The Pict (Jack Dixon)

So there I was tooling around on Amazon trying to find a book to read. I love the historical-fiction genre and I was using the "if you read this, you'll like this tool" when this book popped up. Even though this book has been out since 2007 I've never come across it until now. I'm SO GLAD that I did! While this was a short read, it was also a very, very good read. It had the history, the brutality, the action, and the bloodlust that I love in my historical-fiction reads. I've never heard about `The Picts' before this book but, as most good books will do, it has whet my appetite to learn more. I was also happy to read that the author hinted around to more books about Calach and the mysterious `Picts'. If you are a fan of the genre then I gladly recommend this book. I'm not going to put this book up "against" other books of this genre because that would be incredibly stupid. I read this book because I ENJOYED this book! I've always loved a good story and more important... Read more

[...] The Pict is the story of Callach, a great leader of the tribes that successfully repelled the Roman Empire when no others could. Including the Caledonii, the Picts were highlanders in the part of Britain that would come to be called Scotland. Callach and his loose confederation of Pictish warriors, which included both men and women, were so fierce and unconquerable that the Romans gave up and built Hadrian's Wall to keep them hemmed in, rather than, as they did with all other people, to assimilate them. Dixon succeeded in appealing to my own love for realistic but suggestively magical interpretations of legendary heroes, like Morgan Llywelyyn's Red Branch and Finn MacCool. He frames the Pictish hero's life in terms of his reincarnation from the ancient hero of the Picts who led them from the Steppes and across the water to their new home. Just as the ancient hero anguished that he hasd not achieved true nobility, so does Callach. Leading the tribes to resist the rampaging R... Read more

I am a fan of pre-roman conquest novels about England and Scotland and bought the Pict thinking this was an interesting idea. It still is an interesting idea, but it needs to be tackled by another writer. Dixon's prose is poor, his language use choppy, repetitive unimaginative and dull; his plot development non-existent and his characters like paper, two sides, but no depth. Don't waste the money.

The Pict is a stunning and thought provoking historical account of an ancient civilization as filtered through the imagination of the author. Well researched and vividly portrayed Pictish tribes, expertly led by a true hero, struggle to survive in not only a harsh land but against a dangerous and imposing enemy. The haunting depiction of these mysterious people combined with nonstop action will grab onto you and not let go. The Pict is a hugely entertaining novel that begs to be finished in just one sitting. Don't make us wait too long for the next one, Mr. Dixon!

Jack Dixon has done a terrific job of breathing life into the little that is know of the Pictish people and their struggle against the ever expanding Roman Empire. This is heroic story of a man who struggled with his heart and his conscience and still demonstrated the nobility of his soul. Its a pretty fast read. Sometimes the details are gory but it is about a brutal time in history when savagery was not uncommon. A good addition to my collection of celtic books. I read the kindle version which could have used a bit better formatting.