Rating: 
Summary: A Beautifully Crafted Tale, A Lost Masterpiece
Review: "A Gathering of Gargoyles" is the second of Meredith Ann Pierce's 'Darkangel' trilogy, beginning with "The Dark Angel" and accumulating in "The Pearl of the Soul of the World", which together create one of the most beautifully crafted and presented stories that I have ever come across. As told in "The Dark Angel", the story is of Aerial, a simple slave in a wealthy household whose mistress Eoduin was captured by one of the dreaded winged vampyres, who drink the blood and steals the souls of women. Aerial followed her mistress, becoming a servent in the Irrylath's house, and to her horror, eventually being chosen to be his last bride. But with the help of the dwarf-like duarough Talb and a magical drought, she restored the darkangel to humanity by literally exchanging hearts with him, and returned him to his mother's house.And now Aerial is appointed another task set to her by the deceased spirits of the brides: to seek out the missing lons, the powerful animal-like wardens of the land who have long been missing, most likely due to the designs of the White Witch, the maker of the darkangels, who still haunts Irrylath's dreams. Despairing of her husband's inability to love her, Aerial takes up the task and sets off on a journey to the temple of the sibyl in her own homeland to unravel the mystery of an ancient riddle that will help her find the missing lons. Armed with a dark staff with a heron passenger, she not only seeks the lons, but unknowingly finds the secrets of her own past, and her role in the destiny that follows in the war against the Witch. Unlike "The Darkangel", which was created in more of a circular narrative in the fairytale motifs of capture, trial and restoration (much like in 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Snow White'), "A Gathering of Gargoyles" is a voyaging novel, with an ultimate goal hindered by several obstacles. And these obstacles, far from dragging the story on, are fascinating: a sail across a Sea-of-Dust, hidden danger in a City of Thieves, a chase through a dark forest filled with night-haunts, the rescue of a rather unusual maiden sacrifice, a time of being held in captivity by a man who has sold his own name, the relighting of a great lighthouse, and finally, with the meeting of two familiar characters from the first book - one good and one evil - the climax of the quest. Although the premise may look silly written down, perhaps seeming to belong to a trashy vampiric-romance paperback, I assure you it is *not*. Meredith Pierce creates a world with depth and resonance, perfectly mingling together elements of many cultures - the German loreleis, the European gargoyles, the Grecian sphinx - into a familiar, yet totally unique blend. Unlike many fantasy authors -and Tolkien imitators- these days, who feel as if they must cram detail upon detail into their books in order to make it seem realistic (but only succeeding in making them encyclopedic), Pierce creates exotic worlds and its wildlife with barely any effort; a different way of keeping time, a new range of foods and plants (including 'hungerspice', 'nightfruit', and 'winesheath') and vivid descriptions of scenery that do not inflict directly on the story or slow it down, but simply serve to convincingly create an entire world separate from this one. Likewise, she keeps in mind the separate sects of her land, as in different countries the terrain and communities change, as does the language - in one place a darkangel is called an 'icarus', and in another it is called a 'seraph'. All is told in an elegant and simple tone, as if Pierce is retelling a story, giving the book an air of being an ancient folklore retold. Much of the charm of the books is the heroine, Aerial herself. In a 'polically correct' world where authors feel as if female protagonists must be able to swing a sword in order to be considered 'strong female characters' equal to males, it is wonderful to discover a resourceful, intelligent, compassionate, strong-willed female who experiences hardship and triumphs over the odds without once resorting to violence (expect a couple of self-defensive manuveurs with a staff). Such heroines are increasingly getting harder to come by, but are always more realistic and interesting to female *and* male readers. I for one would have absolutely no clue what to do if someone handed me a sword, and Aerial, with her faults and virtues is a pleasure to read of. The entire story reads like an old, dark fairytale, with traditional elements given new life - an invisibility cloak, magic fruit, a damsel to be sacrificed, a sacrificial stone - all sound like utter cliches, but are deliberatly presented here in such originality that it is if you are reading of them for the first time. These books have my highest recommendation - everything about them appealed to me, from the content to the underlying themes to the style of the writing. Why these books remain largely unknown is a mystery to me, as Meredith Ann Pierce's talent as a storyteller is right up there with the masters of the fantasy genre.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Sequel
Review: A Gathering of Gargoyles was a quickly read book considering the fact that I couldn't put it down! This novel puts more depth in the characters, especially the two main ones, Irrylath and Aerial. Their relationship becomes less than the reader expects from the first volume, Darkangel. This once again puts Aerial through another action packed journey. Mystery slowly unfolds in Aerial's unclear past. I would recommend all readers out there to grab this book for a fantastic ride through an unknown place and time. If you haven't read Darkangel, I'd advice you to read the equally exciting first volume. I can't wait to put my hands on the final book of the Darkangel Trilogy!
Rating:
Summary: A Gathering of Gargoyles
Review: Aeriel thought her part in overpowering the White Witch was done, and Irrylath and his six brothers- Arat, Nar, Syril, Lern, Poratun, and Hadin- had what was left to be finished. But a visit by the dozen-and-one maidens proved her wrong. Now she needs to travel across the Sea-of-Dust with a second part of Ravenna's riddle to solve before the Avarclon can awaken.
A Gathering of Gargoyles is a beautifully written masterpiece. It has many turns, yet doesn't go in circles. There are a lot of new characters, but they're easy to catch up with. The book's genre as it is, you'd expect to read about almost all of the folklore-fantasy creatures known to man. But the creatures are almost all from Mrs. Pierce's form of imagination. Even though everything adds up to the near end, even before that, this book is a must for middle school to high school alike.
Rating:
Summary: A FIVE-STAR FANTASY!
Review: At first I wasn't sure if I'd really like this book. This was partly because I found it at my library while looking for books by Tamora Pierce. I din't even notice that it wasn't by her until I got it home and really looked at it. I was quickly drawn into the fast paced novel, and I had a very hard time putting it down! The fantasy world that Ms. Pierce created is fantasticly detailed. Her characters portray emotions in a way that is really human. I especially fell bad for Aerial. You can tell that she really loves her husband and wants him to let her into his world. I feel her pain every time he callously shoves her away. And even though I'm kinda partraying it as a downer, this book has it's really happy moments. It's filled with suspense, action, fantasy and magic! In short, what more could you want?
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative Fantasy from Pierce
Review: Gathering of Gargoyles is the second in a triad of books that
describe a quest by a young woman. She initally starts the
quest to save her new husband (who is a recovering vampire), but ends up trying to save her world. I think this series is considered YA, but it will be enjoyed by
those that like early Sheri Tepper, Jane Gaskell, and Sydney
Van Scyoc. It will also appeal to feminists.
The environment is richly realized and based on scientifc
principles, though you may be well into the third book before you figure out which ones. The tale is full of imaginative turns and interesting characters, and feels like
a fairy tale
Rating:
Summary: Great fantasy title
Review: I 1st was introduced to this book as a 3-n-1 entitled "The Dark Angel Trilogy" when I was in Jr. High School close to 15 years ago. I had read it twice (all 3) before the friend that let me borrow her book moved out of state. It has taken me YEARS to finally fined a copy of all three (they no longer publish it as one book). I've always been fascinated with vampires and Meredith Ann Pierce's description of vampires is entirely unique. For a YA series these books had a lot of character depth in exciting yet heart-wrenching tale of one peasant's journey into saving her mistress, herself, her captor, & not to mention the world. Most everyone else will give you details of the book. I'll simply tell you that this series had such an effect on me that I wept when I finally had copies of all three books after 15+ years of searching ... Out of the 3 books, this one is my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Finally back in Print!
Review: I 1st was introduced to this book as a 3-n-1 entitled "The Dark Angel Trilogy" when I was in Jr. High School close to 15 years ago. I had read it twice (all 3) before the friend that let me borrow her book moved out of state. It has taken me YEARS to finally fined a copy of all three (they no longer publish it as one book). I've always been fascinated with vampires and Meredith Ann Pierce's description of vampires is entirely unique. For a YA series these books had a lot of character depth in exciting yet heart-wrenching tale of one peasant's journey into saving her mistress, herself, her captor, & not to mention the world. Most everyone else will give you details of the book. I'll simply tell you that this series had such an effect on me that I wept when I finally had copies of all three books after 15+ years of searching ... Out of the 3 books, this one is my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Pierce is a pleasure!!!
Review: I am in love with Ariel, Irrylath, and this brilliant world of fantasy that Ms. Pierce has created. She has such style and an impecable imagination. Her characters are so real that your heart pounds and your brow sweats in anticipation right along with the characters. The gargoyles are the best yet - like big bony, stone dogs - they were my favorites!! I read the book in 2 1/2 days if that tells you what a page turner it is. It really lived up to the excellence of the first book - The Dark Angel. My library carries the first two books of the series but not the final book, so I must wait in anticipation for the final book - The Pearl of the Soul of the World. I'm almost afraid to read the final book simply because I don't want the journey to end!! I will probably end up reading them all over again as soon as I've finished the last one. Applause goes out to Ms. Pierce and her unique imagination!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Pierce is a pleasure!!!
Review: I am in love with Ariel, Irrylath, and this brilliant world of fantasy that Ms. Pierce has created. She has such style and an impecable imagination. Her characters are so real that your heart pounds and your brow sweats in anticipation right along with the characters. The gargoyles are the best yet - like big bony, stone dogs - they were my favorites!! I read the book in 2 1/2 days if that tells you what a page turner it is. It really lived up to the excellence of the first book - The Dark Angel. My library carries the first two books of the series but not the final book, so I must wait in anticipation for the final book - The Pearl of the Soul of the World. I'm almost afraid to read the final book simply because I don't want the journey to end!! I will probably end up reading them all over again as soon as I've finished the last one. Applause goes out to Ms. Pierce and her unique imagination!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Best of the three
Review: I first discovered Meredith Ann Pierce through the Firebringer books, then sought out The Darkangel because I needed to read everything she wrote. I love her style, and even after reading the trilogy several times I don't get tired of the language and characters. This is the only one of the three I had to replace because I literally wore out my paperback copy. The first is the most adventure and the third the most revelation, but A Gathering of Gargoyles is what moves the quest from impossibility to hope and gives Aeriel the beginnings of her confidence and identity. This is the best one to pick up and read on its own.
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