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Summary: A book you don't want to end
Review: I first read 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' some years ago, and loved it then. But as our library didn't have the sequels, and I hadn't then heard of inter-library loan, I gave up on finding the rest of the trilogy. A few days ago, however, I stumbled across the whole thing in my aunt's house, and she lent them to me. I read all three books less than a day; I simply couldn't get out of them. I'm convinced Patricia McKillip is one of the finest fantasy writers in the field. Not only are her plots tight and skillfully and imaginatively woven, but her imagery and writing style are one in a million. I can only think of Robin McKinley as a comparison. I found myself cheering Morgon and Raederle along, sharing in their confusion and sorrow and joy. I heartily congradulate Ms. McKillip for contributing such wonderful books to literature. Anyone who reads 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' will never be the same.
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Summary: If it isn't the best book, it is certainly close to it.
Review: I first read of Morgan many years ago. I vividly remember the emotions that I felt during my experience with all three of the books. The characters are as real as any that I have ever read. As the books are an easy read with too few pages it is not a large investment of your time. I can honestly say that I have never loved any character\relationship in any of the literally thousands of books that I have read, as much as I love Deth and Morgan. Their bond is the deepest, richest, most touching love story that I know, the love of a Father and Son. Certainly worth the read.
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Summary: fell in love...
Review: I first read of Morgan many years ago. I vividly remember the emotions that I felt during my experience with all three of the books. The characters are as real as any that I have ever read. As the books are an easy read with too few pages it is not a large investment of your time. I can honestly say that I have never loved any character\relationship in any of the literally thousands of books that I have read, as much as I love Deth and Morgan. Their bond is the deepest, richest, most touching love story that I know, the love of a Father and Son. Certainly worth the read.
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Summary: Childhood Favorite
Review: I just got this book out of the library for the first time in 5 years. I've always remembered it as one of my favorite books as a young adult - a book that led me on to other such fantasy favorites as Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander, and Marian Zimmer Bradley. I remember this whole trilogy as one of my absolute favorites and, slighlty embarrassed and very hopeful, I crept into the young adult section of the library today to take out this wonderful treasure. If you're looking for a book to amaze a die-hard fantasy fan or create a new one, this is it.
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Summary: Depth of characterization and conception with beauty galore.
Review: I read this book as a teenager. I found it in a used bookstore in my hometown, not knowing what it was, and devoured it. Then my search for the other books began. I finally found it in a used bookstore in Santa Cruz, CA, and read it on the car ride home. I remember becoming VERY upset if anyone even spoke to me during that ride. It tells the story of Morgan, land-steward of the island of Hed, from his perspective, so that the reader discovers clues about his fate and his past as he does. He is a real person, with very real emotions and ties to people he loves. The excellence of the larger story is balanced by the high quality of how the interpersonal relationships are portrayed. The tears I shed at the end of this trilogy were a mixture of sorrow, joy, love, and of parting from the people I'd come to know so well and feel so fiercely about during the reading. Enjoy this uniquely told story.
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Summary: One of my very favorites
Review: Like other reviewers, I first read this book as a teenager - I read it as it came out. In the nearly two decades since then, I have rarely run across a better series. I reread it every few years (or more often), and unlike most stories I read when I was young, it continues to be as perfect as I remembered it. The poetic language, intensity of emotion and depth of compassion continue to enchant. I agree that the only competitor for excellence of writing is Guy Gavriel Kay; a distinction is that McKillip's books are more suitable for young readers. While her characters are more "people as they should be" than "people as they usually are", they are still richly human and complex. Among the best books EVER, this is a series to be cherished.
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Summary: Sometimes baffling, always beautiful
Review: Reading "The Riddle-Master of Hed" is like trying to solve the riddle of someone else's partially-glimpsed dream. You enter a rich world of metaphor, sometimes baffling but always beautiful. A standard hero's quest is overgrown with fabulous beasts, children of stone, and death-dealing harps.
When Land-Ruler Morgon of Hed wins a bride and a crown in a riddling contest with a ghost, he wipes the cow manure off of his boots and sets sail from his tiny island kingdom. Unsure as to whether his beautiful, red-haired prize has any interest in marrying a farmer-king, Morgon sets course for the College of Riddle-Masters at Caithnard, where he was once a student and where his bride's brother still resides. His companion for the journey is Deth, the thousand-year-old High One's harpist.
Morgon and Deth are shipwrecked, and once Morgon regains his memory he discovers that he has unknown, shape-changing enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy him. As he flees through the kingdoms of his world, he is befriended by the various land-rulers and is gifted with a harp and a sword that are decorated with three stars--identical to the birthmark of stars on his forehead. He also learns how to change his own shape into beasts and trees.
Finally Morgon makes his way to Erlenstar Mountain with Deth, the harpist, hoping that the High One will solve the riddle of his stars and defend him against his implacable enemies.
Warning: don't read "The Riddle-Master of Hed" without the last two books of the trilogy at hand. The ending of the first book is a completely unexpected sucker-punch, and although "Heir of Sea and Fire" ends by reconciling Morgon with his bride Raederle, they are both still being pursued by a very nasty wizard and an equally nasty horde of shape-changers. You have to read to the very end of this absorbing trilogy before you find even a tentative glimmering of peace and happiness at the end of "Harpist in the Wind."
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Summary: My favorite fantasy trilogy!
Review: Several years ago as a teenager one of my best friends gave me for my birthday two books. The second and third books of this trilogy. She did me the biggest favor ever when she did that. (No, she did not realize they were the latter two thirds of the trilogy!) I bought the first one myself so I could start the story from the beginning. (I'm slightly neurotic that way) I have read them many times since. It's a beautiful story filled with magic and adventure. (and strong adventurous women characters) as well as the hero and villians. But the villains aren't really, and the hero is most of the time confused as well as wise and compassionate. All for the future of a world filled with mystery and wonder and power. I highly recommend these for anyone of any age.
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Summary: Fantasy that teases your mind and captures your heart
Review: The riddle that Morgon must solve appears straightforward
at first: why was he born with the sign of the stars upon his brow? But as Morgon works diligently to find the answer,
he discovers that the seemingly small and personal knot of this riddle ties together the strands of power, and even consciousness, that run throughout his entire world. When Morgon begins to unravel it, he looses forces that have been
bound for millenia, enemies both to him and all others who share his way of life. His diligence turns to desperation as
his foes, implacable as the tide, advance from without to
submerge his world and strike from within at friends
only a hand's-breadth away. Morgon finds himself at
the center of a web of deadly riddles that enmeshes
fierce warrior kings and wise pig-herders, white-bearded
wizards and wandering harpists, a red-haired princess
and herds of the purple-eyed Vesta that flow in vast
numbers over the wastelands. All are bound together
against an enemy they aren't even aware of.
This superb trilogy leaves you with perfect jewels of
scenes to admire again and again: an ancient, gleaming
crown, hidden under a dusty bed; lovely Raederle running,
laughing, up a hill, jeweled combs cascading from her
hair; ancient children of stone, their features blurred
by the millenia, turning listlessly towards the first
light to enter their cavern in centuries; the sickening,
sideways lurch of a foundering ship, the crew inexplicably
vanished, a wall of green foam pouring over the railing.
A rich, full story of many tastes.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Incredible, Best Fantasy Series Ever
Review: The trilogy begun in this book easily equals the greatest ever written. Although not as well known as Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, Terry Brook's Shanara series, or Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; this series stands solidly in their company. Although a little slow in the beginning, the story accelerates throughout the trilogy to a truly unpredictable and worthy climax. An incredible story with the most brilliantly creative magic ever presented
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