Solstice Wood
by Patricia A. McKillip
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Read in July, 2007
The one where Sylvia's grandfather dies and her grandmother calls her home to a house that's a gate between two worlds.
There's the germ of something wonderful here, and it all clusters around Iris, the grandmother, and her Fiber Guild. Everything in Iris' POV, everything about the Fiber Guild, I loved. The changeling was also wonderful, with a truly alien mind. But I can't recommend this one.
Part of the problem was the plot's dependence on things I just didn't believe. The human antagoni...more
There's the germ of something wonderful here, and it all clusters around Iris, the grandmother, and her Fiber Guild. Everything in Iris' POV, everything about the Fiber Guild, I loved. The changeling was also wonderful, with a truly alien mind. But I can't recommend this one.
Part of the problem was the plot's dependence on things I just didn't believe. The human antagoni...more
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I quite liked this story even though I was initially wary of it since it's different from what the author usually does and I adore her writing. This one is set in a more modern, a more realistic world.
The thing that bothered me the most was definitely the changing point of view between chapters. It wasn't confusing really, so much as a little odd and disconcerting. When you're reading from one character's perspective one moment and another's the next it take s a little mental readjusting, w...more
The thing that bothered me the most was definitely the changing point of view between chapters. It wasn't confusing really, so much as a little odd and disconcerting. When you're reading from one character's perspective one moment and another's the next it take s a little mental readjusting, w...more
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Read in March, 2007
Not quite the sequel to Winter Rose, Solstice Wood wraps up any empty feelings about the first, and tells a richer story, set many generations later, in modern times. Like many of McKillip's novels, this one has to do with a woman who knows not who her father is, but her mother is now dead and can't reveal this secret. Returning to her home town only because of her grandfather's death, Sylvia finds herself caught in the world she was so afraid of that she left and never come back t...more
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Read in January, 2008
I always love McKillip's writing, and it was a refreshing change to read a story of hers set in the present day. The setting gives it an unusually grounded feel, and unlike many of her fantasy works, the action stays lucid and comprehensible right down to the end. At the same time, McKillip maintains her signature touch for writing magic that feels vivid and mysterious, and the story has a delightful way of giving its secrets up bit by bit, at unexpected moments. It is not as deeply compelling a...more
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Read in June, 2007
Bookshop owner Sylvia returns to the family home she's avoided since she was a teen. Confronted with her loving family once more, Sylvia begins to realize that her grandmother is much more than she seems--and that the local sewing circle is far more powerful than she ever dreamed. Their stitches protect the human world from encroachment from the faery world. But when Sylvia's cousin is kidnapped by the fey, she is forced to confront her own prejudices. This is a much more grounded book than McKi...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
Urban Fantasy, Mythic Fiction Lovers
Patricia McKillip is a goddess!! She is my all time favorite author, and I adore all of the recent stand-alone books she's written. Most of her books are written in a place out of time, a sort of fairy tale setting (and are written in a prose poetry style that only she can do so well). This is the first foray I've read of hers into a modern, urban fantasy setting. And boy does she do it well!!
An outstanding book by McKillip.
An outstanding book by McKillip.
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
fans of fantasy/romance
* Young woman returns home at the death of her grandfather, a home she left and got as far away from in an attempt to deny the mysterious heritage her grandmother is determined to introduce her to
* Lovely, as always. I like McKillip's writing so much that I can't really do an objective review.
* Same world as Winter Rose
* Lovely, as always. I like McKillip's writing so much that I can't really do an objective review.
* Same world as Winter Rose
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I picked this book up because I have been a fan of McKillip since I was a teen and read The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. She has developed a little more modernity and humor in her writing since then. Some particularly funny stuff about cell phone reception and a hydrangea tree (bush?). I really enjoyed it.
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3 comments
Read in March, 2006
I was expecting a Tam Lin tale, but this book was very different from the traditional story. There was no tithe. The Queen of the Fay may or may not be terrible.
I found the changing between characters viewpoints every chapter to be a challenge, but quite enjoyed the story in spite of that.
I found the changing between characters viewpoints every chapter to be a challenge, but quite enjoyed the story in spite of that.
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Read in July, 2007
The multiple 1st person POV was done very poorly in this book. The characters' voices all sounded the same (yes, several of them are related to each other, so this could be understandable), so I would have trouble remembering whose chapter I was on if I stopped reading in the middle of it.
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Read in July, 2008
This took me awhile to get into; I prefer McKillip's writing in fantasy worlds rather than in the modern world with a fantasy slant. But once I got over that element I was fine. It's not as good as her other books, but it has the same reflective feel as the others.
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Different from her other novels as this is a contemporary fantasy. Retains her usual fantasy elements and lyrical writing style, but somehow a slower moving book then some of her other fantasy novels.
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Read in June, 2008
Patricia McKillip writes a decent plot, but things seem a little rushed at times. I do really enjoy her characters and the way in which she writes the novel from various points of view.
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Read in July, 2008
This was a re-read and is quite lovely, especially after having re-read Winter Rose. McKillip's imagination and style of writing transfers well even to stories set in modern times.
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Read in May, 2007
I was so excited to read this book and then I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I had hoped. I still thought it was a good book but it didn't live up to my expectations.
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Read in February, 2008
Anything by this author is fabulous. Although the usual dreamy quality of her stories is somewhat lessened in this book by large splashes of reality.
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I remember kind of struggling through this book, but I still think it was a pretty good book. About faries and all...can't be all bad.
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Read in January, 2007
What a disappointment as a loose sequel to Winter Rose, which I loved for it's heady, hallucinogenic, fairytale prose.
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Read in July, 2008
This book was okay but not as good as her other books I've read.
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