Pat Mills & Simon Bisley's anarchic tale of Slaine the Horned God is brought to life by Colin Morgan,Gerry O'Brien, Gemma Whelan Ayoola Smart and a whole host of others in this latest release by Penguin Audio.
Slaine is a barbarian fantasy adventure based on Celtic Mythology and stories which made its debut in 1983.
In the original stories, Slaine was banished from his tribe, the Sessair,and as a result he spends early years exploring the land of the young (Tir Na Nog) with his companion, the dwarf Ukko and his trusty axe, Brainbiter. He is also possessed with the power to warp spasm, where he joins with the earth and transforms into a misshapen killing machine. On his travels, he rescues the maiden Medb from being sacrificed to Crom Cruach, the giant Maggot. Although, this didn't go according to plan and she actually becomes his enemy instead and ends up joining forces with decomposing Lord Weird Slough Fegg to destroy Slaine
This is one of Slaine's most memorable outings as he returns to the tribes that ousted him when he was younger. He has now become the horned God, the lover, brother and son of Danu, the earth Goddess.
As he takes up his reign as the Horned God he is determined to reunite the tribes of Ireland and bring back the ancient ways, when women were the rulers and men were the followers of a female deity.
However, as he tries to complete this plan, he has to obtain the forbidden weapons, a spear, a sword, a cauldron and the navel of the goddess, whilst trying to thwart the plans of Medb, reconcile with his former lover, Niamh and win the favour of the capricious Danu and fight a titanic battle with the god of death, the Lord Weird Slough Fegg and his band of sea devils, the Formorians. Not an easy task!
Penguin audio have done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of this comic. The story is told through flashback by the dwarf Ukko who is tasked to write the saga of Slaine.
Gerry O'Brien does a hilariously comedic performance as Ukko, as he constantly drinks mead, extols the physical virtues of Niamh and describes with zeal the bloody gusto of Slaine's performance on the battle field. At various parts in the story whilst he his recounting Elaine's exploits, Niamh interrupts him and there is some really funny dialogue between the two.
However, this is just one aspect of the story. Colin Morgan's performance as Slaine is excellent, as is Gemma Whelan as Medb and Ayoola Smart as Niamh. Additionally, all the actors capture the sardonic wit of the comic admirably.
I read this comic years ago, and it has always been one of my favourites, so to hear this audio drama doing such a solid job of bringing Slaine to life was a delight. The action is very well paced and you get a good sense of what is happening throughout the story.
On top of that, the sound design adds to the mood of the piece. We get swords clashing and cauldrons bubbling. It all adds to the experience, giving the audio depth and realism.
I have to say, I take my hat off to Penguin and the whole team that made this for bringing Slaine back into my life!
Kiss my axe!
