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Oct 25, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

UPDATE! 1/3 of A BOOK ALERT!

HALF A BOOK ALERT!!!

I thought I would get this out of the way first. Truly, there was not even an attempt to wrap up anything in this novel, not even temporarily. Pegasus ended mid-scene, mid-conflict, almost mid-sentence. It will be quite a laugh if McKinley never finishes this sequel.

Now onto the story itself. I was glad to be back to the old-school princess-fairy-tale McKinley, after the genre detour Sunshine was. If you ever r More...

34 comments like (38 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Cinnamon rated it:

This review may also be found on A Thousand Little Pages.

There is a horse-drawn carriage rolling through a scenic meadow. The sun is shining; there are delightful fragrances in the air. The only catch is the you are the sweaty and straining horse, and the carriage you were pulling happened to be occupied by three rather large sombrero-wearing rainbow-colored elephants.

I admit, the sombreros and colors were unnecessary, but you have a vivid mental image now, yes...?
More...

38 comments like (18 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I just got done rereading this book, so I'm going to re-review it too.

I adore Robin McKinely's writing, so it's going to sound weird when I say that I don't think she writes a very good sentence. Admittedly I read this as an unfinished proof, so maybe it got some veryvery late editing, but it seems like dear Robin has a tendency to let her sentences meander about and include disconnected ideas until by the time you get to the end you've forgotten about where you began. The chronology More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2010

Paradoxical rated it:

I liked this book, but that's not much of a surprise since it was written by McKinley and I tend to adore all of her books. The thing is, about Pegasus, is that if you're going in to read the story with an air of fast paced happenings and something very plot centered, then you're going to dislike this book. Reading Pegasus is more like the reader is being submerged into the world and the character's lives more than anything else. Oh, there is a plot, of course there is (and a wicked cliffhanger More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2011

Krystle rated it:

This is the first book I've read this year and it's a major disappointment. For all the gorgeousness of the cover, it does not in any way make up for the lack... of everything I find within this book.

If a book takes me longer than two or three days to read (considering my busy work schedule), than that's definitely not a good sign. The first seventy or so pages of this book are atrocious to read. There is so much background information thrown at us that your mind cannot wrap around it More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2011

meeners rated it:

i first discovered robin mckinley in 4th grade. i discovered her along with patricia mckillip (right next to mckinley on the library shelves!), lloyd alexander, tolkien, le guin, diana wynne jones, susan cooper, and more. looking back, i can see it's no wonder i became such an incorrigible bookworm! these are the authors that taught me to love reading, to love books, to love everything that books promised - fantasy books in particular: escape, adventure, wisdom, growth, love. these are the autho More...

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2010

MB rated it:

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

22 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2010

CLM rated it:

Amusing that Amazon tells me fans of McKinley also bought books by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Marguerite Henry... that is taking in a lot of territory!

I am enjoying this as I enjoy everything Robin has written - wholeheartedly - but it seems to me she is telegraphing plot developments way in advance. Overall, however, there is much to like about this book (the descriptions of the pegasi culture and bonds with humans are rich and fascinating), although a page at the end with characte More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

Eva rated it:

Like many a dragon tale, this is the story of a close mental and emotional bond between a human and a member of another species - in this case, the pegasi. The pegasi - a horse-like people with enormous, gorgeous wings - inhabit a remote land that a group of human explorers settled a thousand years before. At that time, a formal Alliance was struck that the humans would rid the land of the monsters who had been plaguing the pegasi, and in return the humans would get to found their own nation in More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 21, 2012

Dara rated it:

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

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Jan 08, 2012

Sarah rated it:

Ok, first things first:

Do NOT read this book until the sequel comes out in 2014. Trust me.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book until the most abrupt cliff-hanger of an ending appeared. I love Robin McKinley's work as a rule, and this was one of my favorites. I loved the characters, and I especially love the way McKinley uses magic and/or magical things that cannot easily be explained away, or that make sense right away, because that's how magic is. I think the best More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2012

Justine rated it:

Officially 4% through my reading goal for 2012, this time helped by one of my favorite young adult authors ever (this one’s for you, Blumie). Robin McKinley is such an excellent writer for young women, and her protagonists are a lovely blend of quirky, sassy, practical, and personable. I loved and still love how they wander into their heroism almost by accident and still manage to find a way to navigate it without becoming pompous or unironic. McKinley has a unique ability to create heroes wit More...

1 comment like

Nov 06, 2011

Mara rated it:

It took me a while to become engaged in this story. The first chapter and a good deal of the second is pretty slow, laying down the background so the Reader may fully understand what is going on. Normally I don't like it when the Author takes several chapters to outline back-story, for it seems to show a weak writing style. Good authors can integrate the necessary background while they keep the story moving, but in this case, Robin McKinley was right to take a few chapters to orientate the Reade More...

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Oct 29, 2011

Dlora rated it:

McKinley creates amazingly interesting fantasy worlds and I loved this one with two races struggling to understand each other but mired in tradition and misconceptions. I loved the strong and distinct characters and the feelings of family love and the acceptance of responsibility that comes with being part of the ruling family. Young Princess Sylvi at age 12 is bonded to a Pegasus and is shocked to realize it is a real mental and emotional bond, unlike the more fragile bonds between the two race More...

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Oct 28, 2011

Laura rated it:

When I found this on the shelf at my library, I remember thinking "Oh my God, the characters can chew wallpaper and I will read this!" And, alas, while they don't do that outright, they come damn close to it.
I gave this an extra star because of its subject matter and how it was handled; the world needs more animal fantasy with this depth of world-building.
But there is a comatose level of conflict here. I'll settle for reading spoiler reviews to find out what happens in th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Stephan rated it:

About a month ago, I spoke of two releases I was anticipating, and though Towers of Midnight was the first to arrive on my doorstep, I immediately moved on to Pegasus after finishing it, filled with expectation not only because of its beautiful cover but because of the promising plot as well.

Pegasi
Pegasus, a young adult novel by Robin McKinley and first in a planned duology, is about a mythical land where humans and pegasi live united by an eight hundred year old alliance. Because More...

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Oct 13, 2011

Regina rated it:

i am a fan of robin mckinley's books and have read most of her works. Pegasus did not disappoint although i was not sure what to expect of it. There were some confusing flashbacks where i was uncertain about how old Sylvi was and parts that were slightly tedious. But other than that the writing managed to absorb me into the story and i become enthralled with the world that Mckinley created. There is something captivating about the way the pegasi and human relationships were described. I am a rom More...

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Oct 09, 2011

Cana Elene rated it:

In a land where all human royalty are bound to the race of Pegasus that also inhabit the land. In the past, translators in the form of mages have been the only way for communication to occur between the humans and the pegasi, but Ebon the Pegasus and Princess Sylvi have defied years of tradition by actually being able to understand each other and being able to communicate without the assistance of a mage. And when everything they thought to be true is challenged, choices are made that will cha More...

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Sep 01, 2011

Zoe rated it:

This book did not begin well. "Because she was a Princess, she had a Pegasus" possibly would have thrilled me when I was 6-12 and mad on both princess and horses, but now just sounds, well, twee. It didn't improve rapidly from there, with long bits of history and ritual, in the convoluted, digression-ridden style that McKinley seems to be using more and more these days. If it hadn't been for knowing and trusting Robin McKinley to make the read worthwhile, I'm not sure I would have wade More...

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Aug 29, 2011

Kate Strawberry rated it:

On her twelfth birthday, Sylviianel, like all the members of the royal family, is to be bonded to a royal pegasus. Not that they'll be able to be close friends - communication between humans and pegasi is extremely difficult, and complex ideas require the aid of a magician Speaker. Except Sylvi and her pegasus, Ebon, can communicate directly: they can hear each other's thoughts. It's great for them, but some of the magicians are less than pleased with this development, and Sylvi and Ebon have to More...

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Aug 27, 2011

Lioness rated it:

Robin McKinley has done it again. A fascinating story well told with a main character who lives and breathes.This is one of those books I had a hard time putting down and the 400 pages were too short.The good news is, there is a sequel - Pegagus II. The bad news is, it doesn't come out until 2012.
The premise is a simple one. Far back in history, humans came to a new land where they found all sorts of creatures, most of them deadly.But the Pegasi- beautiful horse like beings - were both frie More...

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Aug 17, 2011

SJ rated it:

I feel absolutely terrible about only giving this book 3 stars. I really really do. Robin McKinley, the author, was wonderful to me as a child, responding to my letters kindly and being someone I in general looked up to for many years. Heck, I still do read her blog now and again and consider her one of my most beloved authors.

This is a good story. It's written well. It's interesting and colorful and rich with strong women and character development. It's nothing less than what I' More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 31, 2011

Kayla rated it:

Gorgeously written? Hardly. This book was frustrating to read. It is normal for writers to veer off the point of their sentence to briefly explain something, but to write a whole book on constantly veering trains of thought? Was this book edited at all? I'm not a stupid reader but I certainly felt like one, reading this. I could have given it two stars because the plot was good, good enough for me to finish all 404 pages, but that would be because I was considering the cover art and the general More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Kathleen rated it:

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

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 21, 2011

Lyrical rated it:

I love a good high fantasy - the feeling of immersing yourself in a completely different world with a new set of rules where anything could happen. There is, however, a big reason why I steer clear of adult high fantasy: authors tend to get bogged down in world-setting (like scene-setting only bigger) and you have to wade through pages and pages of extraneous rambling that they have made up to make their world comprehensive and real to actually get to anything that resembles plot. I'm not genera More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Kate rated it:

I read the last 100 pages of this book with growing consternation, followed by a minor panic attack and a frenzied google search. You see, Robin McKinley has said outright that she does NOT do sequels. What this book does is set a fantastic mythology, with a little bit of mystery, a little bit of conspiracy, and a lot of impending danger. What it does not do, is tell a story. It is one long set up for the next book wherein nothing climactic, or even mildly stressful, actually happens (until t More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 06, 2011

Erin (Bookish in a Box) rated it:

Pegasus is one of the best YA books I've read all year and, without a doubt, lives up to all the high praise it has received. A grown-up version of a beautiful fairytale, it will captivate and entertain audiences of all ages.

Spanning several years, Pegasus tells the story of a princess and her pegasus. Their unique bond unites them, even as it threatens to tear apart the fragile threads of the treaty between pegasus and man. Oftentimes, novels that cover so many years begin to drag but More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Rosalyn rated it:

Robin McKinley was one of my favorite authors growing up. I enjoyed this story quite a bit, although it was a little slow getting started. In this world, a group of humans were able to flourish in a rich green kingdom (previously infested by all kinds of dangerous wild creatures) by forming a tenuous alliance with the pegasi who were on the fringe of extinction when the humans arrived. Their alliance means that royal family members (human and pegasi) are bound to each other on the 12th birthday More...

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Apr 24, 2011

Maggie rated it:

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

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Apr 17, 2011

Alicia rated it:

I never read fantasy growing up. And as I have gotten older there are a few authors that I really enjoy reading. Robin Mckinley is one of them. She has a ton of details in her books and she tends to jump around to give you all the details to explain a situation, but I love the creativity of her stories. You can picture a different world without it being so far out there that it pushs the limits.

I couldn't put this one down. I was curious from the first pages about what was going to More...

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