A CIRCLE OF STARS

Who really "discovered" America? A popular legend in the Mobile, Alabama, area says it was the Welshman Madoc, a Druid fleeing persecution by the new Christians and their thirst for control of his native land. Upon arriving, he met members of a native culture also in conflict, and with rituals and beliefs as strong as his own. Kate Reading presents this fictionalized historical account with ponderous gravity and little excitement for the great adventure. Her characters, male and female, are clear enough in voice, but they betray little of the emotion intended by Waldo's vivid text. Reading treats the book as a lecture in ancient history, giving little weight to its fictional aspect. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 02]