The Black Beast

The Book of Isle #4

by Nancy Springer, Joseph A. Springer

An aged browned copy with a little edge wear. Page "190" has a top corner dog-ear. No marks, clean and tight. Ships very quickly and packaged carefully!

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Collections, Young Adult, High Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

BIO -- NANCY SPRINGER


Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery -- although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.

Reviews

[X · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a terrible book. But not in the sense that I wonder why I finished it, just that it did not end how I would have liked it to. Ending aside, I loved the style and the story, though both are too Tolkienesque to be very fresh or original. I hope that all will be resolved more happily in the next, and last, book in the series.

[SpentCello · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my least favourite out of Nancy Springer's books that I've read so far. The main issue was that the first person narration really got in the way of telling the story. I found it very hard to care for any of the characters and the story seemed aimless most of the time. The whole trope of Tirell being blinded by rage wore thin very quickly and he became unpleasant, unlikeable and one-dimensional. It also felt like the myths and lore within the world were a little slipshod and there were far too many characters who were motivated to do certain actions simply because they were 'crazed' or 'insane'. Definitely not the worst fantasy book I've read but it didn't have much going for it either.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are few books I have read that have left me feeling as unsettled as this one. Overwhelmingly, the message of this book is that men who don't like the answers women give them and can't process emotions healthily will act in destructive ways. Overwhelmingly, the message is that men's selfishness and pain spreads out to absorb everyone around them, regardless of consequences, and they only learn from it when it is too late for the people who matter most to them. There is a scene of what I would charitably call dubious consent in a sexual encounter which overwhelmingly punishes the woman involved and the man is full of regret - not for what he did to her, but for what it eventually did to his relationship with his brother. And yet, this is the character we have been following throughout as part of the trio at the core of this novel.

I don't need all of my books to be happy. But I put very strong warnings for anyone else interested in reading this book to be prepared for what is gong to follow. There is no hope to be found here.

[Jimbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Black Beast really isn't part of the Book of Isles. It is about and Island world, but it has different history and gods and everything else.
The books was decent. It was broken into three parts. The first and third part felt right to me. The first was narrated by the brother Frain. The third part by the other brother Tirell. The second piece was narrated by Frain's father.

Like most fantasies, it is a ride across a land to some good dead or bad dead. So much of the time the characters are walking or on a horse. arguing or dealing with someone's bad temper or dumb idea, or listening to a magical creature.

I think Nancy Springer is amazing at writing young characters finding out about themselves and the world around them. That is what this book does well. The questing fantasy elements are old hat at this point (Mind you this was written forty years ago) so it probably felt right at the time.

Maybe this jaded older guy just is tired and doesn't want to do all that walking and riding any more.

[Brigitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

THOSE WHO LIVED BY THE SWORD OF PASSION- WOULD DIE BY THE SWORD OF LOVE!

Frain and Tirell, princes of Melior, ventured together into mysterious regions of Vale in search of an army and the hope of victory. For his father's murder of the gentle, beautiful Mylitta, Tirell's spirit ached with a black hatred. And nothing, not Frain the healer, not a beautiful virgin goddess, not his plundering sword could soothe the prince's raging pain- until all gentleness itself had been laid to waste.

This is an epic odyssey to the far reaches of passion, the wilds of love, loyalty and war. This is the story of two princes and a woman- and the dark presence that would haunt them all...

THE BLACK BEAST

Compelling, dark and with a twist at the end. A gripping read that I finished within a few days.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one. I understand it's part of a series but is it really necessary? I didn't feel like I was missing anything important. What an excellent little book. I love the living gods, the sacrificial kings, the whole runaround before the final moral, the brothers--I love Tirell and Frain's relationship! The love, the bitterness, the hopelessness! By the end, I wanted so much more, but no part of the journey overstayed its welcome.

[Shane Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Due to the brevity of The Black Beast, there a number of really cool events that could have been explored more or been more dynamic, but felt rushed.

This could be because of expectations of the time period.

[Airin Efferin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one least because half the time I was not quite sure what was going on-was it really happening or was it allegorical?

[Mischa Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful prose. Somewhat difficult to get through at times, but Nancy Springer demonstrates an incredible mastery of writing throughout the novel.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different isle and a completely independent story, but interesting cosmology.

[James]

The Black Beast

[Lindsey Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prince Tirell, heir to a legacy of madness and death, has his life torn apart when his true love is slain, and his younger brother, Frain, finds himself swept along. The story plays on multiple levels: the personal, where the most important value is family devotion; the global, where Tirell plans rebellion; and the divine, with a goddess, dragons, and a trip through the realm of the dead.

This volume is stronger than the last, for a few reasons. It relies less on the burden of prophecy to carry its plot and motivations. The goddess Shamarra claims that destiny connects her to Tirell, but is that really true? The worldbuilding is deeper, with a few particularly interesting quirks, such as the natives' deep and abiding fear of water - not just oceans, but rivers and streams. (As a side note, though the back of the last book makes it clear that story does occur in the same world, this book has no direct connection and stands alone.)

Another interesting aspect of the book is that it is told in first person perspective - not just one character but three, following in succession. Though it's well handled, I wasn't sure there was any point to using the perspective of Fabron, the smith-king; I would have been just as, if not more, happy with a fifty-fifty split between Frain and Tirell. And although leaving Tirell's perspective until last does a nice job of building a question in the reader's mind - why does he act the way he does? - the answer doesn't feel strong enough to be a valid payoff.

Still, we start the book with Frain, and that's the journey that matters: Frain's. The Black Beast ends with a tantalizing glimpse of his future ...

[Ryan Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly depressing. The characters are constantly miserable, unhappy with their situation, fate, and the choices they have made. Even strong friendships can be built on anger. I enjoyed the book because of its powerful emotional effect, but I suggest reading it quickly so that you don't stay sad for too long.

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this way back in high school, and I gotta say that it's a beautiful little piece of mythic fantasy which I have a soft spot for... But I never felt as close to the characters as I did to Hal and Alan and other characters in the Isle books... Lovely language, though.