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The Knight, the Harp, and the Maiden
The foremost city-state of Sylyria is in the cold grasp of Lindos, a cruel wizard who has mastered the magic to turn 10,000 years of peace into a reign of horror. Rejected in his marriage proposal to the beautiful noblewoman Juilene, the evil Lindos plagues her with a hateful curse: anyone who helps her will be destroyed. A forlorn exile with nothing more than her harp, the young songsayer flees her home to protect her family. But, in the distant city of Khardroon, she meets a mysterious knight prophesied to be the true savior of Sylyria -- and the confrontation with Lindos is now inevitable.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 26, 2018
This have been Part of my "books-Ive-looked-at-for-years" reading. It turned out well this time too :) good premises and interesting plotwise but tok a long time for me to finnish reading.
September 20, 2021
I remember reading this book back in middle school and loving it. Since I had hung unto the book for years but never re-read it, I felt it was time to go back and refresh my memory. After all I love fantasy novels with female protagonists and rich worlds to explore or in this case, explore again.
Just as I recalled, it was an engaging, quick read, other than a slightly slow start. The descriptions and world building felt rich or at least had the potential to be so.
Unlike my memories though, I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as middle school me did. I didn't like how she was always waiting around, waiting to be saved; she never really grew a spine or developed as a character. I didn't like how the rape was handled at all and post-rape sex for her didn't cause any undue stress or emotional turmoil. I found this to stretch my mind's ability to suspend disbelief. I suspect as a younger me would have glossed over the implications as I was swept up in the romantic aspects.
I also was left incredibly frustrated with this book.
The removal of the curse... just happens. The whole end battle is very anti-climatic. The book, the adventure, everything is summed up in a few dissatisfying pages. Totally didn't remember that from my first read. There is so much hinted at regarding the world this is set in, the goddess, her harp and the upcoming end of the 10,000 years and none of it is resolved. No sequels were ever written so the reader is just... Left abandoned. Julienne is told to take the harp to Eld. It never happens. You never find out any more about the sleepers or the crazy thurge in the cave. You never find out what happened to the incestuous sister, or if Rihanna totally ends the world or anything. Just they lived happily ever after and ignored half the plot.
The book gets 1 star for nostalgia, 1 star for engaging writing and romance, and 1 star for the creation of a world I was left wanting more of but will never receive.
Just as I recalled, it was an engaging, quick read, other than a slightly slow start. The descriptions and world building felt rich or at least had the potential to be so.
Unlike my memories though, I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as middle school me did. I didn't like how she was always waiting around, waiting to be saved; she never really grew a spine or developed as a character. I didn't like how the rape was handled at all and post-rape sex for her didn't cause any undue stress or emotional turmoil. I found this to stretch my mind's ability to suspend disbelief. I suspect as a younger me would have glossed over the implications as I was swept up in the romantic aspects.
I also was left incredibly frustrated with this book.
The removal of the curse... just happens. The whole end battle is very anti-climatic. The book, the adventure, everything is summed up in a few dissatisfying pages. Totally didn't remember that from my first read. There is so much hinted at regarding the world this is set in, the goddess, her harp and the upcoming end of the 10,000 years and none of it is resolved. No sequels were ever written so the reader is just... Left abandoned. Julienne is told to take the harp to Eld. It never happens. You never find out any more about the sleepers or the crazy thurge in the cave. You never find out what happened to the incestuous sister, or if Rihanna totally ends the world or anything. Just they lived happily ever after and ignored half the plot.
The book gets 1 star for nostalgia, 1 star for engaging writing and romance, and 1 star for the creation of a world I was left wanting more of but will never receive.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2012
In summation, the writing wasn't that great, the plot predictable, and the climax and what happened afterwards lasted all of three pages (the final battle, one paragraph), and I'm sticking to YA fiction from now (more time was spent describing a rape than the final battle). Don't waste your time.
July 18, 2012
I expected this to follow in the same thread as any of Tamora Pierce's books and show that girls/women can kick butt, survive adversity and be independent.
But alas, it did not. Instead, her curse is practically forgotten half-way through the book after she is taken advantage of by her superior. I'm still not sure why she asked for payment afterwards. Shouldn't she have given him money (if he was "doing her a favor")? Wouldn't that have made more sense? Why, oh why did the author have to eroticise (sp?) that scene?
Rape is not erotic. It is a horrible, brutal, and sadistic thing. Oh sure, Bush tries to say that it has effected Juilene because she feels dirty and bathes constantly afterwards (which is common amongst rape victims), she feels awkward around her superior after that, and she has trouble with physical intimacy later on when she falls in love.
Too bad the compulsive bathing stops after... what? Twice? Three times? No mentions of it again after that. The awkwardness around her superior is over after about a week. That's all it was anyways... an awkwardness. There's no uncomfortable skin-crawling, or wanting to find work elsewhere, or anger/hurt directed at him afterwards. NOTHING! WTF? The trouble with physical intimacy with her love is only a problem once, when they start to get in the mood. The author has to say "oh she's uncomfortable here because she was raped... but she still continues anyway." Juilene doesn't say "Let's go slow with our relationship... I was raped, which you're fully aware of. Plus, another guy attempted to rape me a few weeks ago. You're the hero, so you're understanding and will wait for me." or "I can't be with any man right now." Nope. After once sentence of narration saying that she was feeling awkward, she does the horizontal shuffle with him... because in order for someone to fall in love with Julienne (and appreciate her for who she really is), they have to sleep with her. That's the only way to break the curse so that she can get everything she had before (wealth, power, people to wait on her).
She has to put her discomfort from being raped aside and spread her legs to have anyone love her "for who she is", and save herself from earning her own living. Great message for teenage girls. Thanks, Anne Kelleher Bush.
I'm not even going to get into the whole time travel/incest thing...
But alas, it did not. Instead, her curse is practically forgotten half-way through the book after she is taken advantage of by her superior. I'm still not sure why she asked for payment afterwards. Shouldn't she have given him money (if he was "doing her a favor")? Wouldn't that have made more sense? Why, oh why did the author have to eroticise (sp?) that scene?
Rape is not erotic. It is a horrible, brutal, and sadistic thing. Oh sure, Bush tries to say that it has effected Juilene because she feels dirty and bathes constantly afterwards (which is common amongst rape victims), she feels awkward around her superior after that, and she has trouble with physical intimacy later on when she falls in love.
Too bad the compulsive bathing stops after... what? Twice? Three times? No mentions of it again after that. The awkwardness around her superior is over after about a week. That's all it was anyways... an awkwardness. There's no uncomfortable skin-crawling, or wanting to find work elsewhere, or anger/hurt directed at him afterwards. NOTHING! WTF? The trouble with physical intimacy with her love is only a problem once, when they start to get in the mood. The author has to say "oh she's uncomfortable here because she was raped... but she still continues anyway." Juilene doesn't say "Let's go slow with our relationship... I was raped, which you're fully aware of. Plus, another guy attempted to rape me a few weeks ago. You're the hero, so you're understanding and will wait for me." or "I can't be with any man right now." Nope. After once sentence of narration saying that she was feeling awkward, she does the horizontal shuffle with him... because in order for someone to fall in love with Julienne (and appreciate her for who she really is), they have to sleep with her. That's the only way to break the curse so that she can get everything she had before (wealth, power, people to wait on her).
She has to put her discomfort from being raped aside and spread her legs to have anyone love her "for who she is", and save herself from earning her own living. Great message for teenage girls. Thanks, Anne Kelleher Bush.
I'm not even going to get into the whole time travel/incest thing...
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June 12, 2013I really cannot fairly rate this book. This was one of my absolute favorite library rentals while in middle school - Reading it ten years later, I am aware that the writing is horrendous, the story is poorly organized, and there are definitely a few distasteful scenes, but I still love it. I get so caught up in the cheesy romance that I forget that the actual story ended quite anticlimactically in one chapter. Five stars, don't judge.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews