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Why We Don’t Kill Spiders

Bo Macreery
Outskirts Press, Inc. (2009)
ISBN 9781432739843
Reviewed by Marcy Blesy for RebeccasReads.com (01/10

“Why We Don’t Kill Spiders” by Bo Macreery is a winding tale of medieval lore.  A family story is passed down to a young child about the experiences of Robert the Bruce in the hopes that he will carry on the family tradition of keeping the history alive from generation to generation.  

Robert the Bruce attempts to unify Scottish lands and reclaim them from England. Battles abound as “The Bruce” leads his countrymen to the ultimate goal of ending England ’s control of his Scottish ancestors’ land.  Robert is ill throughout the story, but never gives up, taking each battle and each experience one piece at a time, much as a spider does in making a web.  There are several references to spiders throughout the story, which will make the story’s title more clear.

Mr. Macreery has written a carefully thought out tale.  The cast of characters is so large that his reference guide takes up four pages.  I made many referrals to this guide.  Truthfully, I did not keep all of the characters straight, but the intent of the story does not suffer from lack of complete understanding of the role of each character.  Perhaps my mind is just too lazy to comprehend all of the detail.

The story is very well written.  It flows soundly with chapters being short and highlighted clearly with the title narrowing the chapter’s content.  Whatever side the reader takes in the historical references, one cannot help but root for Robert the Bruce.  The careful craftsmanship of his well thought out plans and his patience are a clear contrast to his impulsive brother Edward.  Patience and persistence win out most of the time, as demonstrated by the life of Robert the Bruce.  Even non-medieval audiences will appreciate the well researched characters in “Why We Don’t Kill Spiders.”

I recommend this book highly.  Enjoy your trek into another time, but learn lessons that can carry over to today.