changeling masterworks faerielands riddlemaster

books:

31 reviews
Patricia A. Mckillip

Atheneum Books, 1988

Excellent....I'm Still In Shock
I'm still at a complete loss as to why I had never heard of this book before. The storyline is delightfully complex for as short as it is. The descriptions are lush and beautiful, but not so much as to bore. As a new English teacher, I plan on using this book for my classes during our study of fantasy-based romance. The characters are deep and very profound, and it would be an excellent read for ...

The Riddle-master's Game (Fantasy Masterworks)

2 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Gollancz, 2001

Riddle it away
Usually when an author is compared to Tolkien, it means that there are lots of swords, sorcery, countries clashing and a dark lord, but that the spirit of the master of fantasy is missing. "The Riddlemaster Trilogy" is one trilogy that almost lives up to the words -- a majestic, magical adventure that spans all of Patricia McKillip's richly invented world. "Riddle-Master of Hed" opens with ...

Riddle of Stars

5 reviews
Patricia A McKillip

Doubleday, 1979

Also known as the 'Riddle-Master' trilogy
Reading McKillip's great fantasy trilogy "Riddle of Stars" is like trying to solve the riddle of someone else's partially-glimpsed dream. You enter a rich world of metaphor, sometimes baffling but always beautiful. A standard hero's quest is overgrown with fabulous beasts, children of stone, and death-dealing harps. In the first book, "The Riddle-Master of Hed" Land-Ruler Morgon of Hed wins a ...

The Quest of the Riddlemaster

3 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Ballantine Books (Mm), 1983

This is a great book and a great series!
I read this series quite some time ago, but ever since I have always practically raved about it to all other avid readers that I meet. Unfortunately, since it's out of print, it is hard to get ahold of. If you can, however, I highly recommend it. In summary, it is a tale about a young man who becomes a RiddleMaster. The story follows his travels about the lands, fullfilling his fate. It is a ...

Harpist in the wind (An Argo book)

10 reviews
Patricia A McKillip

Atheneum, 1984

The grand finale, and grand it is
Patricia McKillip wraps up her Riddlemaster trilogy in a manner that other current fantasy authors have yet to match. If the second book of a series tends to be the weakest, the last is the most likely to disappoint. Here, the trilogy gets even more amazing. In the aftermath of Heir of Sea and Fire, Raederle and Morgan have been reunited in Anuin, where the dead are still roaming around, Deth has ...

Cygnet

1 review
Patricia A. McKillip

Ace Trade, 2007

The Cygnet flies
Two of Patricia McKillip's most lyrical books are the Cygnet duology, the story of a sorcerous family and the mysterious forces that shape their world. "Cygnet" compiles those books, bringing together the intoxicating mixture of unique magic, invisible dragons, and McKillip's shimmering prose. "The Sorceress and the Cygnet" introduces us to Corleu, one of the Wayfolk (sort of like gypsies), ...

Moon Flash

4 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Berkley, 1985

The River is the world
Firebird Books has put out some excellent reprints, such as Midori Snyder's Oran Trilogy and the wonderful Redwall books. But they have outdone themselves with Patricia McKillip's "Moon-Flash" duology. It's bittersweet, beautifully written, and serves as an unusual coming-of-age story. In the first book "Moon-Flash," Kyreol is a young woman living in the jungle valley of Riverworld, which the ...

Harrowing the Dragon

10 reviews

Ace, 2007

"Hoarsbreath is a Dragon's Heart..."
Patricia A. McKillip is the author of several wonderful books (my favourites being "Alphabet of Thorn" and "Winter Rose") and is one of the few fantasists in the publishing world that is original. Although her stories may contain typical fantasy elements (dragons, heroes, kingdoms, quests, good versus evil, etc) they are written in such beautiful poetic-prose that the stories transcend the ...

Throme of the Erril of Sherill

5 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Atheneum, 1973

Just for children? Think again!
While these two stories come in a book that looks like something for a low reading level, do not be fooled by appearances. Both "The Throme of the Erril of Sherril" and "The Harrowing of the Dragon of Hoarsbreath" are stories that can be read once when younger, then revisited when older to learn the depths behind the stories. Both stories possess similar themes. In the first, Magnus Thrall, ...

The Heir of Sea and Fire

6 reviews
Patricia A. Mckillip

Del Rey, 1985

Weak middle volume... NOT!
In most trilogies, the middle volume is the weak one, tying beginning and end together with too little plot. Patricia McKillip skillfully avoids this pitfall in "Heir of Sea and Fire," the second slim volume in her Riddlemaster trilogy, and the story of Raederle, the second most beautiful woman in An. A year has passed since Morgan of Hed vanished at Erlenstar Mountain, and suddenly the ...

Winter Rose

65 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Ace Hardcover, 1996

Beautifully written--a classic of its type
That says it all. The language and imagery are exquisite. The story is original even though it is derivative. One of the best books I have ever read.

Heir Of Sea And Fire

1 review
Patricia Mckillip

Futura, 1979

Sequel to "The Riddle-Master of Hed"
The heir of sea and fire referred to in the title is Raederle, Morgon of Hed's betrothed, and the main character of this second book in McKillip's 'Riddle-Master' trilogy. She struggles against her shape-changer heritage, but gradually begins to tap into its power in order to protect Morgon. "Heir of Sea and Fire" begins in the spring of the year "following the strange disappearance of the ...

Alphabet of Thorn

35 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip, 2004

"She Has No Idea What Brute Force and Subtleties Can Hold a Realm Together..."
Once again Patricia McKillip crafts a wonderful story, and although I must admit that I haven't read all of her novels, I think it's safe to say that "Alphabet of Thorn" is one of her best works. Out of her many books I *have* read, this one is definitely my favourite. Her beautiful language, her startling imagery, her intricate plot, her mind-twisting ideas...all come together in this stunning ...

Riddle-Master of Hed #01

1 review
Patricia A. McKillip

Del Rey Books, 1989

First book of a rich, absorbing fantasy
Reading "The Riddle-Master of Hed" is like trying to solve the riddle of someone else's partially-glimpsed dream. You enter a rich world of metaphor, sometimes baffling but always beautiful. A standard hero's quest is overgrown with fabulous beasts, children of stone, and death-dealing harps. When Land-Ruler Morgon of Hed wins a bride and a crown in a riddling contest with a ghost, he wipes ...

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

91 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Avon Books, 1976

Never forgotten
I read this book perhaps 30 years ago, fell in love with it and Patricia McKillip then, and I've just reordered it to see how it re-reads. Although it's fantasy fiction I actually learned a lot about self-awareness from The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. A beautiful book, wonderfully well written.

Story of Adam and Eve

1 review
Patricia A. Pingry

Candy Cane Press, 2003

Good for kids
I thought that the Adam and Eve book was a good buy. I have a 17 month old and the pictures are fun to look at.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

1 review
PATRICIA A. MCKILLIP

Avon, 1975

fantasy classic
In college I took a class on fantasy - happily followed by a class on Tolkein when the professor accepted the request of the class. When I read The Forgotten Beasts of Eld I knew it would be the book for my term paper. We were to analyze a book for the basic elements of fantasy - the crone, the matron, the maid, the fisher king, etc. As I recall we were expected to find those elements that an ...

Something Rich and Strange (Brian Froud's Faerielands)

1 review
Patricia A. McKillip

Ibooks, 2005

A place of beauty
There is rarely a solid message in Patricia McKillip's books -- whatever message there is is usually fluid and hard to read. "Something Rich and Strange" is an exception, with a very mild message about the sea shining through a beautiful twist on the Tam Lin story. Jonah and Megan are lovers living together in the Pacific Northwest, an artist and a art storekeeper, in a little seaside town ...

Song for the Basilisk

31 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Ace Hardcover, 1998

Melodious Story
I was hooked by the front art (very good one from Kuniko Y. Craft) but kinda hesitate because the story is about revenge (while I'm not looking to read about that!). But, finally I gave it a try and... first, the rythmic sentence carried me into the story, second the unique and mystery of each character haunted me, and third, the end was unpredictable (in a charming way)! Can't wait to read more ...

Riddle-Master

111 reviews
Patricia A. McKillip

Ace Trade, 1999

The reason I kept reading fantasy
There are some fantasy epics that all literature professors, and most normal people, would consider essential reading for any well-educated person -- J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S.Lewis, Lewis Carroll, etc. So, yeah, I read those a long time ago. But beyond that, there's not much fantasy literature that's essential reading. So, for a long time, I didn't read any. In my drive to be educated, I stuck to the ...

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