Rating: 
Summary: confusion at mckillip's worst
Review: I love McKillip's writing. But this story was a disappointment. I'm happy to see that others enjoyed it (it's always good to see that what you don't like makes someone else happy), but I wouldn't recommend Tower at Stony Wood. It's an extremely poor representation of McKillip's storytelling talent.The premise of the story is somewhat intriguing and holds a bit of the spiritual depth McKillip usually brings out in a story. But not only are the 'twists' exceedingly confusing-- they're weak and hardly convincing. McKillip's usual strength at writing strong and beuatiful sentences is not to be found here-- many weak and confusing sentences instead. The three interweaving stories and protagonists were never developed enough for me to actually 'care' for them or believe in them. Many scenes are hard to visualize and are, yes, weak and unconvincing. I hate to sound so negative, but McKillip has set her own standards high, so this is to her credit. Do try her first trilogy, the Riddle Master, for a fantasy classic-- exquisite storytelling AND writing that deserves more credit from the literary world outside of this genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but cloudy....
Review: I loved "The Riddle-Master of Hed" series when it first came out. I must've re-read it at least 6 times. But after reading "The Tower at Stony Wood" I remembered that part of the reason I had to keep re-reading it is because McKillip's writing can be pretty obscure. In fact, when she gets to an action scene it gets even more obscure and confusing. At the end of her books I'm left with the feeling that I'm not quite sure exactly what went on. This isn't all bad. It IS part of the charm of her writing but it just doesn't work all of the time. But perhaps I shouldn't start with a criticism of this book. I truly liked it but just found that I spent so much time confused that it distracted me from really losing my self in the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Exquisite
Review: I think Ms. McKillip is quite simply the finest fantasy writer alive. This book is gorgeous, magical, and thrilling from start to finish. I couldn't possibly praise it enough. The cover is beautiful too! I highly recommend this novel as well as all of McKillip's fine stories.
Rating:
Summary: The tower at Stony Wood
Review: I thought this book was very confusing and slightly boring. After I read the book, I could barely remember what happened in it. All I remember were blurs of events, none of the characters really stood out from the blur. I think this book lacks humour, but then, maybe that isn't Patricia A. McKillip's style, I don't know.
Rating: 
Summary: Weak Characterization
Review: I'm sorry to say (really, I am) that I found this book to be a disappoinment, not to mention way overpriced. It started off promising--the romance between Cyan and Cria, for example, was intriguing, and I immediately liked Cyan. I was also intrigued by the imagery the author presented in the dragon, and the woman embroidering in the tower. However, by page one hundred, I was asking myself why I cared about any of this. McKillip's writing style is highly poetic and doesn't really focus on emotions--it's all basically imagery, imagery, imagery. Do these characters even have emotions? It was impossible to get to know them when the only clues to their behavoir are their actions. Also, I personally think there were too many characters in this book, with not enough focus on them. If you're only going to have a character appear for five pages of the book, then forget about him/her, what's the point of even putting them in? As I said, McKillip has great imagery style, but her action scenes are simply confusing--it's hard to tell who is doing what. The first action scene, where Cyan is attacked in the forest by a "monster" is what truly lost me on the story. THE TOWER AT STONY WOOD is an okay fantasy, but I don't think it deserves the kind of praise it is getting; it's certainly not the best fairy tale-like fantasy published recently, and I wouldn't pay full price for it even in the paperback version. Get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Weak Characterization
Review: I'm sorry to say (really, I am) that I found this book to be a disappoinment, not to mention way overpriced. It started off promising--the romance between Cyan and Cria, for example, was intriguing, and I immediately liked Cyan. I was also intrigued by the imagery the author presented in the dragon, and the woman embroidering in the tower. However, by page one hundred, I was asking myself why I cared about any of this. McKillip's writing style is highly poetic and doesn't really focus on emotions--it's all basically imagery, imagery, imagery. Do these characters even have emotions? It was impossible to get to know them when the only clues to their behavoir are their actions. Also, I personally think there were too many characters in this book, with not enough focus on them. If you're only going to have a character appear for five pages of the book, then forget about him/her, what's the point of even putting them in? As I said, McKillip has great imagery style, but her action scenes are simply confusing--it's hard to tell who is doing what. The first action scene, where Cyan is attacked in the forest by a "monster" is what truly lost me on the story. THE TOWER AT STONY WOOD is an okay fantasy, but I don't think it deserves the kind of praise it is getting; it's certainly not the best fairy tale-like fantasy published recently, and I wouldn't pay full price for it even in the paperback version. Get it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy writing at its best!
Review: I've only recently discovered Patricia McKillip and I can't believe I've gone all of this time not knowing such an incredible writer was out there. Cyan Dag, the King's most renowned Knight discovers that the new queen is not what she appears to be. Instead of the charming beauty everyone else sees, he is able to see the whisper of her 6th finger, her scales and reptilian eyes. Cyan is then off on a reluctant but earnest quest to free the real Lady of Skye who is trapped in a far off tower. The quest is both literal and metaphorical and Cyan has the true sight that all real heroes should have. Along the way he comes to understand that things aren't always what they appear to be and the quest is finished but not in the way he sets out to do. Blessedly free of the kind of sappy romance that often wrecks a good fantasy novel of this genre, this book is crafted from beautiful language and imagery and McKillip is now a new favorite of mine.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing read, fun for Loreena McKennitt fans
Review: I've read everything written by Patricia McKillip that I could get my hands on since finding "Forgotten Beasts of Eld" many years ago. A fun fact about this particular book is that it appears to be inspired by Loreena McKennitt's version of "Lady of Shalott". (She set the poem, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, to her own music. It is a haunting piece.) If you love L. McKennitt, you may really enjoy this book.(Read the dedication for the McKennitt reference)
Rating:
Summary: A great book, one to come back to again and again.
Review: McKillip says more about the nature of reality in this book than most philosophers say in volumes of speculation. No, it's not straightforward and easy to get, but it's worth the time to let it sink into your psyche. Perhaps I'm more comfortable with the interwoven, changeable nature of reality than most, with the transformations that turn ordinary people into magicians, but this shouldn't be out of reach for anyone who's willing to let their hard edges rest into poetry.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written, but ultimately disappointing
Review: McKillip writes beautifully and creates gorgeous images, so the essential pointlessness of this book may go unnoticed by some readers. I found that the two main male characters were so similar as to be indistinguishable. The plot was, at best, nebulous. It was rarely clear what was going on or even who each character was, which had the result of making it hard to care what happened. Overall, it seemed that the author was constantly trying to convey some "deep" philosophical point, but without ever really saying anything profound. Some of the better scenes are very reminiscent of her earlier work involving magical creatures and shapechanging, and I'd recommend rereading those instead.
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