Harrowing The Dragon is a collection of short works by award-winning author Patricia McKillip. Among the stories are tales of dragons, bards, princess, witches, and more. She reinvents fairy tales, offers up original stories, and even gives fresh eyes to the classic Romeo and Juliet. The collection includes 15 stories of magic and reshaped standards of classic fantasy.
Impression: I've yet to read a McKillip book I didn't like, and Harrowing The Dragon is no different despite my tendency to be impatient with short stories. McKillip's shorts are much like her novels: rich with detail and in their use of language and beautifully written. I particularly liked "The Lion and the Lark" which uses "The Beauty and the Beast" as a foundation for a new tale of love that goes beyond the boundaries. I also enjoyed "A Matter of Music", the story of a young bard who releases two lovers with her music; "Lady of the Skulls", a tale which reveals that not all treasure is silver and gold; and "Star-Crossed", an exploration into the investigation of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Not all her stories were a hit with me–I wasn't particularly fond of "Transmutations"–but they were all rich and beautifully written. I highly recommend Harrowing The Dragon.
Tristran thorn, son of a villager and a faerie, is in love with Victoria, one of the most beautiful girls in his village. She, however, isn’t quite so taken with him. As he walks her home one night, he asks what he can do to earn her hand. Hoping to rid herself of him, she tells him to bring her the star they have just seen fall from the sky. Determined to gain her affections, Tristran returns home, gathers what he thinks he will need, and sets out to find the star that very night. To reach the star, he must cross the Wall, a stone wall designed to keep the faerie separate from the world in which Tristran lives. And on the other side of that Wall is adventure. He meets a gnome and travels by candlelight to the star, who turns out to be a young woman named Yvaine, saves a unicorn, crosses a witch-Queen, and journeys with a Lord. By the time he returns to the Wall with the star, he is a far different man than when he left.
Impression:Stardust is one of those books that reminds me why I like books better than movies. Oh, movies have flash and bang, but a reader with a good imagination can do that with a good book. And this book is not only good in terms of story, but it has a voice that just cannot be duplicated on screen. And this voice is part of what makes the novel entertaining.
The story itself is a mix of classic faerie tales with a new vision, the characters are engaging, and the writing solid and entertaining. It draws you in and makes you want to follow Tristran on his journey, to see what happens to him, how he grows, the colorful places he visits within Faerie, the colorful people he meets. Three main plots intertwine nicely in the book, and though only two of them seem at all connected in the beginning, they all come together in the end, and in such a way that none of them could be dispensed with.
I highly recommend this book, but must note it really isn't for younger readers. It's definitely a "fairy tale" for adults. ;)
Morenia has fallen, its king has been driven to a distant land, and its people subjected to a religious regime. With the king are his trusted friends and advisors, the men and women who have supported Hal since the day he took the throne, including Rani Glasswright. The small company hides in neighboring Sarmonia, seeking allies in their struggle to return the rightful king to Morenia, but discover the Sarmonian king tied by politics and the mysterious Fellowship of Jair -- the same group that orchestrated Hal's fall from power, the death of a valued advisor's child, Rani's failure to pass her glasswright master test, and now seeks to destroy them all.
Rani continues to try to help her king, despite more losses and a tangle of misunderstanding. But Rani's efforts to help her king end when she is kidnapped by the Fellowship and returned to Morenia to stand trial for her betrayal of the order. Hal manages to get support from Sarmonia after showing their king how the Fellowship has infiltrated Sarmonia's government, and returns to Morenia to regain his throne while fighting his own mental demons. Using a clever engineer and a plan that will leave him with little but his own life should it fail, Hal challenges the well defended capital city with a force too small to have much chance of success. Little does he or anyone else know that Rani is already in the city and that she will be the one to turn the tide.
Impression: I enjoyed this one, probably more than the last two. There was more complexity as more players became involved and the politics became a bit more intricate. Character's were tested, not only in new ways, but with old challenges that had new twists. The ending was unexpected, but you could see how the author got to it not only in the current book, but through the series. The ending was satisfying, with all the loose ends tied up.
I find it interesting that the series was fairly complete without this last novel, while Master still adds to the series and finalizes what few threads were left in the last book. At the same time, this book could easily be read on its own, without the previous books in the series, and be almost as much enjoyed since events are clearly explained without being dumped into the novel. I think the earlier books were good starters for Klasky, but these last 2 in the series have shown her growth as an author. I recommend The Glasswrights' Master to any reader of fantasy, even if they haven't read the earlier books in the series.
Sylvia left her childhood home to avoid revealing a secret that she instinctively knew her watchful grandmother would not accept. Now, years later, she returns to help her grandmother bury her grandfather. Though she plans to leave again as soon as possible, she finds herself drawn once more into the same tangle she fled before, only this time she is unable to extricate herself. The mysteries of the wood behind her grandmother's house, the secrets of her past, and the secrets of those she's known her entire life all become entangled with tradition and the world of the fairy, threatening to reveal the truth she's held close all these years and risking the well being of those she loves.
Impression: I loved Solstice Wood. Though written in a style that is unusual for McKillip, the writing still retained her ability to draw you into the story. Not as poetic as most her books, it still had its own kind of poetry that was expressed in the story itself rather than in the way it was written. McKillip also chose to use several different characters to tell the story rather than remaining in Sylvia's perspective throughout the novel, and yet the story remains Sylvia's. And yet, it also belonged to the other characters, who were all touched in some way by the pull between tradition and the wonder of the unknown. Rich description made the story easy to "see", and I am a reader who loves to just sit back and immerse myself in the vision of the author rather than be forced to create my own ideas of a story's sights and sounds and smells.
I did suspect part of the ending before I came to the conclusion, but this actually did not detract from the story at all. The plot was solid, the ending still had its twists, and waiting to see if the other characters would realize what I knew as a reader was part of the enjoyment. McKillip has a way of making you care about her characters, ALL her characters. While I wouldn't say that Solstice Wood is my favorite McKillip book, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I highly recommend it.
Dirk has always known he was different. Living with his grandmother, he has a near perfect life with the beach, surfing, and a red-and-white 1955 Pontiac convertible. But to keep this peace, Dirk believes he must hide what makes him different. He searches for ways to fit in and yet never can. Then, in a night of magic and ghosts, he discovers his past and how love is always right, no matter what form it takes.
Impression: I have to admit, this one had me almost crying and I think is my favorite of the series. In Baby Be-Bop, we are told the story of Dirk, a character who we met in book one, and got to know a little better in book 2, then left behind as Block explored the lives of the children in the unique family she has created for this series. She returns to him and through his story shows how the past is part of what makes us who we are and the importance of self-acceptance and love. From the story she weaves here, we can clearly see how he became the man we see in the earlier books.
While her use of her world's magic is as heavy handed as it was in the past book (and more obvious than in the first 3 books), it is actually much better intertwined through the story, thus making it far more believable. It's also helpful that Block didn't use coincidence as a major part of the plotline for this particular book. It's very well written and a very touching story. While I haven't been too sure about the previous four books, I do recommend Baby Be-Bop. Which makes it a very good thing that it can easily be read without having read any of the previous books in the series.
Magdalen was born on Darkover to Terran parents, which makes her the perfect agent for the Terran Empire until her ex-husband and partner is captured by a bandit because of his similar appearance to a Darkover Comyn. She chooses to disguise herself as a Renunciate, one of the Free Amazons who have broken from the traditional roles given to women on Darkover, in an effort to mount a rescue mission. She meets with a band of real Renunciates, among them Jaelle n'ha Mellora, a woman raised in the dry towns until she was 12 years old, saved from a life in chains by the Free amazons who came to save her own mother from the man who had kidnapped her. After Megdalen is revealed as the fraud she is, she is forced to take the Amazon oath for real and the two join up to save the man who ends up being important to the both of them.
Impression: I have yet to read a Marion Zimmer Bradley novel I don't like, and the Darkover novels are among my favorites (second only to the novel, The Mists of Avalon, which will always be my favorite of hers). I always love stories with strong, female protagonists, and The Shattered Chain is no different. In addition to overcoming the obstacles of nature and the laws of a world ruled by men, Magda must also learn the rules that define the lives of the Renunciates, discovering in the process that perhaps she was meant to be a Free Amazon. Breaking from what she was to becoming what she sees to be her real heart is no easy task, but one that has its own joys. One of the things I like about Bradley's work is her ability to use minimal description and still managing to make it so you can see the story and be drawn into it. Her writing is spare, perhaps not as spare as most short stories require, but there is little extra to it, a gift and a talent that I think a lot of us writers could learn from. In its own way it's no less beautiful than McKillip's writing.
During the wedding celebration of his king, Cyan Dag, a loyal knight who sees what others do not see, is told that the new queen is a lie created of sorcery by the being who masquerades as her. To save his king, the knight goes on a journey to free the true queen from her tower prison. Along the way he reaches two other towers, makes a deal with a dragon for his enemy's life, saves the life of a selkie, and befriends and helps others as any honorable knight would. While he seeks the queen, the son of a land held as part of the kingdom he serves, seeks a dragon and its gold to find freedom for his people. On his journey towards war, Thayne Ysse finds the man who saved his younger brother from death and learns that not all men who would seem enemies actually are so.
Impression: I loved this books almost as much as Ombria in Shadow. Told in the same poetic style, it's a fairy tale for adults with the same convoluted plotting that marked Ombria. Unlike Ombria, however, McKillip gives an explanation for the ending, which I thought was a nice touch, though the book would have been just as intriguing without it, I think. what's nice about it is that the explanation makes sense and doesn't intrude upon the story. It comes about very naturally. As always the setting is strong. The characters, while following something of an archetype, are still unique in both how they present the archetype and in their own voices in the novel. Another truly enjoyable novel by one of the best authors of fantasy.
This is the story of Aitrus and Anna, inexplicably intertwined with the downfall of the D'Ni, the wondrous race of Writers who link to living Ages in their Books. Anna, a human, has lived in the desert with her father, an explorer of the rocks, until he dies. She plans to retire to the nearby city, but becomes sidetracked by a cave she and her father found before his death. Following the underground caverns and tunnels, she discovers the D'Ni. It takes time, but she is eventually accepted by most, she marries Aitrus and participates in his work. They have a son, Gehn. Yet, even as they build a life together, another sets in motion the events that will bring this great society to an end. Aitrus's best friend is framed and brought into the conspiracy, not knowing the twisted plans of those he joins with until too late. In the end, all that is left is Anna and her half-breed son, their survival the last act of the husband she has loved.
Impression: I have to admit, I enjoyed this Myst book far more than The Book of Atrus (no misspelling there, promise - the father's and grandson's names are separated only by a single 'i'). The story comes historically before The Book of Atrus but was actually written after it, while the third (which I've just started, appears to be historically after both books and was the last to be written. Regardless, this book was quite a bit more complex than the first, with more characters and a more involved story. Love, prejudice, hatred, bitterness, the need for revenge, and so much more is interwoven to create a story about a people who, though great in their accomplishments, are just as fallible and human as the humans many of them look down upon as inferior. Yet, even with the complexity of the story, it was easy to read, easy to follow, and I could see how the events came to be, as shocking as they are in many ways. Unlike many stories, the ending is bittersweet, sad even as Anna finds a way to survive with and for her son - the son who eventually turns on her in The Book of Atrus. It was nice to see that there was once something redeemable in the character of Gehn, and the events of this book shed a sad light on those of The Book of Atrus.
Peri is a simple fisherman's daughter who has lost both mother and father to the sea--her father in the physical sense and her mother in an emotional sense. Left to her own devices, she learns simple magic that brings together the sea, 2 princelings, a young magician and Peri herself, and changes them all.
Impression: I enjoyed this one as much as Ombria in Shadow. McKillip uses the same rich language and takes the ambiguity of the ending of Ombia and spreads it through the whole book in Changeling. While Ombria's ending leaves you questioning what has happened, however, the story in Changeling is clearly told as it uncovers the mysteries of the past and their effect on the present. It's definitely another book I will need to read again to catch all the nuances of the story and the story telling.
Atrix Wolfe, the greatest known mage in the world, released his magic 20 years ago and the world, both real and fey, is still paying for that one terrible night when he ignored the rules that guide mages and their power. A queen has lost her consort and daughter, an evil has been released, and a princeling mage has a book once hidden. Past and present, the real and the magical, and all these elements come together as the characters try to save and find the balance once again in their world.
Impression: I still think Ombria in Shadow is the best I've read from McKillip, but this would have to be my second favorite so far. Unlike Song of the Basilisk, the writing is closer to the richness and depth of Ombria and the same layered writing that I originally fell in love with. I do have to say I liked the ending of this one better than Ombria's though: the Ombria ending requires that you reread it to figure out what happened, maybe even make a judgment without being sure; this one was clear, concise, and very touching.
I like how McKillip ties the past and present together in her novels, and presents a view of the magic and real that is both separate and inclussive. Those elements are more clearly presented in Atrix Wolfe than the other novels I've read. It looks like the depth of language was not something she developed over time though. Atrix Wolfe was published before Song but Ombria was published after. I wonder why she changed for Song? Anyway, I still prefer the richer language. :)
The ruler of Ombria has died and his great-aunt, Domina Pearl wastes no time in taking over as his young son's regent. Lydea, his mistress, must find a way to protect the poor prince, Kyel, even though she's been kicked out of the palace with only the clothes on her back. With the help of Mag, a mysterious girl who serves a sorceress known as Faey, and the bastard son of the ruler's younger sister, Ducan, Lydea unravels the mystery of the shadow Ombria and reaches out from her lowly position as an innkeeper's daughter to protect not only the prince, but Ombria itself.
Impression: Wow. Just . . . wow. McKillip is the author I want to be (in my own voice, of course, and probably a bit more actual description, but still the author I want to be) with thick, rich sentences full of texture; depth of character and setting; and a tale that is deep and bautiful.
The story itself is an unexpected, imaginative, engaging tale. Unexpected and imaginative in that it's a unique world and the events that happen fit perfectly within this tale but are not events I've encountered elsewhere. She took some very famililar basic elements and turned them into something never seen before. Her ending, even more unexpected than the rest of the story, leaves you wondering what really happened, but doesn't leave you disatisfied. It's just an incredible story incredibly written.
This book must be reread because there's no way to get it all in one sitting. It's one of those books, the ones that are so layered that rereading it again and again reveals something new every time. It is well worth the price of even a hardbound or quality paperback, editions I do not buy too often because of the price. I've already ordered more of her novels, including an oop recommended by the friend who introduced me to McKillip. And I'm really looking forward to reading them. A lot.
Harry's back with an attitude. Yes, Harry's hit the teens, those emotional, hormonal, self-centered years that all parent just love, and all his resentments are starting to boil over. His return to Hogwarts for his 5th year is almost derailed, and when he gets to the school he finds his previous encounter with Voldemort now turned into something from his supposedly derranged mind, Dumbledore distant, he's unable to confide in Sirius for his godfather's safety, a new professor with an agenda designed to bring Hogwarts firmly in the Ministry of Magic's hands, and, of course, all his usual problems with Snape, Malfoy, plus the extra pressures of passing his OWLS.
Impressions:Order is darker and more adult than any of the previous Harry Potter stories, and even has a death at the end, but it is still an enjoyable read. One oif the things I've enjoyed about the Harry Potter books is the consistency. Even though Rowling works in fantasy and magic, it's not an anything goes world. And the books are easy reads that still draw a readeer in at any age--even the books that written more for children are engaging for adults. I'm not sure the books are worth the madness that goes on when they're released for the first time, but they are so enjoyable that it is easy to see why they manage to get readers in every age-group.
The newest thing in the publishing industry now days is to name writers the "new JK Rowling." For the record, I don't want to be the new JK Rowling. As much as I would love to write a book that crossed age boundaries like the Potter books some day, I would rather be the author that everyone else is named after. So, who wants to be "the new domynoe?" ;)
This is the story of the Herald with the thieves past, Skif. An orphan in the care of his uncle, who treats him as nothing more than a servant, Skif escapes into the city and meets up with a small band of thieves. He becomes quite the pickpocket and cat burglar until Chosen. Then his adventures really begin.
Impressions: I think I actually enjoyed this Valdemar novel even more than Brightly Burning. Skif is a wonderful scoundrel and getting the peek into his past is a much enjoyed journey. As always, I enjoyed Lackey's writing.
The story of Lavan Firestorm, a Herald Firestarter, a merchant's son who was originally enrolled in the same school that trains the Heralds by his parents. Bullied near daily by the older students, it isn't until he releases his gift in self-defense that anyone is aware he even has a gift. He becomes chosen and trained to be a Herald, it is only during a conflict with Karse that everyone learns how truly devastating his gift can be.
Impressions: Personally I love Lackey's Valdemar books, even though they are more aimed at a y.a. audience, and Brightly Burning is no exception. It's nice to see her filling out some of the back history and charcater histories now days. I even cried at the end of this one. Course, my husband would just say I'm a sucker. ;)
Unless otherwise noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by me.
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