kingdom to the ground. As the boys track the army through the Allodial, Fernis vows to raise an army of his people to aide his new friends as they prepare to face this new threat.