Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 14, 2011

Margaret rated it:

Tilja's home is in the Valley, protected by magic from the powerful Empire. When the magic begins to fade, Tilja must set out with three companions on a quest to renew the magic; along the way, she finds her own unusual powers. This is a really good YA fantasy, with excellent worldbuilding, interesting magic, and a heroine I liked very much (and also her crotchety grandmother). I'd only read a couple of Dickinson's other YAs, both science fiction, and didn't like them as much as this, but I'll c More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

J. rated it:

Meet Tilja, an unremarkable girl without a lick of magic in her, cannot sing to the cedars nor hear their voices. Yet the cedars say she must take a journey to safeguard the Valley. Tilja and Meena her grandmother travel on the river with Tahl and his grandfather, Alnor. Meena can sing to the cedars to learn what must be done, and Alnor, although he is blind, directs the raft on the water by muttering to it.

Along the way Tilja learns she has an ability to cloak magical items from det More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2012

Alz rated it:

This book was a short fairytale padded and padded and padded out into a 300+ page novel. The story plodded along in a fairytale fashion--and then, and then, and then--and the magic was vague undefined fairytale magic with only the most basic vaguely-defined magic-system underlying it all. Tilja and Tahl and their grandparents meet people. They get saved. They meet more people. People tell them things. They go. They meet more people. They get told more things. They travel more. Etc.
More...

0 comments like

Jan 30, 2011

Brittany rated it:

This was one of those books that waffled between three and four stars for me, and I'm not completely sure why, but I'm worried that part of it may be that I'm comparing Peter Dickinson's work to Robin McKinley's. That really isn't fair. Yes, they're married, but they are independent writers. However, because I was introduced to Dickinson through his joint anthologies with McKinley, I suppose it's OK to touch on it then move away.

There are many similarities between the two. Both almost More...

0 comments like

Mar 31, 2010

Phoenixfalls rated it:

njoyable, but my enjoyment was hampered by its very YA-ness. The characters are all likable, the world is interesting, and the prose gets very much out of the way of a story that kept me turning the pages, but everything was too EASY. There were good characters and bad characters with no shades of grey (and c'mon, a decadent, evil emperor and the only description he gets is that he's grossly fat? really? THAT'S what makes someone evil?), and the good characters always seemed to have more than en More...

0 comments like

Mar 10, 2011

Breanne rated it:

I think this started off really strong and then got dragged out towards the end. I also think this suffers from really unfortunate cover art. The descriptions of magical events were really vague, sometimes confusing, and important events were over too briefly. Several times I kept thinking, "Oh, so it's over already? Those last three sentences were the whole battle? Hmm." One last problem was the lack of editing. Many of the sentences were incomplete or simply didn't make sense More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Lauren rated it:

I enjoyed this book but found myself wondering who the main characters really were. We don't even find out who the Ropemaker is until about 2/3 of the way through the book and I wondered if he was even a main part of the story at all. The main characters played such a quiet role as they moved through the story that I kept waiting for a real hero to emerge. I think the title was misleading and had me feeling confused.

Also, the elements of magic weren't explained until the end of th More...

0 comments like

Jul 14, 2010

John rated it:

This is the book that inspired me to restart my creative writing. Peter Dickinson is so creative in the way he constructs worlds, cultures and their interaction, but keeps the story cohesive and doesn't meddle with the particulars of magic or politics.

I love the personality of this book, that ancestral tales and myth keep a land alive in spite of powerful militant attempts at subjugating a "rebel" culture. With this arch in mind, Dickinson also keeps the story specific to a More...

0 comments like

Jan 24, 2009

Paula rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Feb 25, 2010

JoLee rated it:

Several weeks ago I started thinking about a story. I couldn't exactly remember if I had read it, watched it, or just dreamt it up. As I thought about it I began to remember where I'd been when I read it. I remembered it had to do with a boy and a girl, their grandparents, a journey to a desert, and unicorns. Then I remembered that the book was written by Robin McKinley's husband. That clue was all I needed to go to the internet and find this mysterious book. And here it is, The Ropemaker b More...

0 comments like

Apr 02, 2011

Morag rated it:

In Tilja' world there is no magic. She learns that her mother works to maintain the land's borders to keep magic and invaders out. However, the strength of the wards is failing. Tilja, her grandmother, and a boy and his grandfather from the family that keeps the other border set out to the Empire to find the magician Faheel to restore the borders. In the process Tilja learns of her own gift and reconciles herself to a life away from her beloved home.

I enjoyed this story. Dickinson's More...

0 comments like

Dec 18, 2011

Masha rated it:

I enjoyed this one more the second time I read it.

A dark fantasy. The heroine, Tilja leaves the valley she grew up in to look for a way to renew the magic that protects the valley.

While this may seem like a straight down the line fantasy, with the heroine going on a quest, finding what her purpose in life is and so on, it approaches these familiar themes in unexpected ways. There is nothing swashbuckling or romantic about this story, the characters are extremely down More...

0 comments like

Jun 09, 2010

SJ rated it:

I liked this book! It's exactly the sort of thing I would have enjoyed growing up. A noble cause, magic, a quest, a girl on the brink of life changes, struggling against hardship for the things that are important, blah blah blah. The fact that the story caters to a younger adult reader makes it forgivable for taking on something of a formulaic storytelling approach at times. I did feel like it lost some momentum about halfway through, but it picks back up again by the end. Overall, a sweet More...

0 comments like

Nov 22, 2009

Natalie rated it:

A very interesting fantasy book unlike I have ever read before. It is very well written stylistically but keeps turning in new directions. It gets a bit slow in sections but I kept reading to learn what the main character would discover next. It is the story of a non magical girl who goes on a journey with her magical grandmother and two aquaintances to find a great magician. It turns out the girl's non magic is actually a power against magic and she stops a series of dark magicians.

0 comments like

Feb 22, 2008

Jing rated it:

In this story, a girl names Tilja lives in a Valley fearing no Empire thanks to the magic of the forest. Soon, the magic begins to fade away and she with a group of helpers jorneys towards the empire to find a magician to assist them. Meanwhile, they have to battle against the empire in the quest of also finding information of how magic in the valley started. They later on met another magician who later on becomes the beareer of a powerful ring.
This book give you insights on anot More...

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2008

Ryan rated it:

Our wily yong woman has lived in a valley all her life--the impassable mountain passes rarely allow outsiders. There's a king and cities and stuff out there, but she and her people rside in tranquility. Until the ice begins to melt and warriors can come in and conquer..she must travel to seek the aid of a wizard to help her people defend themselves. A little somberly told, but imaginative and cool.

0 comments like

Aug 20, 2011

Jacquie rated it:

An enjoyable book to read, a good stepping stone from children's fantasy literature to young adult fantasy. My son's book, I thought I'd have a read to see how he'd go with it, and at 11 he may still struggle a bit to maintain his interest in parts, but I think it would be enjoyed by reasonably good readers 11/12 and up who enjpy magic/fantasy.

0 comments like

Mar 17, 2009

Heather rated it:

This was another book that my friend Jenna recommended to me. I rather enjoyed it. It's a good fantasy novel about a young girl who discovers who she is and her own inner strength. It has lots of magical animals, that are woven into the story in a way that they seem to fit, not 'oh this is a fantasy novel so let's throw in a few unicorns'. I also liked that there were some twists in the plot that kept you guessing. A good read.

0 comments like

Aug 09, 2011

Neill rated it:

Two families have carried on the prescribed rituals to protect their valley from attack but the magic is dying and four companions must seek the original sorcerer to extend the magical protection. A magic talisman leads them to the heart of the Empire where all magic is controlled by the emperor and his Watchers.

0 comments like

Jul 29, 2011

J rated it:

An interesting tale of women warriors and stay-at-home dads forced out of the regular cultural circle by a cursed forest designed for their village's protection - which they have since forgotten. In order to reinforce the protection and eliminate a coming threat, four villagers must journey into enemy territory to find the Ropemaker.

0 comments like

Oct 03, 2009

Dragon Eyes Loves Manga rated it:

I'm not really sure how to reviwe this book, because yes it was good, yes I liked it, and I can't find all that much in it to fault, but it just wasn't a 4 star book.
The Ropemaker was nothing like I expected it to be. The different explanations of magic were new and original, and there were can't-put-it-down moments throughout the stroy. But after finishing it I can't give it mare than 3 stars.

0 comments like

Dec 06, 2011

Mary rated it:

This took a bit of effort to start; but once I got into it,it took even more effort to put it down. The tale is a wonderfully woven story of the lives of people who are connected on so many levels. But it takes an adventure for them to discover the connections.

0 comments like

Mar 19, 2010

Krysta rated it:

I read this book in highschool and from what I remember, I was enjoying it until the end. I recall being distinctly disappointed with the abrupt ending. The rest of the book was enjoyable though. I should probably re-read it to see if my opinion has changed. :)

0 comments like

Jul 20, 2010

Liz rated it:

Loved the world he created, although it took awhile to get into. But his creativity carried the whole story. Apparently Dickinson is married to one of my all-time-favorite YA authors: Robin McKinley. The end fizzled a bit but was forgivable.

0 comments like

May 09, 2009

Britta rated it:

This book made me think of The Wizard of Earthsea triology by Ursula K LeGuin, in that the main character has to embark on a journey to find out who they really are. A wonderful coming-of-age story mixed in with fantasy.

0 comments like

Nov 09, 2011

LaLa rated it:

While there were some nice touches around anti-magical powers this was a fairly straight forward where some intrepid unlikelys set out on a journey to find a magician who will save their village. However Mr Dickinson is married to Robin McKinley (!!!) so I will not give up on him yet.

0 comments like

Nov 28, 2009

Jessica rated it:

Found this book on a display table at the library. It was an enjoyable read, although the character for whom the book is named really doesn't seem to play much of a part in the story.

0 comments like

Jul 08, 2010

Terri rated it:

I really enjoyed this Fantasy YA! An Award-winner for a reason. Great character arcs, conflicts, journey of self-discovery. Rich scenary and concepts.

0 comments like

Dec 11, 2010

Taran rated it:

Interesting book. Peter Dickinson writes this book with a different view then many other fantasy writers today. I recommend this book.

0 comments like

Oct 15, 2010

Michelle rated it:

A book just fantastic enough, and filled with allegories that have stayed with me since reading it six or seven years ago.

0 comments like

reviews