ISBN: 0-441-00733-3 Order from: Amazon.com
Characteristically lyrical, intricate and deft, this fairy-tailish narrative is full of magic and warmth, but suffers from a convoluted and portentious plot.
Reviewed by David on June 11, 2000
Genre: Fantasy (Fairy Tale, Sorcery)
Synopsis: An honest and courageous knight, Cyan Dag lacks the funds to impress his beloved's father. When his King marries a foreign princess, he is sent on a journey of mystery and danger to prevent his leige from a perilous enchantment.
Full Review: The intricate patterns of magic and embroidery permeate this intricately crafted novel. More accessible than many of McKillip's recent creations, this fantasy, deals with the bitterness, fear and sadness that afflict its characters, and the potential cost of these emotions. The author uses several fairy tale motifs deliberately, including the princess imprisoned in a tower, the questing knight (for a moment, I thought I was reading a retelling of The King of Elfland's Daughter), and the fairy wife.
There is less desolation and more warmth in this fantasy than in many of McKillip's other novels. There is also a familiar retelling of the magic, beauty and seduction of the sea, resembling more than a bit her light-hearted and excellent The Changling Sea.
The plot, intricately woven as it is, suffers from a rather convoluted deviousness that detracts from one's enjoyment. While most enjoyable in its portrayal of a coast-dwelling, and sea-haunted family of women, the novels loses its appeal in the manipulative, and convoluted plots that affect its protagonist.
Enjoyable and impressive, and written with remarkable skill, this novel engenders frustration that nearly equals the pleasure of its reading.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5; Characters: 6; Style: 7; World-building: 5.5; Originality: 6.5;
Copyright date 2000, Berkley Publishing Group (Ace), May 2000, Cloth (small format), 294 pages
ISBN: 0-441-00733-3 Order from: Amazon.com