The story of Cuchullain, hound of Ulster, is one of the great Irish legends, full of superhuman warriors, dark magic and incredibly beautiful or dangerous women.

In this reworking of the tale, George Green keeps all of these, but plants them firmly in reality.

The Ulster he evokes is full of very heavy drinking, simplistic men, and lots and lots of blood.

The Hound of the title is Cuchullain himself, and this is the story of his life from his mysterious birth to valiant death, including the tale of Dierdre and the Sons of Usna and the Great Cattle Raid of the Leinstermen.

It is told through the eyes of Leary, his charioteer, who is somewhat different from the King of Charioteers of the legends. In this retelling he is a German taken hostage by the Romans and shipwrecked on the Ulster shore.

This enables him to contrast the large-than-life Ulstermen with the logical and corrupt Romans, a definite asset to the book. However, at times, he seems to be looking through modern rather than Romanised eyes.

The other strongpoint of the novel is the way Green interweaves the heroic version of the legends with the reality he is describing.

He does this through a bard who doesn't let the facts get in the way of a good story. So the reader sees Cuchullain's divine and human, possibly incestuous, births.

All in all, a good first novel, even if a bit rough in places and at times too reliant on crudity.

Ancestors Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana Paxson (HarperCollins £17.99)

When the Fall of Atlantis is merely the start of a novel, you know you are in for an enthralling journey, and the authors do not disappoint you.

Micail and Tiriki, prince priest and princess priestess survive the graphically described volcanic eruptions that destroy their land, the last island of Atlantis, but are separated in their flight.

He begins the building of Stonehenge while she founds what will become Avalon, the mystical centre of Earth Mother worship and magic at the heart of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series.

This is the story of a few shiploads of Atlantean refugees with a high percentage of priests and led by a power-hungry secular prince trying to rebuild their luxurious lifestyle and dominance in barbarous, unco-operative Britain.

It moves effortlessly from high drama to quiet domestic moments.

The plot is Bradley's, the writing Paxson's. The combination works well and skilfully exploits the tensions among the Atlanteans. The plot is audacious and Paxson's style wants you to keep reading, although occasionally you wish she would pause to give you more details.

The end of Atlantis, however, is vivid and compelling, giving both the overall picture and the little individual stories of the terrified inhabitants.

An excellent book which deserves more than being the prologue to a series. It leaves you waiting for a novel set in Atlantis itself.

Updated: 09:01 Wednesday, September 01, 2004