Randy Lee Eickhoff, the award-winning translator of the epic Ulster Cycle, continues his retelling of Ireland's spellbinding history and folklore in He Stands Alone. For the very first time, Randy Lee Eickhoff has combined several translations of the tale of the Irish Achilles, Cuchulainn, to provide a new and searching look at the warrior whose dedication to his country became the inspiration for Irish rebels in 1916, providing them with a rallying cry heard throughout all of Ireland.

Beginning with Cuchulainn's mysterious birth, Eickhoff skillfully weaves the tale of the magical warrior; from his training with Scathach, the dreaded woman warrior, to his first encounter with the war-goddess, Morigan, a story that foreshadows Cuchulainn's heroic action the Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Cuchulainn's adventures unfold as he grows in battle to become the king's champion, but, all the while, he struggles with his mortal side, and with human failings that inevitably draw him away from his wife, Emer, and under the spell of the mystical Fand, wife of the Irish sea-god, Manannan Mac Lir.

In a style that is often compared to Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney's, Randy Lee Eickhoff demonstrates his knowledge and storytelling ability and once again introduces readers to a truly fascinating aspect of Irish mythology with He Stands Alone.

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Praise for this book

Praise for Randy Lee Eickhoff's Ulster Cycle

"A national epic of stature, the memorability of The Iliad and the Odyssey."-Robert Fagles, author of the definitive translation of The Iliad and the Odyssey

"An informal translation of the Irish classic Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, now with extra detail, sexual nuances, and booming voices, sometimes told in bawdy dialogue. Prose passages are often given wings by alternating with Eickhoff's rhymed clear-spoken modern verse. Sprawling and wonderful."-Kirkus Reviews

"The Raid is one of the world's great adventure tales. Rollicking, bawdy, sometimes hilarious, ultimately both tragic and glorious, the tale is of epic proportions yet never loses the human dimension. In retelling Ireland's premier myth, Eickhoff has been true to the land and the people. His translation is excellent, but of equal merit is the clarification that he brings to an intensely layered, often obscure story. This book is a joy and belongs in the library of everybody who loves Ireland."-Morgan Llwelyn, international bestselling author of 1916

"In this translation of a famous Irish epic, Eickhoff brings this rousing adventure tale to a modern audience. Readers interested in mythology and Irish folklore will thrill to this fast-paced epic, which should please both scholar and layperson alike."-Booklist

"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!"-Thomas Fleming, author of the New York Times bestseller The Officer's Wives

"A resounding read that echoes across the ages."-David Nevin, author of the New York Times bestseller Dream West




About the Author

Randy Lee Eickhoff holds several graduate degrees, including a Ph.D. in Classics. He lives in El Paso, Texas where he works on translations in several languages, poetry, plays, and novels of which two have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. His translation of Ireland's national epic is now a text in not only schools in the United States, but countries overseas as well. His nonfiction work on the Tigua Indians, Exiled, won the Southwest History Award. He has been inducted into the Paso Del Norte Writers Hall of Fame, the local chapter of the Texas Institute of Arts and Letters. He spends his time in El Paso, Ireland, and Italy, lecturing on Dante and The Ulster Cycle.


Title: He Stands Alone : The Fifth Book of the Ulster Cycle
Author(s): Randy Lee Eickhoff
Volume: 5
ISBN: 9781429973403
Copyright 2003
Release Date: March 05, 2003
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: mobi,ePub | Learn More about our supported formats
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