Sequel to "The Riddle-Master of Hed"

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	• Heir Of Sea And Fire Patricia Mckillip Futura, 1979 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 1 review view larger image
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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 Prince of Hed, who had, with the High One's harpist, vanished like a mist in Isig Pass..."

Raederle has reason to believe Morgon dead, since the land-rule of Hed has passed to Morgon's brother, Eliard. Or was land-rule ripped from Morgon while he was still alive? In a key passage, Raederle asks the High One's harpist, "What piece of knowledge did the Founder expect to find beneath the knowledge of when the barley would begin to sprout or what trees in his orchard had a disease eating secretly at their hearts?"

The importance of the question lies in the inability of the harpist to answer it.

As with all quest fantasies, this book has some long, relatively dull journeying to be gotten out of the way. Characters get seasick, lost, confused. It rains a lot. Raederle keeps losing jeweled pins out of her hair. Plus I'm not nearly as fond of the Morgol and her guards as is the author, and they don't add much to the plot. Perhaps in the years following the publication of this book (1977), we have all become used to spear-wielding maidens. And battle scenes are battle scenes no matter how much they're juiced up with magic.

But there are also some great visuals in "Heir of Sea and Fire," especially in the sequence where Raederle calls up the dead of An and bargains with them to protect the man who is journeying across their land. I really feared for her life because of the bargain she made with the dead Kings, even though I've read a million fantasies and the heroine never dies--at least not until the end of the trilogy.

This book is a worthy heir to "The Riddle-Master of Hed." You will definitely have to keep reading through to the end of the trilogy, which is "Harpist in the Wind."

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