The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

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Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Patricia A. McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.

The Short of It

Plot: A witch lives alone with a menagerie of mythical creatures until a prince is delivered into her care.
Page Count: 240
Award: 1975 World Fantasy Award
Worth a read: Yes
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Fail
Technobabble: None.
Review: Classic fantasy - a hidden prince, talking animals, powerful magic. Enjoyable prose and a few interesting creatures elevate it beyond standard tropes. Has one of the best/most nuanced female characters so far. Not an exceptional book, but worth a read if you enjoy sword & sorcery fare.

77356

The Medium of It
Spoiler Free!

This is an interesting one. On the one hand, it buys into pretty much every trope of generic fantasy: battling royalty, things responding to true names, falling in love after having one conversation, a dragon who loves gold, and so on. On the other hand, some things end up way darker than that would imply, the prince is not the main character, the witches are not evil, and sometimes even the good guys do terrible things. On the third hand, there's a boar that speaks in riddles.

My initial feel on this one was rather lukewarm. It starts out with all the usual things - a messenger struggling to drop off a baby who is in danger. Things stay pretty run-of-the-mill for a while - the boy growing up, and so on. There are a few decent scenes involving the titular beasts, but nothing too exciting. 

Then things get significantly more interesting and significantly darker. My interest? 'Twas piqued. This is also when Sybel goes from unremarkable to a legitimately interesting protagonist.

Nonetheless, taken as a whole, pacing can be quite choppy even once things become more interesting. This is partly due to the prose - it is generally good, but occasionally a bit self-indulgent. Characters also have a habit of explicitly stating whatever they happen to be thinking; good for clarity, not great for subtlety. 

The shift from "it's fine" to "worth a read" comes from the ending. It's clever, it makes sense, and I was totally blindsided. 

It's a good fantasy story with a few standout elements. You won't regret reading it, you also won't be missing out on a ton if you pass it by.

Should you be so inclined, if you order with the link below, I'll get a few cents at no additional cost to you!

The Long of It
Spoilers Ahead!

There are a lot of ridiculous fantasy names coming up, so, be warned.

My one big gripe is the lack of a good villain. The Wizard Mithran is by far the most powerful antagonist in this story. He is able to overpower Sybel, command her, command her creatures. Unfortunately, he is only briefly in the story. He kicks the bucket just under halfway through. This is the main weakness of this book; there is no real antagonist. Sure, King Drede is there. But we know he's weak. There was never a chance that he could win. We have a protagonist out for vengeance who is way more powerful than anyone else. It's great that she goes pushes it pretty close to being straight up evil - but there is no one to stand in her way.

Back to the good stuff.

The entire book, Sybel wants to find one creature - the Liralen. She ends up calling the Ballmor - fear incarnate.

Now, what is the Liralen? Is it hope? Is it happiness? Is it love? I don't know. But whatever it is, it is the opposite of fear. Yet they are the same creature. That's right, flip the Blammor around and it's the Liralen! And somehow they interact with and reflect what is within each of us. Talk about some symbolism! Sybel's desire to catch the Liralen is established at the very beginning, and only comes through at the end. It's a good circle back to the beginning.

Speaking of the beginning telling the ending, here's what Ter, the Falcon, tells Sybel at the start:
I will tell you... having known men for countless years, that if you begin killing them, one day they will grow frightened, come in great numbers, tear down your house, and loose your animals.
After Sybel kills Mithran, Drede grows terrified. He brings his army. But Sybel is the one who looses her animals; she frees them herself, and decides that she does not want to stay in her house anymore. It's a pretty good setup!

This was not the best book I've read recently, but it's well written and well constructed. It's a solid fantasy book.

Fear and Loathing in Eld, Stranger.
And don't forget to read a book!

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