Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Patricia A. McKillip's  Riddle-Master Trilogy. The Short of It Plot:  All the wizards left behind were riddles, and the only one who might be able to solve them is the biggest riddle of all.  Page Count: 578 (Full Trilogy) Award: Harpist in the Wind (Book 3): 1980 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Fantasy Babble: Minimal. Review:  It's an epic fantasy trilogy. It's a good one. Kinda loved it. Heroes and villains are complex, magic is interesting and coherent. Excellent characters. Cool development of powers, though it is far more power sprint than power crawl. Pacing can be odd; a few long pauses followed by frenetic scenes. Very well written. A satisfying read. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is a review of all three books in the trilogy, even though only the third won an award. They are all quite short - the full collec...

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. 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 th...