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356th out of 2,147 books
—
5,599 voters
The Raven Ring (Lyra #5)
The world of Lyra is the world of two moons which humans share with the folk of magic: the silvery people of the ancient Shee, the elusive forest-dwelling Wyrd, and the dread Shadow Born, whose evil seeps into men's hearts and the shadows of the world.In this Lyra adventure, a proud young mountain woman must leave her stronghold to travel to the city and accomplish a bitte...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
December 15th 1995
by Tor Books
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I like the Raven Ring, but with two major reservations. The story centers around Eleret, a woman who goes to the city to retrieve her mother's things (her mother died in the military). Eleret comes from a very warlike people, or perhaps a better term would be a feuding people, and is herself very well trained in combat, especially hand to hand, throwing knives, and raven's feet (throwing weapons). However, people in the city aren't used to women who can take care of themselves, and so she spends...more
The Raven Ring is the 5th book in Patricia Wrede's Lyra series. I did not read the entire series, the first book didn't keep me engrossed, but the summary of this one seemed interesting enough for me to give it a shot. First off, I did not find myself at a severe disadvantage for not having read the other books. The world is similar enough to many others in a fantasy world context, and the various magic system and races weren't so strange and extraordinary to warrant previous knowledge to ward o...more
I liked this better than the other two Lyra novels I've read; it has a bit more to the plot than they did, and Wrede's writing noticeably improved between them.
The story has a few twists that keep it from being too predictable, the protagonist and her two cohorts are entertaining and generally likeable, and the attention to detail (the cards! I *loved* the cards) is excellent. However, this is still basically brain candy - nothing too deep or full of deathless prose, and I finished it in less th...more
The story has a few twists that keep it from being too predictable, the protagonist and her two cohorts are entertaining and generally likeable, and the attention to detail (the cards! I *loved* the cards) is excellent. However, this is still basically brain candy - nothing too deep or full of deathless prose, and I finished it in less th...more
I enjoyed this fantasy novel as a teenager, and I still enjoy it as an adult. I liked the world-building with the clash of different cultures as part of the challenge for the young heroine. The characters were fun and likable, though I think I liked them even more when I was a teenager. Multiple readings have taken the suspense out of the story for me, but that's part of why I read it this time. I wanted a novel were the good guys work together, defeat evil, and all is right with the world again...more
The story is about a 20 year old woman who takes care of her father and two younger siblings while her mother is away at war. When her mother dies she takes it upon herself to travel to the main city to collect her mother's belongings. The story is about her travels through the city after she discovers a ring in her mother's belongings that everyone seems to want to get their hands on.
I found this book extrememly hard to follow. I havent read any of the other series but was told the stories didn...more
I'm not really sure what age these books are best for. On some level, a 12 yr old might enjoy them, but then there are other aspects that I think perhaps a bit older would be best. I read them in order of publication, but I think chronology would be better. The other nice thing about this series is that the books are self-contained. You do not have to read all of the books. You can pick and choose. None of the stories rely on the others. The connection is the world of Lyra and battling darkness....more
The last of the Lyra novels I've been reading, and one of the most likable. The main character is more interesting and has more depth, and I actually like her. Some of the Lyra characters just flat out annoy me sometimes, but I didn't feel that way about the characters in this book. I was annoyed with the ending; I felt there should have been more to the show-down, something that tied the entire series together and gave closure to them all. But nope, it was pretty much like all the other books'...more
I used to love this book when I was a kid-- I have extremely fond memories of it. This is the first time I've read it in years and years, and I have to say that while it DID hold up pretty well, it wasn't as awesome as I wanted it to be. The plot didn't seem as great or as twisty, the magic didn't seem as magical, and the one character I wanted to love sort of got on my nerves. (Sad to inform that Karvonen does not hold up at age 25 the way he did at age 14.) I found myself liking Daner better i...more
Enjoyable fantasy, I suppose, with nothing scintillating. But scintillating aside, it held up its end of the rope pace and plot, and tied a trim air of mystery into the adventure. A bit sloppy in its linguistic structure, and I wasn't wholly convinced of the battle prowess of the protagonist and her race. 'Twas lots of kicking and stretching and what sounded like an author writing a romantic view of training. All the same, by finish, I'd found a few jewels -- and oy, I finished it gladly. Meanin...more
This is supposed to be a ground-breaking fantasy book, I assume because the protagonist is a woman. Perhaps it's been enough years that a female protagonist, while appreciated, isn't unusual. In pretty much all other ways it's a standard fantasy novel, with good magics and bad magics, a mystery that must be solved, and just a touch of romance. Probably better for a YA audience--I've read enough fantasy there wasn't much to surprise me.
3.5 stars.
Um, just one thing. THEY SWITCHED SHIPS ON ME HALFWAY THROUGH!!
(view spoiler)...more
Um, just one thing. THEY SWITCHED SHIPS ON ME HALFWAY THROUGH!!
(view spoiler)...more
This is strongly written young adult fantasy novel, with a mystery, a sense of humor, and two possible romances. A lot of the humor comes from the contrasting attitudes and expectations about eligible mates of the two possible male attachments, and also from the heroine's reactions to those attitudes and expectations.
This is my favorite of all the Wrede books I have (most if not all of them). It is amazingly multi-faceted for a fantasy novel - not a genre which is known for complexity of style! In addition to the fantasy elements, it is also a murder mystery, a comedy of manners, a classic girl-meets-boys-&-chooses-one romance, and it is one of the best examples I've ever come across of the ubiquitous sci fi/fantasy theme of "culture shock". That's a lot to pack into one little book! In addition, I reall...more
I read the other books back in December, and I think that this was my favorite of all of them. This was one she wrote after taking a break and this one seemed a lot more well written. She does a great job building up, but once a resolution is reached in her stories, they are over within a few pages.
This was the last (as of yet) Lyra book written, and you can tell the difference. Patricia C. Wrede's writing improved quite noticeably int he ten years between Shadow Magic and this one.
I like it and look forward to reading others in this series. A female main character who knows how to fight mixed with two boys who like her and some bad guys. I wish the ending could have been extended somewhat. Clean, no swearing or bedroom scenes.
Always enjoy Patricia Wrede's world-building and great plots.
Too bad Prince Charming had to be short, when I couldn't help picturing the main character as a tall warrior-woman. Not that there's anything wrong with short, of course...
Too bad Prince Charming had to be short, when I couldn't help picturing the main character as a tall warrior-woman. Not that there's anything wrong with short, of course...
This little adventure takes place in the space of a couple of weeks when Eleret travels to pick up her late mother's things from her battle commander. The unexpected interest in her mother's ring is the center of all the action.
Better than the first one. This one actually has a much more fleshed out plotline. The main character still seems to fall in love without enough foreshadowing (if any).
Not a bad story, but not great. I give it more of a 3.5
Not a bad story, but not great. I give it more of a 3.5
This was by far my favourite Lyra book. I loved the main character, and I love the Cilhar as a race in general.
However, as with the other Lyra books, the ending was a bit rushed. But overall, great quick read.
However, as with the other Lyra books, the ending was a bit rushed. But overall, great quick read.
This is my favorite of the Lyra books. It's the first that I read, and stands well on its own. It's not as good as the Enchanted Forest Chronicles or Sorcery and Cecelia, but it's still got a lovely Wrede flavor.
Having never read any of the Lyra stories before this one, I thought this was quite good. I Really liked the characters in this story. It was definitely a different take on a magical story. Wished there were more books with these characters.
I first read this book in middle school and was ecstatic when I found it on Kindle! The story pulled me in very quickly and it was very hard to put down. I will definitely be reading the rest of the Lyra novels!
I really enjoyed this most recent installment in Patricia Wrede's Lyra novels, and I hope there's a sequel, because the characters were a lot of fun.
I read this a long time ago, but it was very good. I haven't been able to get my hands on the other books in the series yet, but I hope to.
This one is not one of my favorites, but I liked it well enough. It felt like it took me a long time to get through, but maybe that's just because I have had no time to sit down and really read!
This was the first of the Lyra novels I ever read. Years later I went back and re-read the early books. I could see that they writer had matured, learned and just become a better writer in the time between the first books and these later ones. The first ones are pretty naive: "And then the sorceress and the harper drove the baaaaad magicians back...for a time. And they went off and got married and had a bunch of kiddies. And things were good...for a time. Until the DARK ROSE AGAIN. Bwhahahahahah...more
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun action packed book that takes place over the space of a week or so.
different from the others in the series, and the evil is nowhere near as serious. three stars for being so different.
Not as good as her Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Characterizations a bit flat, plot kind of dragged then rushed.
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Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se...more
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