Finn the Half-Great is a fiction novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 written by Canadian author and columnist Theo Caldwell

Theo Caldwell

Theo Caldwell is a Canadian, Irish and American businessman, writer, and former television host. Caldwell is also an investment advisor in the US and Canada, and is president of Caldwell Asset Management, one of the subsidiaries of Caldwell Financial Ltd, a company established by his father Thomas...

. The book is published by Tundra Books

Tundra Books

Tundra Books is the oldest children's book publisher in Canada.Tundra Books was founded in 1967 by May Cutler, a Montreal-based writer and editor. Cutler established the publishing company in the basement of her home, becoming the first woman to publish children's books in Canada. The U.S...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Plot

The story takes place in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 and revolves around the story of Fionn mac Cumhaill

Fionn mac Cumhaill

Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...

, commonly known as Finn McCool in Irish folklore

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

. It also includes elements from Norse

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Japanese

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

 and English mythology.

Reception

The novel, aimed at a young audience aged 10 and over, was included in the Toronto Star

Toronto Star

The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

's Holiday Reads of 2009. Quill & Quire

Quill & Quire

Quill & Quire, a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry, was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, but its publisher claims a readership of 25,000...

, who reviewed the book, called it "a quest fantasy with moments of humour and high emotion, epic battles and daring deeds", however it was also described as "half-great" by the School Library Journal.

Theo Caldwell has stated his intention to publish a second novel, Finn the half-Great and the Death of Gogmagog, as part of a five-book series.