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Who recommends: Linda, Rebekah, Margaret
Who discommends:
I highly recommend this book though not as a sfr. I hadn't read a Mckillip book in a while and it took me a while to get into it at first but she has a wonderful lyrical style of writing. I think the main reason I had trouble at first is because I'm spoiled with the romances I get to read in most fantasys anymore. There is a romance in this but it definitely isn't the main feature. You get to meet the hero's love interest in the beginning and end only. The hero believes (with good reason) that his new queen is some kind of monster and that the real Queen is being held prisoner in some kind of tower and goes on a quest to find her. I couldn't begin to try to explain all the things that happen in this book, it is definitely not a simple tale and McKillip definitely likes to keep you guessing through most of the book. (I've discovered I'm the impatient type.<g>) I finally settled down and enjoyed it but it took me a while. But that was not really the book's fault. It definitely was beautifully written and had a fairy tale feel to it.--Linda (20 Jun 00)
McKillip's books, especially her later ones, always leave me in a hazy muddle, their dreaminess invading my bones, my language. Some reviews complained that it was more confusing than most, but I was able to follow the story(ies) in this book, more or less. It helps to go into the book with a patient mindset. I make it sound like a chore, but the book was actually a lovely rich book. Mirrors within mirrors, towers dotting the landscape like mushrooms. I found the characters more likeable then McKillip's previous few and all the threads pull together fairly neatly. As to whether it's SFR, I think so - there are a couple of romantic threads but it's more that it's Romance in the classic sense of the word and I think romance readers will feel an affinity with it (if they have some idea what to expect going in).--Rebekah (06 Aug 00)
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