[With "The Stronghold"] Mollie Hunter has given us a tumultuous yet clearly conceived and tautly constructed novel, narrated in one evoking scene after another in which there are always the swift, telling touches of detail regarding a movement, an expression, a change of mood, the precise shading of colors, the precise timbres of sounds. Too often in historical novels any lasting impression of individual characters is lost in the welter of events. But Coll, the girl Fand …, the fanatic Domnall, the traitor Taran, old Nectan and his wife Anu …, all are given tremendous vitality through the artistry of Mrs. Hunter's telling. An outstanding historical re-creation. (p. 10)

Eleanor Cameron, "History with Inventions: 'The Stronghold'," in The New York Times Book Review (© 1974 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), July 21, 1974, pp. 8, 10.