“I’d always been fascinated by the Irish ‘second sight’,” says The Wild Sight author Lucinda McGary. “But, from everything I read, both fiction and non-fiction, females seemed to be the ones who possessed this ability. I started thinking, what if a man had it? And from there, the hero of The Wild Sight, Donovan O’Shea was born.”
The Wild Sight has great moments. Written by first-time author McGary, it’s the story of Donovan O’Shea who has returned from America to help his sister. Donovan can pierce mysteries because he has the second sight, inherited from his mother. He can’t stand Ireland. American Rylie Powell has come to Ireland to confront her father who abandoned her and her mother. Rylie is convinced she and Donovan are brother and sister.
“During my research, I ran across something called the Niall Marker,” says McGary. “This gender specific genetic trait has been traced back to a 5th century Irish High King called Niall of the Nine Hostages. I decided to incorporate this esoteric bit of trivia into my story line. Only it turned out to not be so esoteric.”
“About eight months ago, when The Wild Sight was in the copyedit stage, I was watching a program on PBS about how African Americans could now trace their ancestry back to specific tribes through DNA studies,” says McGary. “They could tell what percentage of their heritage was African, Native American, and Northern European. The host of the show, a professor of African American studies at Harvard, was surprised to learn that more than 33% of his DNA had Northern European characteristics. Not only that, but he had Irish ancestors, because, you guessed it, he carried the Niall Marker!”
Lucinda McGary was born and grew up in Southern California and has lived in Northern California for over thirty years. McGary has completed six manuscripts and she’s written a few short stories and poetry. McGary is working on another novel set in Ireland.
The Wild Sight is a mystery, a romance and has paranormal elements as well. Great history is captured. You feel you’re in Ireland. There are a few times when the story takes you away from the action of finding out the answers to their questions and consequently the pacing drags. Having a girl get romantically entangled with a man she thought could have been her brother was a bit off-putting, but they solved the mystery of who her father is quickly. Dune also has the story plot of a man inheriting paranormal powers that only a woman should have. However, in The Wild Sight it’s not so futuristic and feels down to earth. Worth reading for fans of the paranormal, suspense and romance.
The Wild Sight: An Irish tale of deadly deeds and forbidden love by Lucinda McGary
Paperback, 336 pages, Publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca (October 1, 2008), Language: English
ISBN: 978-1402213946 |
