Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: Ive read all of Llywelyn's books and this is just as great as the rest. The mix of fictional and historical characters is great. The author uses this to get the reader into the secret meetings of the IRB. A Great Read.
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Summary: Touches Many Feelings Through A Compelling Story
Review: Llwelyn captures a period in contemporary Irish history integrating fictional major characters with those who fought for Home Rule in Ireland. It's a compelling story which makes setting aside the book a difficult challenge. Ned and Caitlin bring to life a story about being Irish, being Catholic, being separated by the Atlantic, the loss of parents on the Titanic, and fighting for a free Erie. While we know, from history the outcome of the fight for freedom, the story rivets our attention because the all characters capture us and our emotions. The best book read in 1998!! You'll love it, whether you're Irish, Catholic or not.
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Summary: Fact Or Fiction?
Review: Llywellyn has captivated me once again. This is a book which I had to read in one sitting. The pictures she paints of a very difficult time in Irish history are vivid and realistic. She has captured the irrepressible Irish spirit and optomistic vision of her people in a book which walks a tightrope between truth and fiction.The development of the characters make you feel like a long time neighbor of the hero and the rest of the ensemble.The story leaves me feeling as though I were standing in the streets of Dublin during the tumultuous years leading up to Irish indepndence.I actually purchase a second copy of this book and sent it to a very close friend from Belfast. That review I am anxiously awaiting!
Rating:
Summary: Great characters, great story, great historical backdrop.
Review: Llywelyn's characters, real and fictitious, came to life as breathing, feeling, genuine people that I found interesting and sympathic. It's the best book about turn-of-the century Ireland that I've read yet. Several stories collide at the end of the book -- a great plot. The first pages grip you as you learn, through the account of the main character, about the lives of the people who lost or were lost due to the sinking of the Titanic. Very clever intro -- I was held captive through the rest of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters, great story, great historical backdrop.
Review: Llywelyn's characters, real and fictitious, came to life as breathing, feeling, genuine people whom I found interesting and sympathic. It's the best book about turn-of-the century Ireland that I've read yet. Two compelling stories collide at the end of the book -- a great plot. The first pages grip you as you learn, through the account of the main character, about the lives of the people who lost or were lost due to the sinking of the Titanic. Very clever intro -- I was held captive through the rest of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Llywellyn once again brings Irish history alive!
Review: Morgan LLywellyn departs from her customary ancient Ireland and Gaul to show us the early twentieth century. From County Clare to the Titanic to New York to Dublin, the character of Ned Halloran lets us live vicariously through all of these places. While he comes of age, learning of family, friendship, tradjedy, honor, loyalty, and, of course, love, we experience it all as if we were following him around ourselves. Padraic Pearse, Michael Collins and the other historic figures from Ireland's fight for freedom during the Great War are not the mythic heroes Llywellyn fans are used to; but they are great men who work in the modern era to try to free a united Ireland from subjugation. It is difficult to compare 1916 to Morgan Llywellyn's previous novels, simply because she isnt showing us heroes who've become mythological (Cuchulain, Amergin, Finn MacCool, Brian Boru, etc.). She now shows "real" men (and women) who did what they thought had to be done in a much more modern setting. A "must-read" for those interested in all aspects of Irealand's long & glorious history.
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Summary: Excellent first person story of the Easter Rising of 1916
Review: Morgan Llywelyn does an outstanding job of bringing to life the historical participants of Irelands Easter Rising of 1916, as seen through the eyes of a fictional character. Her portrayel sweeps the reader up in the patriotism and pride of the Irish movement. As a student of Irish History I was impressed with the research the author obviously put into this book. I would highly recommend 1916 to anyone who likes a stirring tale of people in a fight for their freedom.
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Summary: Pure Llywelyn. She takes you to the G.P.O like no one can.
Review: Morgan Llywelyn has once again proven why she is one of the greatest authors of Irish fictional history. She can literally put you on the deck of Titanic and then walk you down the streets and alleys of Dublin in 1916. Her portrayal of the poet-warriors (a staple of Ireland) of the Easter Rising forces you to weep for their loss and their triumph. She forces us to accept Padraic Pearse as one of the great heroes of Ireland, in line with Cuchullain and Fin MacCool. I've read a great deal of historical fiction and have never been so convinced that the fictional characters she has created should honestly be there. I expect to look at photographs from the era and see Ned Halloran standing next to Padraic Pearse and Tom Clarke. When shells fall on the G.P.O Miss Llywelyn forces you to hear the reverbearations in your feet. No reader should pass this up and no Irishman should hold back their weeping at her descriptions of one of the most heroic and tragic times in Irish history. Miss Llywelyn has again proven her mastery of storytelling in the great bardic tradition.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Morgan Llywelyn's 1916 seems to have strong potential; one can hardly hope for more engaging material than the background of the Easter Rebellion, yet the book attempts to do too many things, and ends up doing none of them well. The main character, a fictional teenager named Ned Halloran quickly becomes the Forrest Gump of this novel (this is NOT a complement). He magically appears whenever something important happens, and is immediately brought into the deepest levels of the most secret plans. In spite of his being a newcomer to the republican movement he is a first-hand witness of every secret meeting of the rebellion's leaders. Fear of informers was so great that the rebellion was kept secret from many that were actually participating in it, and yet Ned, a mere teenager, knows all and sees all. The characters, both Ned and the non-fictional, come across at best as mediocre characters lacking depth, at worst as cliches. the dialogue is often forced. Main characters who are well-acquainted with information will begin talking in the most basic terms soley for the benefit of the reader. At times a character will, without any provocation, sum up four years of history in conversation just to let the reader know some (often unimportant) details. While some of this information is essential for a complete understanding of the book, there are better ways of bringing it across. Perhaps it would flow better of the novel concentrated on the elemnts pretaining to the rebellion more, at the expense of rather lackluster personal trials of Ned Halloran. When Ned has to choose between Mary, a pro-British, pro-Union, girl he meets, and Sile, the prostitute with a heart of gold, one wonders what takes him so long to reject Mary, with whom he never had anything in common at all. Worse still is Ned's acquisition of "Precious", an infant half stolen, half-abandoned, that manages to become his. 1916 is certainly well-researched, and, with some minor exceptions (namely a few comments about Bulmer Hobson), historically accurate (when one discounts the actions of the fictional characters). Unfortunately, this, by itself, does not make a good book. Someone interested in these events would do better to read Peter de Rosa's novel "Rebels", which forgoes the frivilous fictional characters instead shining the spotlight on Pearse, MacNeill, Clarke, Casement, and the other men who really were important to this period. Those who would really like to learn about the Rising need only look at Llywelyn's bibliography for some facinating material. Caulfield, Edwards, and MacArdle are all good places to start. Her bibliography may be the most rewarding part of 1916.
Rating: 
Summary: Valid History wrapped in Incompetent Fictionalizing
Review: Mr Llywelyn may very well be a very thorough historian, as is evidenced by his intricate knowledge of Irish culture and hardships of the turn of the century, but he fails miserably to bring these events to light within the context of a third person narrative. The biggest single problem with 1916 is in the loose characterization. For instance, the protagonist, a fifteen year old Irish boy, is privy to insights into human nature that most very mature adults have no clue about. At one point, Llywelyn states that Ned (the boy) cringes each time he sees a particular character because he senses that the brightest candles burn out the quickest. This thought is occurring to a lad who just months before was daydreaming of pirtates attacking the cruise ship he was on. Oh yeah, did I mention that the ship was named the Titanic? If not for the gross inaccuracies in character response and interaction this novel may have been enjoyable as well as informative.
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