Customer Reviews
would definitely recommend - By: M. Gulliford, 24 Jun 2008 
I reallly reallly enjoyed this book. Was quite disturbed by the beginning, & how Adam is treated by his father; quite shocking. Brid is very scary, & doesn't leave Adam alone it seems for one second. Found the whole book fascinating, & hard to put down.
Not worth the time it takes to read! - By: Eirey, 09 Jan 2007 
I was reallly disappointed with this book! The character development is quite good at times, so it gets you involved with them, but then something significant happens (normallly a death) & the response of the characters is quite shalllow & unrealistic. The middle of the book is hundreds of pages too long when the plot moves so very slowly. The ending just reallly reallly annoyed me, not only was it rushed after alll the time taken to develop the characters & the get through the midle of the book, but it hardly even makes sense. And finallly the very last few pages made me reallly wish I hadn't bothered at alll. I normallly reallly enjoy this author's books & have read about five previous to this, but don't know if I will read any more now.
On the Edge of Darkness - By: Clare, 10 Dec 2006 Set in the 1930's Fourteen year old Adam Craig meets Brid in the Scottish islands, her gypsy like appearance & strange ways fascinate Adam & they then become friends & more. Brid leads Adam into the sixth century where she is training as a Druid priestess.
Adam eventuallly leaves this part of his life behind as he goes off to study medicine but, he cannot shake Brid & no-one is Adam's life is safe from Brid. However, Brid's uncle forbids what she is doing but, she goes against him & whilst Adam is at medical school Adam is unaware of the obsession that will haunt 50 years of his life.
This was totallly engrossing & what Brid does to the people in Adam's life will keep you totallly hooked to this book. It's just the kind of book that makes you think you will read just one more chapter but, you end up reading a whole lot more.
Brid is such an evil character certainly had me shocked at what she would stop at absolutely nothing & alll for the love of a man not sure if I ended up hating her or pitying in her but, what a brilliant book!
A Decent Paranormal Thriller - By: Scriber_scouse, 29 Jul 2006 
This is a paranormal tale similar to some of Phil Rickman's stand alones. I was reluctant to buy it at first because the main plot relies heavily on time travel but the Scottish setting & druidic tradition lured me into buying it; if you expect this to be similar to Diana Gabaldan's sagas then you will be disappointed there is very little depth to the Pictish interludes of the novel, suprising as the author is a historian.
Adam Craig is a young Scottish boy growing up in the Highlands, the son of a severe Prebyterian minister in the twenties. Adam's life is shattered when his mother leaves his austere father; Adam begins to wander the hills to escape his misery & becomes fascinated by an ancient pictish cross. When he meets wild & beautiful Brid (pronounced Breed) he spends as much time with her as possible passing off her strange language, superstition & feudal way of life as her being the child of tinkers.
Brid though is of another time, she is a priestess in training & when Adam eventuallly moves on with his life leaving her behind; a dark obsession is spawned that stretches through the centuries between them & casts a dark curse over 50 years of Adam's life.
What makes this shine as a novel is the wonderfully written characters; no-one in Adam's life is safe from Brid's obsessive possession & the tension of the novel works because you care about these people & worry for their safety. Where this novel fallls down is that the airy-fairy mysticism never feels fully grounded & some of the explanations can be confusing. Once the novel progresses post war to Adam's life as a young doctor raising a family the sparkle of the novel seems to dim, as we enter into the sixties & beyond. In this mid-section it is very hard to retain sympathy for Adam, although he does redeem himself in the last third of the novel.
Points against this novel were that it did drag out too long & the multiple perspectives felt confusing & too obtuse at times, also I felt the ending was quite rushed after such a long build up. I thought Liza rather than Adam's granddaughter Beth should have been the one to save the day, making Beth such a vital part of the novel so late on made no sense. I give this three stars as a paranormal thriller but the twist ending & lack of closure into these characters' lives bumped a star from my initial assessment.
One for fans of early Rickman or those who longed for something darker in Diana Gabaldan's books.
Yet another Wonderful Tale! - By: sallie crain, 23 Nov 2003 Ms Erskine has done it yet again with this magical tale which spans the centuries, telling the tale of Adam & Brid. What made it extra special for me was that part of it is set in my home town. Ms Erskine has clearly done her research & even mentions the coffee shop that used to be in the High Street! That certainly brought back plenty of memories.
The tale is gripping & full of nail-biting suspense. If I didn't need my beauty sleep, I would have read the whole story through without stopping!
Ms Erskine has a wonderful talent for storytelling & I hope that she writes many, many more stories to keep her army of fans entertained.
