Rating: 
Summary: Tam Lin in the woods
Review: "Winter Rose" is a beautifully wrought gem of a fantasy. Rois, the heroine, loves the woods and roams them widely to gather berries and herbs for her family. One summer day she discovers a secret well and, in a glimmer of light and leaves, a young man-Corbet--as well. He is, it seems, the heir to Lynn Hall and the son of a man who--so the villagers believe--killed his father and was cursed to suffer the same fate himself. Now the grandson has returned to reclaim and rebuild the family estate. Both Rois and her sister Laurel fall in love with Corbet, and Corbet with Laurel. But Rois senses a greater mystery surrounding Corbet and his inheritance and sets about disentangling the truth about who--and what--Corbet is. She is gifted with the ability to see the world that others can't see in the woods and to pass between them. The fates of herself, her sister, and Corbet rest on what she discovers and what she does. Much of the pleasure of "Winter Rose" lies in the author's ability to create vivid images with words, especially images of the alien world of the woods and its cold mistress. Light, leaves, roses, brambles, wate, ivy, ice, snow-- you feel the words as much as read them. Although McKillip never really names the world of the woods as "fey," most readers will immediately make the association. She paints a picture of an elemental, alien, and ultimately cruel world, ruled over by a woman of icy power and beauty. Seductive in the summer light, its heart is winter, and it brings death to all things human. This is not a book to skim. For someone interested primarily in the plot, McKillip's style might well be frustrating, especially since the author merges dream and reality in her narration. But McKillip's language shimmers, and out of the light her words cast, the story unfolds. I found "Winter Rose" a marvelous, magical book.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: "Winter Rose" is a beautifully wrought gem of a fantasy. Rois, the heroine, loves the woods and roams them widely to gather berries and herbs for her family. One summer day she discovers a secret well and, in a glimmer of light and leaves, a young man-Corbet--as well. He is, it seems, the heir to Lynn Hall and the son of a man who--so the villagers believe--killed his father and was cursed to suffer the same fate himself. Now the grandson has returned to reclaim and rebuild the family estate. Both Rois and her sister Laurel fall in love with Corbet, and Corbet with Laurel. But Rois senses a greater mystery surrounding Corbet and his inheritance and sets about disentangling the truth about who--and what--Corbet is. She is gifted with the ability to see the world that others can't see in the woods and to pass between them. The fates of herself, her sister, and Corbet rest on what she discovers and what she does. Much of the pleasure of "Winter Rose" lies in the author's ability to create vivid images with words, especially images of the alien world of the woods and its cold mistress. Light, leaves, roses, brambles, wate, ivy, ice, snow-- you feel the words as much as read them. Although McKillip never really names the world of the woods as "fey," most readers will immediately make the association. She paints a picture of an elemental, alien, and ultimately cruel world, ruled over by a woman of icy power and beauty. Seductive in the summer light, its heart is winter, and it brings death to all things human. This is not a book to skim. For someone interested primarily in the plot, McKillip's style might well be frustrating, especially since the author merges dream and reality in her narration. But McKillip's language shimmers, and out of the light her words cast, the story unfolds. I found "Winter Rose" a marvelous, magical book.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Vision of a Tale
Review: How can two sisters be so different? Laurel is beautiful, proper, thoughtful, and utterly sensible. She calmly cares for her widowed father and plans her wedding to her childhood sweetheart. Rois is a wild freespirit who roams the woods by day and sometimes by night searching for something even she could not name. But they soon discover that they have one thing in common...his name is Corbet Lynn... Corbet returns to his father's childhood home and begins restoration work amid a storm of rumors and gossip. Corbet's grandfather was murdered in that house and most believe that Corbet's father was the guilty party. But all know, whether his son murdered him or not, that the old man used his last breath to place a dreadful curse on his son...and his son's descendents. Almost as soon as Rois sets eyes upon the young man, she is determined to unravel the mysteries of his past. But her fascination with his unusual history is soon replaced by feelings that are much stronger. She never expected that she would give her heart so easily...or that her feelings would not be returned when she did. It would seem that Corbet has taken a fancy to Laurel...who returns his feelings whole heartedly, fiancee or no. But Rois can not back out of the picture as easily as she got into it. As the curse begins to bear fruit, Rois finds herself tangled in its web. She realizes that it is up to her to save the man she loves...even if she saves him so that he can freely love another...her own sister. What Rois didn't count on was the truths she would learn about her own past...and her surprising destiny... Reading this book was like looking at a beautiful painting. The word pictures are marvelous and the emotions are almost too real. Readers are swept away in a tide of romance, jealousy, hatred, and mystery. Fantasy readers will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Doors & Windows...
Review: I followed the words through this book so swiftly, unable to stop reading, stop following. What beautiful prose. McKillip's rhythm and sense of self were incredible. Somewhere between worlds - like the Snow Queen, or The Lion, The Witch, & the Wardrobe, the Chronicles of Corum - the power of moving between worlds, gates opening to some of us, not others, being trapped on a plane that is not your home. This story was like the truth of life & fairytales - the cruelty and the beauty all in one. It was the first book of McKillip's I'd read. Looking forward to more...
Rating: 
Summary: A dreamy tale
Review: I just recently finished this book for the second time. The first, I didn't really grasp it. This time around, however, I did. It's a dreamy tale about the wild, wood-loving Rois, the cursed Corbet Lynn, and Rois's sensible sister, Laurel. Ms. McKillip weaves a tale of unspoken love and a disasterous curse the villagers think will come true. When Corbet Lynn returns to his family home to rebuild, he brings with him mystery. Rois is the only one who can see him for who he truly is. I think what bothered me most about the book was that the author did not tie up the loose end about Rois's mother. I really wanted to know who/what she was/is. However, I loved the end when Corbet asks Rois to look at the rose vines intertwined with ivy.
Rating: 
Summary: Weird
Review: I read a lot of sci-fi and fantasy, but I have to say this was too 'out there' for me. The story was good, as were the story lines of several other books by this author that I have read, but the reading frustrates me. Her style is just, well, obtuse. I may be too literal, but this book was hard for me to get through.
Rating:
Summary: A poem, a riddle, a dream
Review: Ms. McKillip has woven magic into this book. A tale of falling sunlight, drowning roses, shadowy green eyes, sweet perfumed water, cold winter days, half-seen images: of fey and the ordinary, of a hidden secret, a hidden sorrow in the Lynn legends. This is the story of Rois, the untamed, witch-like daughter of a farmer, and how, by loving the fey Corbet Lynn and ferreting out his secrets, following him through dreams and reality, she finally becomes human. A poignant tale, I cried at times, swept away by the emotional power of Ms. McKillip's poetic prose. I have never read anything so beautiful. So sad. I love this book very much. Not only was it amazing trying to follow Rois and Corbet through realms beyond, but trying to distinguish what was dream and what was reality. The imagery used, the symbolism, was so otherworldly in its significance, in its beauty, that I was awed as well as moved much of the time. I wish Patricia McKillip's other books were as this one. By making it a first-person-narrative you never lose focus of the character while becoming adrift in the world. Again, this really was very beautiful (there is no other word; it's like a melody that stirs the soul) and I was spell-bound.
Rating:
Summary: Dream like or boring?
Review: Rois has always been fond of wondering around in the woods. Her sister, Laurel, and their father
constantly worry that she'll never find a husband and settle down. Their fears seem unfounded when Rois becomes obsessed with a man, Corbet, she sees in the woods one day. Rois is determined to find out more about Corbet and she soon discovers that his family is under a curse. She wants to break the curse so they can be together but her dreams are shattered when Laurel and Corbet take a liking to each other. I enjoyed the premise of this book but the plot took forever to go anywhere. I like the dreamlike parts of the book to a certain extent but they just took up too much of the book for me to enjoy them totally. I probably would have liked this more as a short story. As for the characters, I loved Rois, hated Laurel, and was indifferent to Corbet. Even though this book didn't impress me too much I may try something else by this writer. The writing is quite good. If you like dreamlike mysteries you'll probably enjoy this book. I just prefer something a little more solid.
Rating: 
Summary: Potential without substance
Review: Sigh. This book had so much potential. McKillip had a wonderful, engaging main character in Rois. In fact her characterisation in general was wonderful. And the basis for a plot was undeniably there. But it just didn't develop. It was vague and gossamer like, and at the end I was so sorry, because I could have loved it if it was a little more substantial, but it was so airy it fell flat.
Rating:
Summary: Dream book
Review: The thing I love about McKillip is that she can draw the reader into a dream-like fairy world, and this book is no different. It is hard to decide what is real and what is not, to that point that it feels very much like a dream. Most writers cannot pull this off, to create a true dream atmosphere, but McKillip does this in this book. The story is tragic, yet with a happy ending, and the whole book is done well, the people in the book are interesting and well done, and as a whole this is one of the best non-adventure fantasy books, best read by mature readers. (Not neccisaryly older).
|
