Readers wishing to know how the saga of exiled Irish bard Felimid mac Fal ended had to wait four years after the publication of Bard IV: Raven's Gathering ... and even then, many of them in North American probably never got the opportunity, as Bard V: Felimid's Homecoming was released only in the UK and Australia by Headline. Worth the wait, it finds Felimid battling evil and corruption among his fellow bards, and eventually gaining an uneasy respect for the Cross-worshippers he formerly despised. Taylor's portrait of early sixth-century Ireland rings true, and once again this historical background is what makes his novel shine.