No ordinary fantasy, but more of a "what if this was how it happened" fantasy. I say this because the Faeries are quite unlike any I've read of before. Marni Troop has a fascinating imagination, exactly suited to this story. Casey, a pure-blood Faerie, is chronicling the events of her very long life. In fact, she is doing more than that, she is chronicling the history of her people as best she can. She has been taught a code of writing by an elder. Her kind are of the land, quite literally. It doesn't take long to figure out that the island they came to believe is their land will later be known as Ireland. Descriptive and well-crafted, the book is captivatingly original.

The book is imaginative, I could almost call it historical except that it is a fantasy. No wonder Ireland is so mystical. At the opening, Casey is celebrating her 100th birthday, not as an old woman but as a blossoming, very tall, female just entering puberty. The Faeries in this story live a very long time, which is a good thing if you are to write the history as it has happened and as it is happening. She is writing this history because she believes they will be wiped out and no one will ever know they existed. She is sending the journals to someone named Michael, whose persona is not revealed in this first book, Journal One. Besides having learned what would become their written language, Casey has another special ability. She can see into other Faeries' minds.

One day she realizes she is tuning in to a stranger, a man. She feels no menace from him. Eventually, this man arrives on a ship, and requests she take him to her king or leader. However, with many of the people inhabiting this place, someone kills this Iberian man that Casey feels has come in peace. This act provokes an invasion shortly afterward, one of many to come in their time. It is because of the invasion, and the resulting losses of life, that the invaders, meeting with the indigenous people, Faeries and mixed blood, allow them to live within the land and the invaders will live on the land. The Faeries have felt the pull of the land, their castles and fortresses have been received by the land, sinking at least one level into the land and no further. So few survivors remain that Casey felt compelled to write the journal so the world will know that they did exist at one time. This Journal is the first. An unusual concept and imaginatively recorded, the Journal is quite fascinating. An interesting debut full of darkness and light. I look forward to the reading the second journal. I see that the books are going under a new title in the future, from "Tir Na N'Og" to "The Heart of Ireland" Saga.

TIR NA N’OG is written as a journal following Casey, who is a Faerie, with the gift of seeing into people’s minds and remembers the events of the past. In this novel, which is the first book of a saga, Iberians discover the People’s land.
TIR NA N’OG is based in a fascinating world, which has been very well developed. The novel has an interesting plot line, which is extremely original and well written. It is also very refreshing to read a book on Faeries that is written in the point of view of a Faerie, instead of a human looking into their world. The characters in TIR NA N’OG are well written and developed, making their personalities seem realistic.
TIR NA N’OG’s beautiful cover draws readers in and its intriguing plot makes it impossible for them to put the book down. The best part of this novel would undoubtable be the way Marni L.B. Troop has managed to captivate the essence of the world she created and communicate it to the readers of the novel, making it easy to imagine the world she describes in amazing detail. After reading TIR NA N’OG the readers are left wondering who is this mysterious Michael, who Casey is writing these journals for, is and what is going to happen next in the captivating saga.
In conclusion, the novel TIR NA N’OG has a well written plot line and perfectly described world. It is refreshingly original with characters whose personalities are very realistic. It is also the enthralling first book of a saga, meaning that readers are left wanting more and wishing that they knew what is going to happen next in the TIR NA N’OG saga.