

On one side, there’s an insecure king who fears being dethroned. And I just love that kind of writing–purposeful and minimalistic in execution.īriefly: Sybel, a young powerful sorceress who knows nothing of the world below her mountain and wants nothing to do with it, is pushed into the affairs of two warring sides within a kingdom when a baby is brought to her to raise. Nothing is out of place, and so much happens in so few pages. Every word serves a purpose, and not once during the read did I feel like the story was wandering around aimlessly. There’s not an unnecessary scene or line or moment anywhere. There’s a dreamy, poignant, lyrical quality to it, yet it’s so easy to read and so concise.


What impresses me most is that the prose is neither purple nor flowery it’s just lovely to read. It is simply SO GOOD and has a beautiful fluidity to it that makes it so easy to fall into. I mean, I did skim some of the reviews, so I knew it was highly rated and people seemed to love, but other than that, I had no idea what it’s about or what to expect, and I had never read Patricia McKillip before.Īnd that was the best way to approach because the writing blew me away.
