Book Review: Pegasus

This relatively new book is very similar in style to Robin McKinley's early works...until you get to the end.

In the world created within these pages, it is traditional for two peoples--the humans and the pegasi--to create a bond between carefully selected individuals in order for the races to better understand each other.

This is the story of a princess and her pegasus, and the secret that they uncover.

I didn't care for the ending at all--it was too abrupt, and didn't fully resolve things--but it was interesting until that point. However, the ending makes all the pages before it seem like wasted time, so I can't recommend this one wholeheartedly.

Book Review: The Blue Sword

Those of you who love Robin McKinley are no doubt already acquainted with The Blue Sword, as it is one of her very early works. However, I had the opportunity to discover it for the first time this past December, and fell completely in love.

This high-adventure tale has all the elements neccessary for a really good story: swordfights, kidnapping, danger, excitement, romance, and compelling characters. I loved it so much, I bought a copy online before I'd even finished reading the library copy. Highly recommended.

Book Review: Fire: Tales of Elemental Spirits

Another excellent story collection by husband-and-wife team Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson, Fire brings together tales of such things as salamanders, hellhounds, and the Phoenix. Some of my favorite short stories included Dave's Wood (Dickinson), Hellhound (McKinley)--possibly the best story in the book, and Salamander Man (Dickinson), although I enjoyed them all. This one also includes a story about McKinley's Damar, entitled A Pool in the Desert. This anthology is even better than their previous endeavor, Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits!

Book Review: Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits

This four-star collection of six short stories by husband-and-wife collaborators Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson is imaginative, satisfying, and extremely well-told. The tales are filled with mer-folk, sea serpents, water horses, and more, however, these are not your average mermaid tales. The rendering of the various worlds of the merfolk abound with rich descriptions, satsifying plots, and variety. Personal favorites among these stories included Water Horse (McKinley), Kraken (Dickinson), and The Sea-King's Son (McKinley). This last one surfaces as an unusual retelling of McKinley's favorite fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. Excellent! [266 pages.]

Book Review: The Door in the Hedge

This collection of four short stories is great to curl up with on a rainy day with a good cup of tea. Along with two original tales by Robin McKinley, it also has her renditions of "The Princess and the Frog" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Very enjoyable!

Book Review: Foxmask

Eyvind's daughter Criedhe has loved her friend Thorvald for her entire life. When Thorvald turns eighteen, he is given a disturbing piece of news by his mother, Margaret: that he is not Ulf's son as he had thought, but the traitor Somerled's. Desperate to find out whether he is truly Somerled's child in nature as well as by birth, Thorvald embarks on a voyage to find his father, who was banished from the Light Isles. Thorvald doesn't know that Criedhe has been watching him, and that she has stowed away on his ship to be with him. He is angry when he finds out, but by then they are already too far out to sea to simply turn around and take her home. This is a story about a young man's quest for his father, a young woman's journey to find love, and an ancient feud. Not quite as well-written as Wolfskin-- there wasn't enough time in the beginning to get to know Criedhe before she followed Thorvald to the ends of the earth, with the end result that I didn't really liked her at first. This act of love simply seems silly rather than courageous, something that she herself comes to admit later on in the book. Thorvald and several of the support characters are more interesting, though Thorvald isn't tremendously likeable either. Overall, the book was interesting and a good read, but not a fantastic one. My rating is 3.5 stars out of 5. [462 pages.]

Book Review: Wolfskin

All Eyvind has ever wanted in life is to be a Wolfskin, a warrior of legends serving the god Thor. When his elder brother, the Wolfskin Eirik, comes home, he brings Eyvind an unexpected task. Eirik's comrade Ulf doesn't quite know what to do with his younger brother, Somerled, who has witnessed terrible tragedy and become extremely withdrawn. It has become Eyvind's task to befriend Somerled and teach him how to be a boy. As clever Somerled and strong Eyvind spend time together, hunting, climbing trees, and learning combative training, they grow in their friendship, which becomes a brotherlike bond rather than an enforced task. In time, they become blood brothers, swearing an unbreakable oath to one another.

The years pass, and Eyvind becomes a Wolfskin of renown. As Ulf prepares to depart for a place known as the Light Isles, Somerled's newfound happiness wanes, disappointed that his elder brother is leaving him behind yet again. Eyvind speaks up for him to the Jarl, the ruler of their settlement, requesting that Somerled be allowed to go to the Light Isles. Ulf doesn't want Somerled to come, but he can hardly say no to the Jarl. In turn, Eyvind ends up also going along on the voyage, something he doesn't really want to do. As they reach the Light Isles, Ulf makes a peaceful contract with the king there, and the two peoples dwell in peace alongside one another. When Ulf is viciously murdered, Somerled takes over in his brother's stead, and the once-peaceful settlement becomes one of violence and bloodlust. Eyvind must put aside his blind obedience to Somerled and their blood bond, and search for the truth in order to save both peoples.

This is an epic tale based on the dark fairytale of The Singing Harp. There is a depth of cultural richness in this novel that makes the story gripping and believable. It's believable because it's very true to life. While reading it, I could really feel characters' pain, love, loss, longing, and betrayal as if it was my own. Some parts are so beautiful they'll make your heart ache; some so cruel and horrific you'll want to weep. This is not a book for the fainthearted-- some of the unsettling parts are quite graphic, and there are some sexual parts that make this book inappropriate for younger readers. The good and the bad twine together in a way that makes it feel like an epic of your own personal history. I give it 4 stars out of 5. [489 pages.]