Author: Sean C. Helms

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2011-02-17

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 1456865161

The premise of The Clans Conflict is a novel of fantasy, but is set in a time following an all too possible future where the world has gone to war over poverty, greed and natural resources. World War III was a total war among many nations, not just a powerful few. In a world where nuclear disarmament weakened the most strong nations, it also served to offer a false sense of empowerment to the weak. Portable atomic devices found their way into the hands of hate-spewing terrorists and to yet others willing to sell those devastating weapons to whom ever was willing to pay for them. The initial death toll on what quickly came to be known simply as Doomsday was dreadful. Billions died all around the world in one afternoon and they were perhaps the more fortunate as the world instantly changed. Over the next several years many more died from radiation sickness and contaminated food and water supplies. Ash darkened the sky and changed the planet’s climate for long months that turned to years and yet more humans, along with much animal and plant life, suffered and perished until only remnants of civilization remained. Eight hundred years passed as pockets of humanity struggled to survive in the face of hardship and privation. In some areas where the climate was naturally cooler and more temperate people began to thrive after a time, when the planet started to heal from the damage which had been done to her. Radiation levels dissipated more rapidly in the cooler climes and the lands slowly became green again. We follow the hardy folk of Scotland once they have entered a new age, called The Recovery. Due in part to the land itself, but mostly from that people’s way of life, their sense of family, God, and honour of their proud clans, they rebuilt Scotland and established a new government and rule of law. They revived their mountainous kingdom upon old principles and proven traditions that had remained in their hearts. Although, far from perfect, as men shall ever be, they built new lives from the ashes while seeking to learn whatever they could from the past. With that background in place, the story follows the ever present struggle among the various clans, particularly the MacGregors and their rivals. Heroes arise to battle foes tainted by greed and ambition as Scotland falls into civil war. Gone are weapons of mass destruction, but arms and armor of old are rediscovered and put to bloody use. Returned are gallant knights; rebuilt are old castles; and rekindled are clan feuds of old. Even those of bloodlines, which lived before the human race began to abound, reemerged into the much changed world. These people, called the Sidhe, had ever remained within the Celtic lands, though mostly hidden from human eyes by what some would refer to as magic. History always seems to repeat itself regardless of men’s best intentions and there will always be wars that must be fought, no matter the age, when good must make a stand against the evil minded.