A young woman embraces her power — and her destiny — as the thrilling quest begun in THE NAMING continues!
Maerad is a gi... read full description
Maerad is a gi... read full description
reviews
Feb 07, 2012
Ticklish Owl
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I'm commenting on the entire series as a whole, not just this book.
I liked this series and might read it again at some point. The writing is good, the plot is (mostly) well paced, there are plenty of likable (albeit predictable) characters, and some interesting world/myth building. The appendix in The Singing touches on the background of a few characters. I would have enjoyed it if those details had been integrated into the story.
The problem with the majority of fantasy n More...
I liked this series and might read it again at some point. The writing is good, the plot is (mostly) well paced, there are plenty of likable (albeit predictable) characters, and some interesting world/myth building. The appendix in The Singing touches on the background of a few characters. I would have enjoyed it if those details had been integrated into the story.
The problem with the majority of fantasy n More...
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Dec 08, 2010
Maya
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Apr 09, 2008
Kristen
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Mar 02, 2009
Pudgycat12
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Jan 21, 2009
Randi
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This is the second in a series of 4 books, it is a fantasy quest (to save the world, of course) about a girl who finds out who she is and realizes she has a mission to preform. I have read the whole series and really enjoyed them. I found them thought provoking and surprising, which is saying a lot, because my mind is rather quick and a lot of times I sort of know what is going to happen when I read a book. I actually guessed some of the end of the Harry Potter books while everyone else seeme
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Nov 13, 2011
Monica
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Ugh this series is so hard to get through! I like the actual story, and I appreciate the amount of work it must've been for the author to create this world--heck coming up with the names alone must've been exhausting--but gosh! It was ridiculously tedious to read. I thought the second installment would've been easier to get through because by then the author had the background laid out, but...nope. I just can't remember all those names, and the descriptions of every little detail of her surround
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Jun 28, 2011
Hamzah حمزة
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While better in some ways than the first book, there were definitely parts that irritated the... well something out of me anyway. First was the concept of "love" in this novel. Do you seriously expect me to believe that this undefined emotion is really love? I mean what looks like desire (see Maerad's stay with the Winterking) was called "love", the "love" between her and Cadvan was so overstated and thrust down my throat (okay, eyes/brain) until it I was sure that
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May 06, 2010
Heather
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I loved The Riddle, Croggon's second in the Pellinor series, even more than the first. For one, she worked through that tricky issue of pacing that plagued her first book. Admittedly, The Riddle is best read and followed in large chunks of time -- it's not the kind of story that's easy to pick up in little 20 page snatches -- but there's still a much steadier, more enjoyable pace happening here. And second, while Croggon convinced me to give Maerad a chance to be enjoyable in the first book, she
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Apr 11, 2010
Emma
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The Riddle
Book by: Alison Croggon
Review By: Emma Standen
Adventure fantasy books are always fun to read, especially ones that are well written. The Riddle falls into this category. This book by Alison Croggon is a fast paced, yet detailed book full of twists and turns that even the best analyst could not predict. The Riddle is the second book in a series of four; the first book is The Naming. The Naming introduces characters and explains how Maerad (the pro More...
Nov 06, 2009
Ruby
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I especially love the last part of the book about Maerad's imprisonment by the Ice King. It strikes me as one of the most original and creative parts of the series.
This series was written by a mom for her son. It contains lots of mom wisdom that I love, as in:
Cadvan to Nerili (p. 72): "Darkness lives in each of us. But we are all creatures of choice. We can turn to embrace it . . . or we can resist, even when resistance seems futile. . . . you resisted with all y More...
This series was written by a mom for her son. It contains lots of mom wisdom that I love, as in:
Cadvan to Nerili (p. 72): "Darkness lives in each of us. But we are all creatures of choice. We can turn to embrace it . . . or we can resist, even when resistance seems futile. . . . you resisted with all y More...
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Jul 29, 2011
Ahh, even better than the first book! Whereas The Naming sometimes felt a little too structured - like the author was trying to set up a story according to the "guidelines" of classic fantasy - The Riddle was far more original and dealt with more unique ideas and plot twists. The changes in Maerad were really interesting - instead of being the typical, slightly lost-and-in-distress damsel with powers out of her depth that she sometimes came across as in the first book, she's a falli
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Mar 20, 2011
Chris
rated it:
Christopher Booker’s ‘The Seven Basic Plots’ suggest that the more different archetypal narratives a novel includes the richer it becomes (Booker admires ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for this), and on this basis Croggon’s Pellinor series must be rich indeed. ‘The Riddle’ includes the themes of the Quest, Overcoming the Monster, Voyage and Return and Tragedy, while it is only a matter of time and two more novels before we must surely encounter Rags to Riches, Comedy (in the classical sense) and Rebirt
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Aug 05, 2010
Nuno
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A leitura deste livro é essencial após a leitura do primeiro da mesma saga, e dá mesmo vontade de seguir do primeiro para este.
Apesar de todo o entusiasmo inicial em que pensei que a história se ia começar a desenvolver, fiquei bastante desiludido por várias razões.
A primeira é o facto de a história ser aquilo que eu chamo de um "Maiismo", ou seja, tal como no livro os Maias, passo metade do livro a ler descrições extensas. Embora aqui não descreva o tapete e o More...
Apesar de todo o entusiasmo inicial em que pensei que a história se ia começar a desenvolver, fiquei bastante desiludido por várias razões.
A primeira é o facto de a história ser aquilo que eu chamo de um "Maiismo", ou seja, tal como no livro os Maias, passo metade do livro a ler descrições extensas. Embora aqui não descreva o tapete e o More...
Apr 18, 2010
This is the second book to a series I started reading last year. Maerad continues her adventures with Cadvan. Because they are now "wanted" people they have to hide in different schools all over the place. It's interesting how all these different places teach the same things and yet are so different. I love the descriptions Alison Croggon uses to describe some of the places visited by Maerad and Cadvan. There was a wonderful room that Maerad described: "The walls were paneled with
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Jan 29, 2009
Rob
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I'm starting to wonder how these books compare to the Twilight series, in terms of the number of pages about the internal struggles of the female mind and heart. I haven't read the Twilight series, and part of me is regretting reading these. I would much rather have seen Maerad get in a major battle with Arkan than ... inexplicably have strong sexual desires for him? What was that about? And is Arkan gay? These aren't the kind of questions that great books should leave you with. And yet, I
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Apr 14, 2010
Soph...*Lock&Key*
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oh all I can say is wow! I was entranced with this book from page 1 and I could not put the book down! it was amazing I liked the first but I loved this one
the characters were tested and everything changed I almost cried in the middle and as for the end well what can I say I really want to read the next one This book has made me attached to the series the first book was very good and well written but there was something about this one that makes me want to keep reading the series ev More...
the characters were tested and everything changed I almost cried in the middle and as for the end well what can I say I really want to read the next one This book has made me attached to the series the first book was very good and well written but there was something about this one that makes me want to keep reading the series ev More...
Aug 08, 2011
Ruth
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Much better than the first book in the series The Naming" had seemed a bit formulaic, whereas The Riddle fully distinguishes itself from other books in it's genre in the person of Maerad who is often a prickly ,surly extremely reluctant heroine. Her faults cost her dearly and often you just want to shake her. Though out of all her minor faults her biggest fault is her failure to know herself. The road she travels is one I've walked myself albeit not under such fantastical circumstances, Whe
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Aug 17, 2009
Holly
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Oct 11, 2008
Jess
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Jan 16, 2010
Trish
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Lots of adventure and a whole new climate in this one. It occurred to me during the first book that Alison Croggon used her personal experience in traveling around the world to good use. She has a way of describing that opens a window in your mind's eye without being tedious about describing every little shrub. And she doesn't forget where her characters are when describing their reactions to the different situations that come up. The different cultures are fascinating along with the discovery t
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Jul 17, 2011
Patty
rated it:
This book fell flat for the first half. It was boring and had me wondering if I really wanted to finish this series. Thankfully, after the less than interesting beginning, the story finally picked back up again and I was able to not only finish it, but also look forward to the last book. Unfortunately, I have to read the 3rd book to finally see how the story ends in the 4th one. (It would be nice if the author could have woven the other character's story in with this one so there wouldn't be a s
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Jan 30, 2011
Rachael
rated it:
I don't think I liked it as much as the first, even though I really wanted to know what would happen next. Kinda slow action with a lot of description, a few details here and there that I didn't like. I'm pretty disappointed in a past homosexual relationship between two characters. I'm hoping that I read that part wrong - it doesn't make a whole lot of sense! I'm a little tired of Maerad, as well. The next book is about her brother and that seems like a welcome change, although I might take
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Nov 23, 2008
Lei
rated it:
I think that this book was good, i liked it a lot.I still have a question about this book.What is Maerad's Elidhu name?This book had a lot of mysteries in it. For one, what will happen if she joins the first part of the split song with the one that was engraved on her lyre? While reading this book, i somehow knew that Cadvan, the man she was traveling with, didn't die.
If Maerad hadn't escaped what would the Winterking do with the song and what would he have done to her?In the book, the old More...
If Maerad hadn't escaped what would the Winterking do with the song and what would he have done to her?In the book, the old More...
Aug 20, 2010
Akaria
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Jul 10, 2010
Jeff
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This is the second book in Croggon's Pellinor series and much quicker paced than the first. Utilizing the typical fantasy novel formula, Croggon has created a rich world in which to explore the moral struggles of coming of age and of good versus evil. The character at the center of the novel, Maerad, is a complex 16 year-old girl who struggles with both her identity as the chosen one and how to make moral decisions in an amoral world. This novel is definitely a fun read, even if it is a medit
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Jul 03, 2011
Emily
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Jul 01, 2009
Seeker ~ Elarinya
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This was a lot better then the first book, the minimal dialogue wasn't an issue and I like how it centered around Maerad's battling inner emotions. Cadvan's death wasn't likely and it was rather expected that she would find him at the end. The business with the Winterking I found rather strange. I highly doubt whether or not she actually did like him because it seemed to just randomly appear to her that she loved him. And besides, Maerad and Cadvan make a rather lovely couple in my opinion. Desp
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Apr 27, 2010
Vanessa
rated it:
This book is even better than the first one in the series, because of the continued character development and the pacing, which is faster and more action packed.
People may find this silly, but what impresses me the most about this author is that she is the first one that I have read about to deal with the problem of a girl's menstruation in a book. Often times it seems that the heroines in the fantasy novels I read go on long quests, and never is that particular issue raised of how they d More...
People may find this silly, but what impresses me the most about this author is that she is the first one that I have read about to deal with the problem of a girl's menstruation in a book. Often times it seems that the heroines in the fantasy novels I read go on long quests, and never is that particular issue raised of how they d More...
Nov 23, 2010
Rea
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I first started reading this book about 5 years ago but stopped when my favourite character was written out suddenly. Recently I decided that it was high time that I read the whole of the books of Pellinor series. The first time around, I was determined that Maerad and Cadvan were obviously meant to become a couple. I didn't get this feeling while reading the first book. With this book, well, as Maerad said herself, Cadvan was "like a father to her". So I'm not sure where I got that im
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Oct 09, 2011
Adela
rated it:
An excellent second book in the series... I missed this. SO GOOD. Yeah, I really have a way with words, don't I?
Anyway, this book was fraught with emotion and action and magic and beauty. One thing of particular significance is: there is an event in the book, about halfway through, that completely wrenched my heart out (I'm not going to say what because I don't want to spoil it). And while I was reading that chapter hungrily and desperately, I found myself thinking, you know what, More...
Anyway, this book was fraught with emotion and action and magic and beauty. One thing of particular significance is: there is an event in the book, about halfway through, that completely wrenched my heart out (I'm not going to say what because I don't want to spoil it). And while I was reading that chapter hungrily and desperately, I found myself thinking, you know what, More...
