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Rhiannon's Ride #1
The Tower of Ravens
One-Horn's daughter is not like the others of her kind. Born of a human father, she lacks the horns so prized by her people and is scorned even by her own mother. Her only chance for escape is to capture one of the legendary flying horses and ride it to freedom.
So this strange, feral girl begins a dangerous journey of love, death, and betrayal that will earn her a new name: Rhiannon, the rider no one can catch.
Rescued and taken to the home of Lewen, a young man just beginning to understand his own magical potential, Rhiannon is fascinated by the human world and by Lewen. Together they travel through a land where the dead walk and ghosts haunt the living, a place where Rhiannon encounters dark forces that endanger all of Eileanan. But to save the land, she must convince Lewen and the other apprentice-witches to trust the word of a wild half-human girl.
So this strange, feral girl begins a dangerous journey of love, death, and betrayal that will earn her a new name: Rhiannon, the rider no one can catch.
Rescued and taken to the home of Lewen, a young man just beginning to understand his own magical potential, Rhiannon is fascinated by the human world and by Lewen. Together they travel through a land where the dead walk and ghosts haunt the living, a place where Rhiannon encounters dark forces that endanger all of Eileanan. But to save the land, she must convince Lewen and the other apprentice-witches to trust the word of a wild half-human girl.
439 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
57 people are currently reading
2872 people want to read
About the author
Kate Forsyth
86 books2,562 followersKate Forsyth wrote her first novel at the age of seven, and is now the internationally bestselling author of 40 books for both adults and children.
Her books for adults include 'Beauty in Thorns', the true love story behind a famous painting of 'Sleeping Beauty'; 'The Beast's Garden', a retelling of the Grimm version of 'Beauty & the Beast', set in the German underground resistance to Hitler in WWII; 'The Wild Girl', the love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told him many of the world's most famous fairy tales; 'Bitter Greens', a retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale; and the bestselling fantasy series 'Witches of Eileanan' Her books for children include 'The Impossible Quest', 'The Gypsy Crown', 'The Puzzle Ring', and 'The Starkin Crown'
Kate has a doctorate in fairytale studies, a Masters of Creative Writing, a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, and is an accredited master storyteller.
Her books for adults include 'Beauty in Thorns', the true love story behind a famous painting of 'Sleeping Beauty'; 'The Beast's Garden', a retelling of the Grimm version of 'Beauty & the Beast', set in the German underground resistance to Hitler in WWII; 'The Wild Girl', the love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild, the young woman who told him many of the world's most famous fairy tales; 'Bitter Greens', a retelling of the Rapunzel fairytale; and the bestselling fantasy series 'Witches of Eileanan' Her books for children include 'The Impossible Quest', 'The Gypsy Crown', 'The Puzzle Ring', and 'The Starkin Crown'
Kate has a doctorate in fairytale studies, a Masters of Creative Writing, a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, and is an accredited master storyteller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
December 22, 2016
I enjoyed this fantasy set in Eileanan some 25 years after the events of The Witches of Eileanan. Under the rule of Lachlan the Winged, the witches are slowly rebuilding their towers and schools and restoring peace and prosperity to the land. Talented youngsters with magical abilities are brought into the capital Lucescere to be apprentice witches and trained in the magic arts. One such caravan escorting a group of apprentices comes across a wild girl, Rhiannon who has captured a flying horse to escape her tribe of horned Satyricorns. Half human, Rhiannon does not resemble her tribe and was in danger of being killed as she had not yet sprouted horns despite being almost full grown. However, she harbours a dark secret which she must keep to herself as she travels with the apprentices and their adult escorts.
Despite the land now being at peace, there is still evil afoot and the convoy runs into trouble near the Tower of Ravens in desolate and difficult country and Rhiannon and her companions must be alert to prevent a dastardly plot going ahead. As with the previous series the land of Eileanan, the world is well realised and populated with all sorts of faerie and people with various magical talents. The minor characters are a bit one-sided in this first of a trilogy, but perhaps will develop more in later episodes. However, the novel works well as a stand alone read, although I expect there is a lot more adventure and magic to come once Rhiannon and the apprentices finally arrive at their destination.
Despite the land now being at peace, there is still evil afoot and the convoy runs into trouble near the Tower of Ravens in desolate and difficult country and Rhiannon and her companions must be alert to prevent a dastardly plot going ahead. As with the previous series the land of Eileanan, the world is well realised and populated with all sorts of faerie and people with various magical talents. The minor characters are a bit one-sided in this first of a trilogy, but perhaps will develop more in later episodes. However, the novel works well as a stand alone read, although I expect there is a lot more adventure and magic to come once Rhiannon and the apprentices finally arrive at their destination.
August 23, 2010
California Vacation Read #4: The last of a disastrous selection of books brought with me for the trip, the only one I bothered to bring back, and that only because I needed a book for the flight home. The single worst disappointment of the lot.
The short version of this review is: I didn't like it.
This book was recommended to me with universal praise on all sides, and I was terribly eager to read it because, hey, there are flying horses. And the title character Rhiannon is great — I loved her inhumanity, and the fact that her personality had been shaped by such an interesting semi-human culture, and her wonderfully direct pragmatism.
The long version is: I hated every other character in this book. Everybody, everybody is a whiny, patronizing moron with a holier-than-thou attitude that grated on my nerves so much. The characters connected to the Rhin and his elite military force are the worst, and the author has written all of them with the air that every smug little phrase that comes out of their mouths is sainted truth. I'm under the impression that Forsythe is hammering this ultragoodness of the Rhin et al. because they were the set of protagonist characters in Forsythe's preceding seven-volume series, but honestly that only made me hate them more. I would have liked this book better if Rhiannon had knifed them all. Although I probably don't need to spell this out, I will never pick up Forsythe's preceding series and, as the plot of The Tower of Ravens stands now, I'd only be interested in reading the following books if in them Rhiannon overthrows the government and drowns the country in chaos.
And what's with Rhiannon written as constantly bringing her mare to foundering? I don't know if was Forsythe's consistent typo for flounder, which would be an action that would have made sense in the context of the scenes, or if she's just picked founder out of a hat of the names of serious equine ailments in an attempt at verisimilitude. If so, massive fail there: while laminitis can be a very serious ailment that can cause death in a horse, it's an ailment that affects the hoof — and remember, this is a flying horse we're talking about here. Its common cause is feeding a horse an improper diet and then aggravating the diet imbalance by excessively working or standing the horse on hard ground. Forsysth's use of the word founder indicates she believes that a hoof ailment is somehow caused by wing muscle exhaustion. If she had intended to refer to any actual equine ailment, she meant broken wind.
California Vacation Reading List (November 2009)
#1 | Recursion
#2 | The Devil and Miss Prym
#3 | The Lost Continent
#4 | The Tower of Ravens
The short version of this review is: I didn't like it.
This book was recommended to me with universal praise on all sides, and I was terribly eager to read it because, hey, there are flying horses. And the title character Rhiannon is great — I loved her inhumanity, and the fact that her personality had been shaped by such an interesting semi-human culture, and her wonderfully direct pragmatism.
The long version is: I hated every other character in this book. Everybody, everybody is a whiny, patronizing moron with a holier-than-thou attitude that grated on my nerves so much. The characters connected to the Rhin and his elite military force are the worst, and the author has written all of them with the air that every smug little phrase that comes out of their mouths is sainted truth. I'm under the impression that Forsythe is hammering this ultragoodness of the Rhin et al. because they were the set of protagonist characters in Forsythe's preceding seven-volume series, but honestly that only made me hate them more. I would have liked this book better if Rhiannon had knifed them all. Although I probably don't need to spell this out, I will never pick up Forsythe's preceding series and, as the plot of The Tower of Ravens stands now, I'd only be interested in reading the following books if in them Rhiannon overthrows the government and drowns the country in chaos.
And what's with Rhiannon written as constantly bringing her mare to foundering? I don't know if was Forsythe's consistent typo for flounder, which would be an action that would have made sense in the context of the scenes, or if she's just picked founder out of a hat of the names of serious equine ailments in an attempt at verisimilitude. If so, massive fail there: while laminitis can be a very serious ailment that can cause death in a horse, it's an ailment that affects the hoof — and remember, this is a flying horse we're talking about here. Its common cause is feeding a horse an improper diet and then aggravating the diet imbalance by excessively working or standing the horse on hard ground. Forsysth's use of the word founder indicates she believes that a hoof ailment is somehow caused by wing muscle exhaustion. If she had intended to refer to any actual equine ailment, she meant broken wind.
California Vacation Reading List (November 2009)
#1 | Recursion
#2 | The Devil and Miss Prym
#3 | The Lost Continent
#4 | The Tower of Ravens
August 8, 2010
This book could have been simply phenomenal if it had done various things differently. The plot was good, the characters were good, and the author is wonderful at descriptions.
Sadly, however, it drags on far too much, concentrating on particularly uninteresting things within the dialogue like how everyone is faring at court, and histories involving too many long names. The dialogue is by far the author's weakest point. The characters are nearly all inconsistent or flat, which doesn't help either.
The book begins great, gets boring after Nina and her troupe arrive, gets interesting again as they head off into ghost country, and thereafter shakily spends far too much time on a plot point which makes no sense. At all. Basically, they are trapped by an evil lord who wants to kill everyone, and can do almost nothing about it. Way later, after their escape, Nina puts everyone in the castle to sleep.
I was also occasionally driven mad by the way Rhiannon seems to forget about how her horse can fly at points when it would really matter. The reason seems to be that the plot would be cut short and become uninteresting if she flew. Even when she does get the sense to fly over the castle gates at the end, instead of just OPENING THEM, she goes on this dangerous, secretive rescue mission.
Speaking of which and furthermore, Rhiannon COULD have been awesome. I liked her a lot as it was. But her character was the most inconsistent of all. By the end of the story she had nearly dropped her wild, vicious personality entirely for a cheeky, adventurous one. She got her ass kicked and got sick all the time. It didn't seem fair to me, considering her upbringing. And how did she learn the entire rest of the human language so fast? Within the first 100 pages, she's struggling to comprehend half of what's said; by the end, she understands pretty much everything perfectly. And learned perfect grammar to boot. ALL of this within a trip that couldn't have lasted more than a few months.
Grr! I loved the grim and bold linings of this book. I liked Lewen, and his romance with Rhiannon, despite him being endlessly the predictable nice guy, and though it was a little unbelievably paced.
The world created brimmed with old mythology, faeries and monsters and magic. Satyricorns to a comfy Celtic to cottage to a journey across undead lands and through an evil lord's castle, and finally to a trial at a school of magic...sounds great! But why did she have to linger half the book in that stupid castle? It made for a good horror scene but it certainly shouldn't have been made to carry the weight of the whole novel. I am so annoyed, because...it could have been so great! I wanted to say that the author is just starting out, and she'll improve with each installment. But though I enjoyed this one overall, I doubt I'll pick up the second; I saw that she's already written like five books. Well, get it together, missie!
Sadly, however, it drags on far too much, concentrating on particularly uninteresting things within the dialogue like how everyone is faring at court, and histories involving too many long names. The dialogue is by far the author's weakest point. The characters are nearly all inconsistent or flat, which doesn't help either.
The book begins great, gets boring after Nina and her troupe arrive, gets interesting again as they head off into ghost country, and thereafter shakily spends far too much time on a plot point which makes no sense. At all. Basically, they are trapped by an evil lord who wants to kill everyone, and can do almost nothing about it. Way later, after their escape, Nina puts everyone in the castle to sleep.
I was also occasionally driven mad by the way Rhiannon seems to forget about how her horse can fly at points when it would really matter. The reason seems to be that the plot would be cut short and become uninteresting if she flew. Even when she does get the sense to fly over the castle gates at the end, instead of just OPENING THEM, she goes on this dangerous, secretive rescue mission.
Speaking of which and furthermore, Rhiannon COULD have been awesome. I liked her a lot as it was. But her character was the most inconsistent of all. By the end of the story she had nearly dropped her wild, vicious personality entirely for a cheeky, adventurous one. She got her ass kicked and got sick all the time. It didn't seem fair to me, considering her upbringing. And how did she learn the entire rest of the human language so fast? Within the first 100 pages, she's struggling to comprehend half of what's said; by the end, she understands pretty much everything perfectly. And learned perfect grammar to boot. ALL of this within a trip that couldn't have lasted more than a few months.
Grr! I loved the grim and bold linings of this book. I liked Lewen, and his romance with Rhiannon, despite him being endlessly the predictable nice guy, and though it was a little unbelievably paced.
The world created brimmed with old mythology, faeries and monsters and magic. Satyricorns to a comfy Celtic to cottage to a journey across undead lands and through an evil lord's castle, and finally to a trial at a school of magic...sounds great! But why did she have to linger half the book in that stupid castle? It made for a good horror scene but it certainly shouldn't have been made to carry the weight of the whole novel. I am so annoyed, because...it could have been so great! I wanted to say that the author is just starting out, and she'll improve with each installment. But though I enjoyed this one overall, I doubt I'll pick up the second; I saw that she's already written like five books. Well, get it together, missie!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2016
Review in "schönerer Form" auf: https://neylakunta.wordpress.com/2016...
Fakten über das Buch:
Verlag: Blanvalet
Seitenzahl: 577
ISBN: 978-3-641-16829-2
Preis: 6,99€
Lesezeitraum: 7/7/16 – 10/7/16
Kurzbeschreibung:
Rhiannon gehört zu einem Stamm von Satyricorns; Wesen, die auch als Gehörnte bezeichnet werden, die meist weit abgeschieden der Städte und Dörfner, in den Bergen Eileanns leben. Schlecht ist nur, wenn einem keine Hörner wachsen, weil der Vater kein Gehörnter war. Für die meisten Kein-Horns sieht es schlecht aus, sie haben die niedrigste Stellung im Stamm und werden verachtet. Rhiannon gehört zu ihnen und wird nur durch ihre Mutter, die Anführerin des Stammes, beschützt.
Doch dies ist kein Leben, welches Rhiannon wirklich behagt. Sie schmiedet Pläne dem Stamm der gewaltätigen Zauberwesen zu entkommen. Dabei helfen soll ihr ein geflügeltes Pferd, welches sie noch zähmen muss.
Doch auch das Leben unter Menschen behagt Rhiannon nicht und jeder ist ein Feind. Ein Glück hat sie Hexenlehrling Lewen an ihrer Seite, der ihr zeigt, dass nicht jeder Mensch gleich ist.
Cover:
Also besonders ist das Cover schon mal nicht, so viel
steht fest.
Besonders da sich die Cover bei
den Folgebänden sehr stark ähneln und Abwechslung dort wohl ein Fremdwort ist.
Aber tatsächlich finde ich das gar nicht schlimm, da es auf mich einfach schön wirkt. Entspannt kann man es auch nennen, wenn ihr versteht was ich meine. Schlichtheit kann durchaus auch als schön empfunden werden.
Handlungsverlauf:
Wir werden teils sanft in die Geschichte unserer Protagonistin eingeführt. Es beginnt, selbstverständlich, mit dem Leben im Stamm der wilden Satyricorns. ( Diese kann man, meiner Meinung nach, mit Zentauren vergleichen, nur, dass sie statt 50%, 80-90% Menschen sind. )
Rhiannon hat es gewiss nicht leicht, und das merkt man auch gleich auf den ersten Seiten. Ich würde nicht ihr tauschen wollen. Und da sie dieses Leben auch nicht für lebenswert hält, flieht sie. „Spoiler“, sie schafft es selbstverständlich, sonst würde das Buch nach wenigen Sachen aufhören.
Nach ihrem wilden Ritt auf dem schwarzen geflügelten Pferd trifft sie auf Hexenlehrling Lewen der ihr hilft und sie gesund pflegt. Gemeinsam mit ihm, und weiteren Lehrlingen, macht sie sich auf den Weg zu dem Ort, wo sie ausgebildet werden und Rhiannon auf magisches Talent getestet werden soll.
Da sie aber auf ihrer Flucht jemanden umgebracht hat, versperren ihr viele Steine den Weg.
Die Geschichte rund um das Satyricorn Mädchen ist durchaus spannend und schön zu lesen. Jede Handlung hat ihre Schwächen, aber so etwas ist normal, menschlich. Was mich jedoch am meisten gestört hat, war Rhiannons schnelles Erlernen der normalen Sprache. Am Anfang waren ihre Sätze, nun ja, keine Sätze. Was will man auch sonst, bei den bruchstückhaften Konversationen in ihrem Stamm, erwarten? Aber was man auf keinen Fall erwartet, ist, dass Rhiannon so schnell das normale Sprechen lernt. Wie ein Wunder.Das nimmt jedoch keinen Einfluss auf die Handlung. Nicht wirklich.
Einige Sachen hätten nicht so genau beschrieben werden müssen, aber das war alles noch im normalen Rahmen. Es kann nicht auf jeder Seite pure Spannung sein, das geht nicht. Aber wenn man einfach ein Stück weiter liest, hat man gleich wieder Spaß an dem Buch, und fragt sich, wie es weitergeht.
Jedoch gibt es einen Punkt der mich stört, den findet ihr unten bei Anmerkungen, da er Spoiler enthält.
Schreibstil, Charaktere, etc.:
Gegen den Schreibstil von Kate Forsyth habe ich grundsätzlich gar nichts einzuwenden, da sich die Geschichte meist locker durchlesen lässt. Aber stink normale, langweilige Sachen muss man nun mal nicht immer wiederholen und genaustens beschreiben, das schadet dem Lesefluss vieler Leute bestimmt. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass es meinen nicht ganz so sehr gestört hat, da ich mich sowieso mehr auf die eigentliche Handlung konzentriert habe und gespannt war, wie es weitergeht.
Forsyth erschafft eine ganz eigene Welt, und das macht sie okay so. Man kann sich sehr schnell darin verlieren und dann wird man von Verwirrung gepackt die einen wieder in die eigentliche Welt grob, aber bestimmt, zurück stößt. Es interessiert mich ganz ehrlich nicht, wer jetzt gerade das schönste Mädchen bei Hof ist und wer mit wem wieso und warum heiraten wird, da ich es ja sowieso nicht verstehe. Mir erging es hierbei wie Rhiannon und das ist kacke. Namen die nie ein Ende finden wollen, Beziehungen die man nicht versteht und nachvollziehen kann, Gebiete die man zu keiner Karte zusammen setzen kann, etc. Erst am Ende des Buches habe ich die Übersicht mit Erklärung der ganzen Personen und Begriffe entdeckt, aber das hat mir dann auch nicht mehr wirklich geholfen und ich hätte wahrscheinlich sowieso nicht die Lust gehabt, beim Lesen ständig mit dem Ebook-Reader nach hinten zu switchen.
Lewen mochte ich. Lewen ist toll. Lewen hat Charakter. Und Lewen und Rhiannon passen einfach verdammt nochmal zusammen und ich hoffe sie bleiben es die ganzen weiteren zwei Bücher noch.
Rhiannon wirkt teils stark overpowert und viel zu gut in allem, aber ihre Schwächen liegen teils halt bei dem Verständnis der Sprache, am Anfang, dem Umgang mit Menschen und ihren Gefühlen, etc. Aber ich mag sie trotzdem. Sie ist stark, hat dieses bad-ass mäßige, was wirklich gut passt. Sie hat Mut und immer eine eigene Meinung. Also alles was eine Hauptcharakterin braucht.
Naja, ja, nur dann sollte sie es nicht während des Buches verlieren und so eine typische 0815 Protagonistin werden. Ich hoffe, sie wird wieder cooler in den nächsten Bänden, auch wenn ich weiß, dass Charaktere sich verändern und das auch müssen. Dennoch, ich mag sie. 0815 wird sie wahrscheinlich nie werden.
Die anderen Charaktere waren immer so, hm, naja, nichts besonderes ehrlich gesagt, außer, dass mir jeder mal auf die Nerven ging und ich am liebsten zu ihnen gegegangen wäre um ihnen eine zu klatschen.
Für nervige Charaktere habe ich gar nichts übrig, und wenn ihr es lest, werdet ihr verstehen, wen ich denn so meine.
Fazit:
Es war ein gutes Buch, aber es hätte besser sein können, es hätte fünf Sterne bekommen können.
Jedoch erhält es von mir wacklige vier, da ich mich in die Geschichte mit ihren Charakteren, trotz ihrer Schwächen verliebt habe und gerne die komplette Trilogie lesen würde.
Meiner Meinung nach gibt es genug Kritikpunkte um einen Stern abzuziehen aber nicht genug, um dies mit zwei Sternen zutun.
Dennoch eine Empfehlung von mir, für alle Fantasyfans.
Anmerkungen:
Können Spoiler enthalten.
Etwas was mich an der Handlung noch sehr gestört hat, war das lange Verweilen in der Burg. Ich hatte wirklich gehofft, sie erreichen die Stadt noch, das mit der Burg ist nur ein Abschnitt, aber nein. Dies war ein sehr enttäuschender Punkt. Schade…
Und Rhiannon sollte sich mal merken, dass ihr Pferd fliegen kann, aber wäre sie immer geflogen, wäre es an einigen Punkten bestimmt langweilig gewesen, aber trotzdem. Sie hat diesen Selbsterhaltungswillen, dass ich das eigentlich erwartet hätte an mehreren Punkten.
Dies ist ein Rezensionsexemplar, welches ich vom Bloggerportal der Randomhouse Verlagsgruppe erhalten habe. Als Gegenleistung lese ich das erhaltene Buch und veröffentliche eine Rezension darüber. (Read-to-Review Basis.)
Fakten über das Buch:
Verlag: Blanvalet
Seitenzahl: 577
ISBN: 978-3-641-16829-2
Preis: 6,99€
Lesezeitraum: 7/7/16 – 10/7/16
Kurzbeschreibung:
Rhiannon gehört zu einem Stamm von Satyricorns; Wesen, die auch als Gehörnte bezeichnet werden, die meist weit abgeschieden der Städte und Dörfner, in den Bergen Eileanns leben. Schlecht ist nur, wenn einem keine Hörner wachsen, weil der Vater kein Gehörnter war. Für die meisten Kein-Horns sieht es schlecht aus, sie haben die niedrigste Stellung im Stamm und werden verachtet. Rhiannon gehört zu ihnen und wird nur durch ihre Mutter, die Anführerin des Stammes, beschützt.
Doch dies ist kein Leben, welches Rhiannon wirklich behagt. Sie schmiedet Pläne dem Stamm der gewaltätigen Zauberwesen zu entkommen. Dabei helfen soll ihr ein geflügeltes Pferd, welches sie noch zähmen muss.
Doch auch das Leben unter Menschen behagt Rhiannon nicht und jeder ist ein Feind. Ein Glück hat sie Hexenlehrling Lewen an ihrer Seite, der ihr zeigt, dass nicht jeder Mensch gleich ist.
Cover:
Also besonders ist das Cover schon mal nicht, so viel
steht fest.
Besonders da sich die Cover bei
den Folgebänden sehr stark ähneln und Abwechslung dort wohl ein Fremdwort ist.
Aber tatsächlich finde ich das gar nicht schlimm, da es auf mich einfach schön wirkt. Entspannt kann man es auch nennen, wenn ihr versteht was ich meine. Schlichtheit kann durchaus auch als schön empfunden werden.
Handlungsverlauf:
Wir werden teils sanft in die Geschichte unserer Protagonistin eingeführt. Es beginnt, selbstverständlich, mit dem Leben im Stamm der wilden Satyricorns. ( Diese kann man, meiner Meinung nach, mit Zentauren vergleichen, nur, dass sie statt 50%, 80-90% Menschen sind. )
Rhiannon hat es gewiss nicht leicht, und das merkt man auch gleich auf den ersten Seiten. Ich würde nicht ihr tauschen wollen. Und da sie dieses Leben auch nicht für lebenswert hält, flieht sie. „Spoiler“, sie schafft es selbstverständlich, sonst würde das Buch nach wenigen Sachen aufhören.
Nach ihrem wilden Ritt auf dem schwarzen geflügelten Pferd trifft sie auf Hexenlehrling Lewen der ihr hilft und sie gesund pflegt. Gemeinsam mit ihm, und weiteren Lehrlingen, macht sie sich auf den Weg zu dem Ort, wo sie ausgebildet werden und Rhiannon auf magisches Talent getestet werden soll.
Da sie aber auf ihrer Flucht jemanden umgebracht hat, versperren ihr viele Steine den Weg.
Die Geschichte rund um das Satyricorn Mädchen ist durchaus spannend und schön zu lesen. Jede Handlung hat ihre Schwächen, aber so etwas ist normal, menschlich. Was mich jedoch am meisten gestört hat, war Rhiannons schnelles Erlernen der normalen Sprache. Am Anfang waren ihre Sätze, nun ja, keine Sätze. Was will man auch sonst, bei den bruchstückhaften Konversationen in ihrem Stamm, erwarten? Aber was man auf keinen Fall erwartet, ist, dass Rhiannon so schnell das normale Sprechen lernt. Wie ein Wunder.Das nimmt jedoch keinen Einfluss auf die Handlung. Nicht wirklich.
Einige Sachen hätten nicht so genau beschrieben werden müssen, aber das war alles noch im normalen Rahmen. Es kann nicht auf jeder Seite pure Spannung sein, das geht nicht. Aber wenn man einfach ein Stück weiter liest, hat man gleich wieder Spaß an dem Buch, und fragt sich, wie es weitergeht.
Jedoch gibt es einen Punkt der mich stört, den findet ihr unten bei Anmerkungen, da er Spoiler enthält.
Schreibstil, Charaktere, etc.:
Gegen den Schreibstil von Kate Forsyth habe ich grundsätzlich gar nichts einzuwenden, da sich die Geschichte meist locker durchlesen lässt. Aber stink normale, langweilige Sachen muss man nun mal nicht immer wiederholen und genaustens beschreiben, das schadet dem Lesefluss vieler Leute bestimmt. Wobei ich sagen muss, dass es meinen nicht ganz so sehr gestört hat, da ich mich sowieso mehr auf die eigentliche Handlung konzentriert habe und gespannt war, wie es weitergeht.
Forsyth erschafft eine ganz eigene Welt, und das macht sie okay so. Man kann sich sehr schnell darin verlieren und dann wird man von Verwirrung gepackt die einen wieder in die eigentliche Welt grob, aber bestimmt, zurück stößt. Es interessiert mich ganz ehrlich nicht, wer jetzt gerade das schönste Mädchen bei Hof ist und wer mit wem wieso und warum heiraten wird, da ich es ja sowieso nicht verstehe. Mir erging es hierbei wie Rhiannon und das ist kacke. Namen die nie ein Ende finden wollen, Beziehungen die man nicht versteht und nachvollziehen kann, Gebiete die man zu keiner Karte zusammen setzen kann, etc. Erst am Ende des Buches habe ich die Übersicht mit Erklärung der ganzen Personen und Begriffe entdeckt, aber das hat mir dann auch nicht mehr wirklich geholfen und ich hätte wahrscheinlich sowieso nicht die Lust gehabt, beim Lesen ständig mit dem Ebook-Reader nach hinten zu switchen.
Lewen mochte ich. Lewen ist toll. Lewen hat Charakter. Und Lewen und Rhiannon passen einfach verdammt nochmal zusammen und ich hoffe sie bleiben es die ganzen weiteren zwei Bücher noch.
Rhiannon wirkt teils stark overpowert und viel zu gut in allem, aber ihre Schwächen liegen teils halt bei dem Verständnis der Sprache, am Anfang, dem Umgang mit Menschen und ihren Gefühlen, etc. Aber ich mag sie trotzdem. Sie ist stark, hat dieses bad-ass mäßige, was wirklich gut passt. Sie hat Mut und immer eine eigene Meinung. Also alles was eine Hauptcharakterin braucht.
Naja, ja, nur dann sollte sie es nicht während des Buches verlieren und so eine typische 0815 Protagonistin werden. Ich hoffe, sie wird wieder cooler in den nächsten Bänden, auch wenn ich weiß, dass Charaktere sich verändern und das auch müssen. Dennoch, ich mag sie. 0815 wird sie wahrscheinlich nie werden.
Die anderen Charaktere waren immer so, hm, naja, nichts besonderes ehrlich gesagt, außer, dass mir jeder mal auf die Nerven ging und ich am liebsten zu ihnen gegegangen wäre um ihnen eine zu klatschen.
Für nervige Charaktere habe ich gar nichts übrig, und wenn ihr es lest, werdet ihr verstehen, wen ich denn so meine.
Fazit:
Es war ein gutes Buch, aber es hätte besser sein können, es hätte fünf Sterne bekommen können.
Jedoch erhält es von mir wacklige vier, da ich mich in die Geschichte mit ihren Charakteren, trotz ihrer Schwächen verliebt habe und gerne die komplette Trilogie lesen würde.
Meiner Meinung nach gibt es genug Kritikpunkte um einen Stern abzuziehen aber nicht genug, um dies mit zwei Sternen zutun.
Dennoch eine Empfehlung von mir, für alle Fantasyfans.
Anmerkungen:
Können Spoiler enthalten.
Etwas was mich an der Handlung noch sehr gestört hat, war das lange Verweilen in der Burg. Ich hatte wirklich gehofft, sie erreichen die Stadt noch, das mit der Burg ist nur ein Abschnitt, aber nein. Dies war ein sehr enttäuschender Punkt. Schade…
Und Rhiannon sollte sich mal merken, dass ihr Pferd fliegen kann, aber wäre sie immer geflogen, wäre es an einigen Punkten bestimmt langweilig gewesen, aber trotzdem. Sie hat diesen Selbsterhaltungswillen, dass ich das eigentlich erwartet hätte an mehreren Punkten.
Dies ist ein Rezensionsexemplar, welches ich vom Bloggerportal der Randomhouse Verlagsgruppe erhalten habe. Als Gegenleistung lese ich das erhaltene Buch und veröffentliche eine Rezension darüber. (Read-to-Review Basis.)
January 29, 2025
Ahoy there mateys! I tend to get focused on the new shiny treasure. But part of what I love about readin’ is re-visitin’ old friends. So I have a category where I take a second look at a previously enjoyed novel and give me crew second reflections, as it were, upon visitin’ it again . . .
*** SPOILERS BELOW. PROCEED AT YER OWN PERIL! ***
I had found Kate Forsyth's Witches of Eileanan series at a used bookstore and bought the whole thing based on my recollections of loving her Rhiannon's Ride series back in the day. I figured I would reread the books about Rhiannon before embarking on the Witches series. Yikes! I ended up thinking the first book in the trilogy was barely okay and that book two was a ONE star read. This series walks the plank! What in the world was younger me thinking?
Let's go back to somewhere around 2006. I know exactly what caused me to want to read this series:
Aye, flying pony on the cover. I can be extremely shallow at times. To be fair, even though I prefer sea tales, I will still pick up pony books especially if they have talking ponies. Now the pony in these series does not talk but flying will work just as well. So that is why I chose this trilogy but liking it?
Rhiannon is a half human/half satyricorn. The satyricorns are women with something like rams horns that basically hunt, sleep, and eat. They like to catch human males to breed with though they treat them like animals and slaves. Theirs is a group with a pecking order based on ferocity. Rhiannon's mother is the head of the satyricorn herd. If Rhiannon's horns do not grow in she will be killed. She "tames" the flying horse to escape.
In reading book one, I could see some of the appeal. Young me certainly liked the idea of satyricorns and Rhiannon not fitting in. I also liked that when she joins humans, she judges them through her mother's culture and thinks a lot of customs and rules were ridiculous. I could relate. And, basically, at that age, I wanted a flying pony.
However, much of the first book deals with Lewen (the love interest) and his teaching Rhiannon to be more human. Lewen's main interest in her is "she's hot" and "I want to protect her" even though Rhiannon should want to stab him (I did) and could kill him easily. The horse taming happened in basically one day by Rhiannon tying herself on the horse and not falling off. Then the horse plays basically no role in the plot.
Rhiannon is in trouble because she killed a king's messenger even though her background meant she couldn't have known about it being a hanging offence. She travels in a caravan of magical youngsters who are insipid and caricatures. There is an evil necromancer who steals kids and does death magic. He has a poisoning sidekick. Somehow only Rhiannon knows this. The "Rhiannon is uncultured so can't possibly have morals or ever tell the truth" got old real fast and is the common theme of the series. The adults in this book don't use their brains. Seriously, and I mean SERIOUSLY, no one thinks rationally. Rhiannon saves a child and helps fend off dangers and yet she is always considered a threat. The blurb says "Rhiannon, the rider no one can catch." She spends much of this book tied up, locked up, or chained. But I couldn't help but like Rhiannon despite the ridiculous nature of the book.
But book two! Ugh. No joke, Rhiannon spends about 300 pages of this novel locked up in prison. That's right, the main character cries, gets depressed, and sits in jail. Her magical flying horse could help her escape and fly away but no. Lewen is ensorcelled under a love spell and NONE of the greatest magic users notice. Rhiannon turns into a lovelorn idiot. The supposedly intelligent adults never think. Rhiannon gets the blame for everything EVEN THOUGH SHE IS IN JAIL.
Other messes include an undead queen spirit floating around that all the magic users miss. Another evil witch breaks free from the spell that keeps her from talking, performs in local pubs, and NO ONE notices. The poisoner from book one leaves jail and poisons the head healer. Does anyone notice? The head female prison warden makes sexual advances towards female prisoners, tortures them, and some die. Everyone knows this except the magic folk who are supposed to keep the prison humane. Then we spend a stupid amount of time on the royal part-fish girl who flirts and makes people jealous and talk about her upcoming wedding. And drama with other royal family members. I am tired just thinking about it.
Rhiannon's trial is a joke. I laughed (in pain) about how stupid it was. Lewen saves her anyway by hanging on a bell. The necromancer escapes prison and there is death and kidnappings and poisonings. Rhiannon has been an absolutely horrible and boring character to read about in this book. She has been treated like garbage for two books. Yet she is the only one who can save the day? Let the city burn and she should run fly away to another country. I hated this book and only finished it out of pure stubbornness to see if I could remember what happens after the cliffhanger ending. I remembered just enough to give up on this series. Young Me was wrong and Old Me is disappointed.
Do I read the Witches of Eileanan series? Do I keep the copies of the Rhiannon's Ride trilogy that I have lugged with me all over the country from place to place? I will never read these again. But, the covers are just so pretty.
Thoughts? Arrrr!
*** SPOILERS BELOW. PROCEED AT YER OWN PERIL! ***
I had found Kate Forsyth's Witches of Eileanan series at a used bookstore and bought the whole thing based on my recollections of loving her Rhiannon's Ride series back in the day. I figured I would reread the books about Rhiannon before embarking on the Witches series. Yikes! I ended up thinking the first book in the trilogy was barely okay and that book two was a ONE star read. This series walks the plank! What in the world was younger me thinking?
Let's go back to somewhere around 2006. I know exactly what caused me to want to read this series:
Aye, flying pony on the cover. I can be extremely shallow at times. To be fair, even though I prefer sea tales, I will still pick up pony books especially if they have talking ponies. Now the pony in these series does not talk but flying will work just as well. So that is why I chose this trilogy but liking it?
Rhiannon is a half human/half satyricorn. The satyricorns are women with something like rams horns that basically hunt, sleep, and eat. They like to catch human males to breed with though they treat them like animals and slaves. Theirs is a group with a pecking order based on ferocity. Rhiannon's mother is the head of the satyricorn herd. If Rhiannon's horns do not grow in she will be killed. She "tames" the flying horse to escape.
In reading book one, I could see some of the appeal. Young me certainly liked the idea of satyricorns and Rhiannon not fitting in. I also liked that when she joins humans, she judges them through her mother's culture and thinks a lot of customs and rules were ridiculous. I could relate. And, basically, at that age, I wanted a flying pony.
However, much of the first book deals with Lewen (the love interest) and his teaching Rhiannon to be more human. Lewen's main interest in her is "she's hot" and "I want to protect her" even though Rhiannon should want to stab him (I did) and could kill him easily. The horse taming happened in basically one day by Rhiannon tying herself on the horse and not falling off. Then the horse plays basically no role in the plot.
Rhiannon is in trouble because she killed a king's messenger even though her background meant she couldn't have known about it being a hanging offence. She travels in a caravan of magical youngsters who are insipid and caricatures. There is an evil necromancer who steals kids and does death magic. He has a poisoning sidekick. Somehow only Rhiannon knows this. The "Rhiannon is uncultured so can't possibly have morals or ever tell the truth" got old real fast and is the common theme of the series. The adults in this book don't use their brains. Seriously, and I mean SERIOUSLY, no one thinks rationally. Rhiannon saves a child and helps fend off dangers and yet she is always considered a threat. The blurb says "Rhiannon, the rider no one can catch." She spends much of this book tied up, locked up, or chained. But I couldn't help but like Rhiannon despite the ridiculous nature of the book.
But book two! Ugh. No joke, Rhiannon spends about 300 pages of this novel locked up in prison. That's right, the main character cries, gets depressed, and sits in jail. Her magical flying horse could help her escape and fly away but no. Lewen is ensorcelled under a love spell and NONE of the greatest magic users notice. Rhiannon turns into a lovelorn idiot. The supposedly intelligent adults never think. Rhiannon gets the blame for everything EVEN THOUGH SHE IS IN JAIL.
Other messes include an undead queen spirit floating around that all the magic users miss. Another evil witch breaks free from the spell that keeps her from talking, performs in local pubs, and NO ONE notices. The poisoner from book one leaves jail and poisons the head healer. Does anyone notice? The head female prison warden makes sexual advances towards female prisoners, tortures them, and some die. Everyone knows this except the magic folk who are supposed to keep the prison humane. Then we spend a stupid amount of time on the royal part-fish girl who flirts and makes people jealous and talk about her upcoming wedding. And drama with other royal family members. I am tired just thinking about it.
Rhiannon's trial is a joke. I laughed (in pain) about how stupid it was. Lewen saves her anyway by hanging on a bell. The necromancer escapes prison and there is death and kidnappings and poisonings. Rhiannon has been an absolutely horrible and boring character to read about in this book. She has been treated like garbage for two books. Yet she is the only one who can save the day? Let the city burn and she should run fly away to another country. I hated this book and only finished it out of pure stubbornness to see if I could remember what happens after the cliffhanger ending. I remembered just enough to give up on this series. Young Me was wrong and Old Me is disappointed.
Do I read the Witches of Eileanan series? Do I keep the copies of the Rhiannon's Ride trilogy that I have lugged with me all over the country from place to place? I will never read these again. But, the covers are just so pretty.
Thoughts? Arrrr!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2014
Ughhhhh.
Now I vaguely remember disliking this book when I first read it. Figures.
The Tower of Ravens does not get much better on the reread (the first one being yeeaarrrsss ago when it first came out). I found myself growing massively irritated by pretty much all of the characters and the plot, not to mention the romance that made me want to bash my head against something.
So let's tackle this in order. First the characters. You have Rhiannon, who has tamed a winged horse (through magic, essentially), and at first you're all "Yay! Pretty flying horse and girl bond!". But not... really. The horse was more of a tool and while there were a few scenes between the both that made me smile, mostly it was a horse and a girl who kept clutching at the horse and saying "Mine" a lot.
A lot of the characters were uniformly dull, and while there are glimpses of depth in some, in others it's just the same old. Edithe, for example, was just spiteful and a giant brat the entire time. Lewen was... well, I'll get back to Lewen. In fact, I just about despised most of the other characters. I their actions maddening and hated what I viewed as hypocrisy. It's like the author was trying to say how good some of these characters are, how noble and how what-the-hell-ever, but mostly I found sanctimonious idiots who I wanted Rhiannon to ride away from forever.
I do admit to somewhat liking Rhiannon though. She's a wild little thing who's quick to learn and fairly clever. I'm a sucker for this. She's also impossibly beautiful, which, sure, I can sort of get behind, except it's to the point where I feel almost embarrassed for her, that she's so obviously lovely and that's why the girls are jealous and that's why the boys are smitten. It's just so typical she-is-beautiful-and-here-are-her-troubles-because-of-it. Also, I have no idea why she is described milk-white when she has been running around in the outdoors for her entire life.
Moving on! The plot. As in, how to bore me while simultaneously annoy me. You have this cast of characters that are journeying to some destination, in the meantime they get waylaid by the walking dead and an area who's population of young boys have gone missing/dead. You'd think this would be massively exciting except it's mostly dreary and wet. I felt like a dreary raincloud just reading the book. Like a lot of high fantasy there's a lot of traveling from place to place. This is most of the book. But while other fantasies can pull it off and make me feel interested, this one just sort of floundered for me. I could feel how rich the world the author is weaving, but it was looking at a pretty painting and feeling nothing.
Also, it's always immensely frustrating when the main character knows something, but the other characters don't believer her/think she's lying/think she's mistaken, so on so forth. Never fails to make me want to shake these other characters and maybe pitch them off a very tall roof somewhere. Never mind that it makes (some, I guess) sense that they'd do so, but at least give the girl some chance to speak! You sanctimonious idiots.
You can probably tell how much the other characters frustrated me.
Now the romance. Oh, that romance. I wanted some long, drawn out affair where Rhiannon and Lewen got to know each other and admired each other and then got drawn in together, and you get that a little bit. Except I'm fully convinced that the only reason why Lewen likes Rhiannon is because she's beautiful, because it's not like the boy can ever stop thinking of how beautiful Rhiannon is. That's what made the entire thing fall apart for me, that I could not help but keep thinking that if Rhiannon wasn't as beautiful as she was then Lewen wouldn't like her nearly as much. And that is such a shame because Rhiannon's a little spitfire and mostly I end up thinking how dare Lewen not like her for more than her looks, when I can sort of understand that the author isn't going that way at all, or doesn't intend to, but nope. Not convinced. And Lewen doesn't have much presence for me other than the guy who likes Rhiannon a lot, so mostly he's a giant flop.
The book is also written in several different POVs, which isn't my favorite thing. It's also written so that everyone speaks in an accent and while that can help someone get immersed in a book, mostly it just threw me out of it. Overall, I just found myself steadily disliking the book more and more. I found the best of it to be the beginning, the middle was lackluster, and the end made me more frustrated than anything else. If I didn't like Rhiannon I may have given this book a one. As it is, 2 stars.
Now I vaguely remember disliking this book when I first read it. Figures.
The Tower of Ravens does not get much better on the reread (the first one being yeeaarrrsss ago when it first came out). I found myself growing massively irritated by pretty much all of the characters and the plot, not to mention the romance that made me want to bash my head against something.
So let's tackle this in order. First the characters. You have Rhiannon, who has tamed a winged horse (through magic, essentially), and at first you're all "Yay! Pretty flying horse and girl bond!". But not... really. The horse was more of a tool and while there were a few scenes between the both that made me smile, mostly it was a horse and a girl who kept clutching at the horse and saying "Mine" a lot.
A lot of the characters were uniformly dull, and while there are glimpses of depth in some, in others it's just the same old. Edithe, for example, was just spiteful and a giant brat the entire time. Lewen was... well, I'll get back to Lewen. In fact, I just about despised most of the other characters. I their actions maddening and hated what I viewed as hypocrisy. It's like the author was trying to say how good some of these characters are, how noble and how what-the-hell-ever, but mostly I found sanctimonious idiots who I wanted Rhiannon to ride away from forever.
I do admit to somewhat liking Rhiannon though. She's a wild little thing who's quick to learn and fairly clever. I'm a sucker for this. She's also impossibly beautiful, which, sure, I can sort of get behind, except it's to the point where I feel almost embarrassed for her, that she's so obviously lovely and that's why the girls are jealous and that's why the boys are smitten. It's just so typical she-is-beautiful-and-here-are-her-troubles-because-of-it. Also, I have no idea why she is described milk-white when she has been running around in the outdoors for her entire life.
Moving on! The plot. As in, how to bore me while simultaneously annoy me. You have this cast of characters that are journeying to some destination, in the meantime they get waylaid by the walking dead and an area who's population of young boys have gone missing/dead. You'd think this would be massively exciting except it's mostly dreary and wet. I felt like a dreary raincloud just reading the book. Like a lot of high fantasy there's a lot of traveling from place to place. This is most of the book. But while other fantasies can pull it off and make me feel interested, this one just sort of floundered for me. I could feel how rich the world the author is weaving, but it was looking at a pretty painting and feeling nothing.
Also, it's always immensely frustrating when the main character knows something, but the other characters don't believer her/think she's lying/think she's mistaken, so on so forth. Never fails to make me want to shake these other characters and maybe pitch them off a very tall roof somewhere. Never mind that it makes (some, I guess) sense that they'd do so, but at least give the girl some chance to speak! You sanctimonious idiots.
You can probably tell how much the other characters frustrated me.
Now the romance. Oh, that romance. I wanted some long, drawn out affair where Rhiannon and Lewen got to know each other and admired each other and then got drawn in together, and you get that a little bit. Except I'm fully convinced that the only reason why Lewen likes Rhiannon is because she's beautiful, because it's not like the boy can ever stop thinking of how beautiful Rhiannon is. That's what made the entire thing fall apart for me, that I could not help but keep thinking that if Rhiannon wasn't as beautiful as she was then Lewen wouldn't like her nearly as much. And that is such a shame because Rhiannon's a little spitfire and mostly I end up thinking how dare Lewen not like her for more than her looks, when I can sort of understand that the author isn't going that way at all, or doesn't intend to, but nope. Not convinced. And Lewen doesn't have much presence for me other than the guy who likes Rhiannon a lot, so mostly he's a giant flop.
The book is also written in several different POVs, which isn't my favorite thing. It's also written so that everyone speaks in an accent and while that can help someone get immersed in a book, mostly it just threw me out of it. Overall, I just found myself steadily disliking the book more and more. I found the best of it to be the beginning, the middle was lackluster, and the end made me more frustrated than anything else. If I didn't like Rhiannon I may have given this book a one. As it is, 2 stars.
April 9, 2024
Ewig her, dass ich das Buch gelesen habe.
ABER es ist eins der Bücher, die mir im Kopf und im Herzen geblieben sind.
Ich weiß noch, dass ich das Buch zu Beginn recht schwierig war. Insgesamt war es aber super duper.
Nicht dröge, sondern mit Charakteren, die Charakter haben, es gibt ein Ziel und natürlich eine Lovestory.
ABER es ist eins der Bücher, die mir im Kopf und im Herzen geblieben sind.
Ich weiß noch, dass ich das Buch zu Beginn recht schwierig war. Insgesamt war es aber super duper.
Nicht dröge, sondern mit Charakteren, die Charakter haben, es gibt ein Ziel und natürlich eine Lovestory.
December 31, 2014
I wanted to read some of Kate Forsyth's work after hearing her speak at a writer's conference. She is a great teacher and knew a lot about the craft.
This is the first book of her's I've actually read. It is a lot better written than a lot of fantasy, but I found the climax a bit irritating, as the main characters did not do the really obvious things they should have to right the situation, and there was no clear reason why.
Also, while I appreciate a female main character who isn't sickly sweet, there were times when I wondered what we were meant to like in her at all.
Having said that, I still went on to read the next in the series to find out what happened, and would happily recommend the series to someone wanting a well described fantasy world.
This is the first book of her's I've actually read. It is a lot better written than a lot of fantasy, but I found the climax a bit irritating, as the main characters did not do the really obvious things they should have to right the situation, and there was no clear reason why.
Also, while I appreciate a female main character who isn't sickly sweet, there were times when I wondered what we were meant to like in her at all.
Having said that, I still went on to read the next in the series to find out what happened, and would happily recommend the series to someone wanting a well described fantasy world.
April 25, 2024
Lovely prose as always by Kate Forsyth however, I found there to be far too much unnecessary dialogue that seemed to spin the tale in circles at times therefore slowing the pacing. Rhiannon was an endearing, strong main character with the rest of her companions showing potential only at times. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy in hope some more characters grow on me.
March 9, 2025
Der Anfang des Buches hat mich schon gecatcht. Später hatte ich echt Angst dass die Hauptfigur die ganze Zeit so „Not like other Girls“ ist (beziehungsweise der Rest sie so betrachtet). Zum Glück hat sich das schnell gegeben und ich fand das Love Interest dann auch spannender. Lustig wurde das Buch auch. Und dann hat mich der Plot zu sehr in Beschlag genommen. Es wurde wirklich gut Spannung aufgebaut, stellenweise war es sogar ein bisschen gruselig. Man wollte immer mehr wissen und dann die ganze Geschichte kennen. Auflösung war dann eher zu offen, ich hoffe das wird in den anderen Teilen noch richtig gelöst.
March 15, 2016
Inhalt
Rhiannon gehört zum Volk der Satyricorns. Tief in den Bergen lebt sie versteckt mit ihrem Stamm. Doch sie ist anders als alle anderen. Sie hat weder Hörner noch Hufe, was sie zur Außenseiterin macht. Nicht nur das, sie ist eine Schande für den Stamm und es kann immer passieren das sie getötet wird. An einem Tag sieht Rhiannon eine Herde geflügelter Pferde und entwickelt einen Fluchtplan. Ungewollt kommt ihr dabei ein Mensch zu Hilfe, der von ihrem Stamm gefangen wurde.
Nach einem tragischen Kampf und Rhiannons geplanter Flucht beginnt eine spannende Reise für das junge Satyricorn-Mädchen.
Meinung
Der Klappentext klang spannend und mal nach Fantasy mit etwas anderen Wesen.
Leider war der Einstieg in die Geschichte ziemlich lang und etwas holprig, man lernt Rhiannon und ihr trauriges Leben im Stamm kennen, was zwar interessant war aber auch irgendwie langwierig. Dann kam eine spannende Flucht und Rhiannon trifft auf Menschen. Leider habe ich hier erstmal nur die Hälfte verstanden, weil soviele seltsame Worte einfach so in den Raum geworfen wurden, es ist sehr hilfreich zu wissen das am Ende des Buches noch ein Glossar ist ;)
Die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse und die politischen Geschehnisse waren mir auch nicht immer ganz klar, es wird zwar einiges erklärt aber auch erst nach und nach. Erstmal steht man mit Rhiannon da und wundert sich über die Welt und die Bewohner.
Es ist hier wahrscheinlich hilfreich wenn man die 9-teilige Vorgängerreihe "Der magischen Schlüssel" zuerst gelesen hat.
Nach und nach wurde ich dann aber in den Bann der Geschichte gezogen, es wurde spannend und die Unklarheiten haben sich langsam aufgelöst, sodass ich die zweite Hälfte des Buches fast am Stück verschlungen habe. Es ist toll wie hier scheinbar unwichtige Ereignisse vom Beginn der Geschichte wieder aufgegriffen werden und wie sich alles entwickelt.
Leider war mir schon relativ früh klar was es mit den Geistern wohl auf sich hat, aber trotzdem war es spannend herauszufinden ob mein Verdacht richtig war.
Eine Liebesgeschichte gibt es auch, die ist aber zum Glück nicht kitschig und die Liebe entwickelt sich nach und nach.
Die Charaktere sind vielschichtig. Am Anfang ist es schwer den Überblick zu behalten wer nun wer ist, aber das legt sich mit der Zeit. Obwohl es eine Zicke gibt sind mir doch alle Charaktere nach und nach ans Herz gewachsen.
Die Welt ist eine schöne Fantasywelt, angelehnt an die schottischen Highlands. Es gibt viele interessante Wesen, die so gar nichts mit den üblichen Verdächtigen zu tun haben. Das fand ich sehr erfrischend und ich hoffe noch mehr über die unterschiedlichen Wesen zu erfahren. Zudem gibt es auch Geister und Zombies, wirklich erstaunlich das man soviel so stimmig in eine Geschichte einbauen kann.
3,8 Sterne. Eine tolle High-Fantasy Geschichte mit einem etwas holprigen Einstieg.
Rhiannon gehört zum Volk der Satyricorns. Tief in den Bergen lebt sie versteckt mit ihrem Stamm. Doch sie ist anders als alle anderen. Sie hat weder Hörner noch Hufe, was sie zur Außenseiterin macht. Nicht nur das, sie ist eine Schande für den Stamm und es kann immer passieren das sie getötet wird. An einem Tag sieht Rhiannon eine Herde geflügelter Pferde und entwickelt einen Fluchtplan. Ungewollt kommt ihr dabei ein Mensch zu Hilfe, der von ihrem Stamm gefangen wurde.
Nach einem tragischen Kampf und Rhiannons geplanter Flucht beginnt eine spannende Reise für das junge Satyricorn-Mädchen.
Meinung
Der Klappentext klang spannend und mal nach Fantasy mit etwas anderen Wesen.
Leider war der Einstieg in die Geschichte ziemlich lang und etwas holprig, man lernt Rhiannon und ihr trauriges Leben im Stamm kennen, was zwar interessant war aber auch irgendwie langwierig. Dann kam eine spannende Flucht und Rhiannon trifft auf Menschen. Leider habe ich hier erstmal nur die Hälfte verstanden, weil soviele seltsame Worte einfach so in den Raum geworfen wurden, es ist sehr hilfreich zu wissen das am Ende des Buches noch ein Glossar ist ;)
Die Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse und die politischen Geschehnisse waren mir auch nicht immer ganz klar, es wird zwar einiges erklärt aber auch erst nach und nach. Erstmal steht man mit Rhiannon da und wundert sich über die Welt und die Bewohner.
Es ist hier wahrscheinlich hilfreich wenn man die 9-teilige Vorgängerreihe "Der magischen Schlüssel" zuerst gelesen hat.
Nach und nach wurde ich dann aber in den Bann der Geschichte gezogen, es wurde spannend und die Unklarheiten haben sich langsam aufgelöst, sodass ich die zweite Hälfte des Buches fast am Stück verschlungen habe. Es ist toll wie hier scheinbar unwichtige Ereignisse vom Beginn der Geschichte wieder aufgegriffen werden und wie sich alles entwickelt.
Leider war mir schon relativ früh klar was es mit den Geistern wohl auf sich hat, aber trotzdem war es spannend herauszufinden ob mein Verdacht richtig war.
Eine Liebesgeschichte gibt es auch, die ist aber zum Glück nicht kitschig und die Liebe entwickelt sich nach und nach.
Die Charaktere sind vielschichtig. Am Anfang ist es schwer den Überblick zu behalten wer nun wer ist, aber das legt sich mit der Zeit. Obwohl es eine Zicke gibt sind mir doch alle Charaktere nach und nach ans Herz gewachsen.
Die Welt ist eine schöne Fantasywelt, angelehnt an die schottischen Highlands. Es gibt viele interessante Wesen, die so gar nichts mit den üblichen Verdächtigen zu tun haben. Das fand ich sehr erfrischend und ich hoffe noch mehr über die unterschiedlichen Wesen zu erfahren. Zudem gibt es auch Geister und Zombies, wirklich erstaunlich das man soviel so stimmig in eine Geschichte einbauen kann.
3,8 Sterne. Eine tolle High-Fantasy Geschichte mit einem etwas holprigen Einstieg.
November 10, 2012
Very rarely does a fantasy novel manage to take you into its world from the first page and refuse to let you go until the ending. More often than not, stories in a series get you hooked into its magical world, then leave you hanging as you breathlessly await the next installment. Not so with Kate Forsyth's THE TOWER OF THE RAVENS. For those who have never visited her world of Eileanan in books such as THE POOL OF TWO MOONS or THE CURSED TOWERS, never fear! THE TOWER OF THE RAVENS is a fantasy epic that can definitely stand alone, and does so with competent writing, fantastic world-building, and a deeply heroic cast of characters.
Ever since she was a young girl, Rhiannon has wanted nothing more than to catch a winged horse, to tame and train it so that she could fly away and escape from the hellish nightmare that is her life. Scorned, ridiculed, and even feared by her fellow man, Rhiannon lives in near solitude, wanting only to belong. Without even a name at this young age, the daughter of One-Horn and a human father. One-Horn is the mother of the tribe of satyricon, fairies who have horns and hoofs instead of feet. Rhiannon, born without a horn and with human feet, is immediately branded an outcast, and she lives her solitary life with only the hope of escape as comfort.
When she finally manages to escape upon a winged horse, its not without injury and risk to herself. Arriving at the home of Lewen, an apprentice witch, she's finally given a name-and perhaps a chance to truly belong. When Lewen and his family decide to bring Rhiannon to the Tower of Two Moons in the city of Lucescere to be tested for magical ability, Rhiannon worries that she might once again lose any sense of self she's just beginning to gain.
Murder, intrigue, and suspicion soon surround Rhiannon when a member of the Guard is found dead. Suddenly surrounded by unimaginable evil and malevolence, it will take all the strength and magic that Rhiannon possesses to protect herself and those she loves.
THE TOWER OF RAVENS is a wonderful fantasy novel that will thoroughly immerse you in Kate Forsyth's magical world. A woman who wants only to find her place in the world, Rhiannon is a strong, caring woman who truly overcomes her past to be a woman that everyone can be proud of.
Ever since she was a young girl, Rhiannon has wanted nothing more than to catch a winged horse, to tame and train it so that she could fly away and escape from the hellish nightmare that is her life. Scorned, ridiculed, and even feared by her fellow man, Rhiannon lives in near solitude, wanting only to belong. Without even a name at this young age, the daughter of One-Horn and a human father. One-Horn is the mother of the tribe of satyricon, fairies who have horns and hoofs instead of feet. Rhiannon, born without a horn and with human feet, is immediately branded an outcast, and she lives her solitary life with only the hope of escape as comfort.
When she finally manages to escape upon a winged horse, its not without injury and risk to herself. Arriving at the home of Lewen, an apprentice witch, she's finally given a name-and perhaps a chance to truly belong. When Lewen and his family decide to bring Rhiannon to the Tower of Two Moons in the city of Lucescere to be tested for magical ability, Rhiannon worries that she might once again lose any sense of self she's just beginning to gain.
Murder, intrigue, and suspicion soon surround Rhiannon when a member of the Guard is found dead. Suddenly surrounded by unimaginable evil and malevolence, it will take all the strength and magic that Rhiannon possesses to protect herself and those she loves.
THE TOWER OF RAVENS is a wonderful fantasy novel that will thoroughly immerse you in Kate Forsyth's magical world. A woman who wants only to find her place in the world, Rhiannon is a strong, caring woman who truly overcomes her past to be a woman that everyone can be proud of.
July 28, 2008
This is the first book in a follow-on trilogy from Forsyth's first series, The Witches of Eileanan, which I haven't read. The characters from that first series are older and largely in the background here, with the spotlight going to Rhiannon.
A satyricorn girl who didn't grow her horns, Rhiannon escapes her herd by taming a winged horse, but not before she is forced to kill a man. She falls in with some travelling witch-apprentices on their way to the Theurgia, the witch school, in the capital Lucescere. The body of the dead man is found in the river when they pass through a town, and soon enough she is found out.
To get to the capital quicker, with the news that the Righ's messenger, Connor, is dead and to deliver his killer, Rhiannon, they take a short-cut which brings them to the Tower of Ravens. There Rhiannon and Lewen, a student at the Theurgia, discover that the Lord of Fettercairn is a necromancer, and has killed dozens while learning how to resurrect his dead brother, a crazy sorceress called Margrit of Arran, and his nephew.
Several plots interweave and then, at the end of The Heart of Stars (the third book), untangle into one, more or less. Rhiannon is an engaging protagonist, unrefined, frank and passionate, and the books move along at a steady pace. There are many magical creatures, most of them refreshingly original, or new takes on more traditional ones. Elves become three-eyed Celestines, there are Fairgeans (creatures of the water), bogfaeries, skeelies, winged princes, flying horses, beast whisperers, witches, sorcerers and ensorsellors (that's a hard word to spell and even harder to pronounce!), but it never for an instant seems contrived or overcrowded, perhaps because each character and their race, species, abilities and quirks, are taken in stride and never puzzled over. It's certainly a rich tapestry.
I would like to read the first series, but I find it hard when I know, now, how it ended, and which characters later died. It's too sad to go over again. But I will look out for her next book.
A satyricorn girl who didn't grow her horns, Rhiannon escapes her herd by taming a winged horse, but not before she is forced to kill a man. She falls in with some travelling witch-apprentices on their way to the Theurgia, the witch school, in the capital Lucescere. The body of the dead man is found in the river when they pass through a town, and soon enough she is found out.
To get to the capital quicker, with the news that the Righ's messenger, Connor, is dead and to deliver his killer, Rhiannon, they take a short-cut which brings them to the Tower of Ravens. There Rhiannon and Lewen, a student at the Theurgia, discover that the Lord of Fettercairn is a necromancer, and has killed dozens while learning how to resurrect his dead brother, a crazy sorceress called Margrit of Arran, and his nephew.
Several plots interweave and then, at the end of The Heart of Stars (the third book), untangle into one, more or less. Rhiannon is an engaging protagonist, unrefined, frank and passionate, and the books move along at a steady pace. There are many magical creatures, most of them refreshingly original, or new takes on more traditional ones. Elves become three-eyed Celestines, there are Fairgeans (creatures of the water), bogfaeries, skeelies, winged princes, flying horses, beast whisperers, witches, sorcerers and ensorsellors (that's a hard word to spell and even harder to pronounce!), but it never for an instant seems contrived or overcrowded, perhaps because each character and their race, species, abilities and quirks, are taken in stride and never puzzled over. It's certainly a rich tapestry.
I would like to read the first series, but I find it hard when I know, now, how it ended, and which characters later died. It's too sad to go over again. But I will look out for her next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2013
I really loved the beginning of this book. Rihannon was forceful and fidgety but strong and magical in her way. Her loyalty is fierce and her need for freedom wonderful. I loved the parts with her and Blackthorn and how they bond. Even travelling with the witches was fun for a bit until we entered a world with intrigue and courtly ways. Her crush on Lewen was even cute and then it just became not fun. I don't want to spoil it because it was great with ghosts and evil people she could stop but looking at how much intrigue is in the next couple of books I do not think I will be continuing the series. I don't love intrigue and have avoided the likes of George RR Martin on purpose. I like my fantasy light and light-hearted and this is not looking like it will be that way from the ending. If you like intrigue then maybe the rest of the series is for you. I wish I knew what was to happen next (I really do love Rihannon and want to watch her and Blackthorn fly and feel the freedom they both seem to crave some more but I don't think that is likely to happen.
March 3, 2011
Looking at the other reviews, I'm apparently not the only one that started this series without reading her previous books, The Witches of Eileanan. This trilogy jumps about 25 years into the future, if I read it correctly. Really good, really enjoyable. I was a bit slower in the reading, since the week has been gorgeous out and I've been busy outside, but I can't wait for a quiet day to continue on.
February 13, 2024
Official rating: 3.75 stars
This was a fun little read. There was a good cast of characters, some I loved and some I despised. I fully enjoy Rhiannon's character. I am excited to see how her character continues to develop in the next couple of books.
I did not fully enjoy Lewen's immediate and over the top obsession with Rhiannon, however. It was basically a love at first sight type of obsession that had no basic drive as to why, other than her being wild and strong. The romance to me seemed lack-luster.
The magic system wasn't completely explained as to how it worked. If it was, I must have missed it. It seems they refer to Talents as the main magic term and everyone can have a Talent that is connected to just about anything?
Overall, I liked the Scottish fantasy styled setting and the writing was easy to follow.
This was a fun little read. There was a good cast of characters, some I loved and some I despised. I fully enjoy Rhiannon's character. I am excited to see how her character continues to develop in the next couple of books.
I did not fully enjoy Lewen's immediate and over the top obsession with Rhiannon, however. It was basically a love at first sight type of obsession that had no basic drive as to why, other than her being wild and strong. The romance to me seemed lack-luster.
The magic system wasn't completely explained as to how it worked. If it was, I must have missed it. It seems they refer to Talents as the main magic term and everyone can have a Talent that is connected to just about anything?
Overall, I liked the Scottish fantasy styled setting and the writing was easy to follow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2019
A young half fae woman flees her home, finds some humans, and is immediately recognized as gifted and sent with some other apprentices for training.
Someone recommended this to me, and I mostly picked up because of the winged horse. The fantasy setting had some familiar feels, though satyrcorns are a new one by me, and I was interested in how their society worked, and shaped Rhiannon. I didn't enjoy the 'girl suddenly found to be gorgeous' trope, or 'she's innocent of her beauty, and men are tormented by it.' There's plenty of stereotypes in the characters, really, which made some plot predictable. Though I enjoyed it enough to finish it, the ending annoyed me, and I'm not sure I want to read the rest of the books.
Someone recommended this to me, and I mostly picked up because of the winged horse. The fantasy setting had some familiar feels, though satyrcorns are a new one by me, and I was interested in how their society worked, and shaped Rhiannon. I didn't enjoy the 'girl suddenly found to be gorgeous' trope, or 'she's innocent of her beauty, and men are tormented by it.' There's plenty of stereotypes in the characters, really, which made some plot predictable. Though I enjoyed it enough to finish it, the ending annoyed me, and I'm not sure I want to read the rest of the books.
January 20, 2014
I want to start off saying that I really liked this specific book. I thought the world was interesting and beautiful, and I really enjoyed the complexity and the perspectives of the main characters. That being said this book is no where near a stand alone novel and I have to view it in it's complete form. There trilogy itself i find extremely frustrating, because as beautiful as the world is and as much as I truly wanted to learn more and follow Rhiannon and her adventures and with her discover this world we are not given that opportunity rather we are given a meandering plot that feels only half thought out and in dire need of editing. The first book is an awful lot of walking, which I don't mind but it gives us no conclusion I would rather it have ended with them arriving at their destination. I am about to go into spoiler territory, so if you do not wish to know skip down to the asterisks. The second book the main character spends all but the last few chapters in jail and the plot is stale it was about half way through the book I started skipping large sections (and i didn't miss any of the plot of the second, I did end up missing a large section of plot on the third and I could still follow along easily), The problem being as the third book puts to hone that there are many strands of plot and the author, kate Forsyth fails to engage the reader in each and juggle them all. I read all of these in a few days so by the time I reached the third book, and saw there was a detailed plot summery of all that had happened I was very irritated and very much wishing I had never spent the money on the (pointless) second book. The third book, i will grant you is better, but a rather messy end to the series, there are moments where the characters I love show themselves to be exceptional, but by an large it failed to redeem the series for me. The ending for me fell flat and the subplot which took over more than half of the book, which involved time travel and a completely separate sprit who wished to be raised…
******All in all I am very disappointed with this series, and I think it is because I really wished to travel on an adventure with Rhiannon, and for a book trilogy (which is really just one book) it lost sight of its namesake in the second book, and only hints at conclusion and growth of the character and knowledge of her father in the last. I do not regret reading it because I did find a world which I could hold in my mind's eye which is a rare occurrence of late, and I did become very attached to Rhiannon, but i would start with the third novel, and then read the first skipping the second all together. I cannot recommend this series unless the author choses to take Rhiannon or another of these characters on an adventure because there is not enough here to warrant buying the books. I skipped a lot of the plot and I think the trilogy should have been edited down to one rather long novel. I did very much enjoy the first part of the first book. And I will most likely pick up and read parts of this tale again, but I will never again go through the frustration of trying to read this story again in entirety it is not worth my time, the trilogy gives very little satisfaction in the end and has the air of one book and would have been better if it had continued on in another.
For those who are drawn to this series I recommend reading the truly excellent castings trilogy by Pamela Freeman. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... Who weaves a fine tale out of many threads, and who also gives the reader a fierce female rider.
******All in all I am very disappointed with this series, and I think it is because I really wished to travel on an adventure with Rhiannon, and for a book trilogy (which is really just one book) it lost sight of its namesake in the second book, and only hints at conclusion and growth of the character and knowledge of her father in the last. I do not regret reading it because I did find a world which I could hold in my mind's eye which is a rare occurrence of late, and I did become very attached to Rhiannon, but i would start with the third novel, and then read the first skipping the second all together. I cannot recommend this series unless the author choses to take Rhiannon or another of these characters on an adventure because there is not enough here to warrant buying the books. I skipped a lot of the plot and I think the trilogy should have been edited down to one rather long novel. I did very much enjoy the first part of the first book. And I will most likely pick up and read parts of this tale again, but I will never again go through the frustration of trying to read this story again in entirety it is not worth my time, the trilogy gives very little satisfaction in the end and has the air of one book and would have been better if it had continued on in another.
For those who are drawn to this series I recommend reading the truly excellent castings trilogy by Pamela Freeman. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... Who weaves a fine tale out of many threads, and who also gives the reader a fierce female rider.
January 20, 2012
The Tower of Ravens reintroduces the magical world of Eileanan, some 25 odd yearsafter the end of the Bright Wars. In that time, peace has reined under the rule of Lachlan the Winged, the witches are slowly rebuilding their towers and schools, and both witches and Faerie are finding acceptance amongst the populace, who had once participated in the witch-hunts that had decimated their kind.
The Tower of Ravens begins high in the mountain ranges that are home to some of the wilder faerie and to Rhiannon, the half-human daughter of the satyricorn, One-Horn. Born with human features, Rhiannon is an outcast in the herd and living on borrowed time. If she fails to grow the horns that mark her a satyricorn proper, her life is forfeit to the Hunt. As time runs out, Rhiannon becomes desperate to find a way to escape. Taking the clothing of a dead Yeoman, a victim she had tried to help escape the herd's clutches, she attempts what only human Horse lairds have done in the past and tames a Winged Horse. So begins Rhiannon's ride.
In a wild flight, Rhiannon and her winged stead leave the peaks of the Dubslain and crash-land in Kingarth, home of the Treeshifter Lilanthe, her husband Niall the Bear and their children. Thrown amongst the vastly different culture of humankind, Rhiannon struggles to accept the assistance that is offered to her from strangers who want nothing in return.
With Lewen, Lilanthe's son, Rhiannon joins a travelling group of apprentice-witches, led by Nina the Nightingale and heads for Lucescere, with a letter of introduction to Isabeau, the legendary Keybearer of the Coven and an obligation to explain to the Righ the death of his Yeoman. Needing to reach the capital quickly, Nina and her husband, Iven Yellowbeard, decide to risk cutting cross-country and passing under the shadow of the haunted Tower of Ravens. But it is here that dead walk the land and the band of witches faces grave danger as they come across a circle of necromancers. In a battle of pride and confusion, brought on by the newly experienced emotions of friendship and love, Rhiannon fights to gain the trust of her companions, as the dark forces that stalk them grow in strength and a member of their party goes missing.
Kate has delivered another enthralling instalment of magic and adventure in the world she brought to life with Celtic myth and legend in the Witches of Eileanan. With humour and deft hand, she convincingly draws a variety of characters whose similarities and differences suggest a writer of consummate skill who still knows how to have fun. In Rhiannon she has created a strong, believable heroine and an intriguing character to write a story around. I really enjoyed this tale. It's a light, easy read and I fairly flew threw it, such is Kate's ability to catch her audience.
The Tower of Ravens begins high in the mountain ranges that are home to some of the wilder faerie and to Rhiannon, the half-human daughter of the satyricorn, One-Horn. Born with human features, Rhiannon is an outcast in the herd and living on borrowed time. If she fails to grow the horns that mark her a satyricorn proper, her life is forfeit to the Hunt. As time runs out, Rhiannon becomes desperate to find a way to escape. Taking the clothing of a dead Yeoman, a victim she had tried to help escape the herd's clutches, she attempts what only human Horse lairds have done in the past and tames a Winged Horse. So begins Rhiannon's ride.
In a wild flight, Rhiannon and her winged stead leave the peaks of the Dubslain and crash-land in Kingarth, home of the Treeshifter Lilanthe, her husband Niall the Bear and their children. Thrown amongst the vastly different culture of humankind, Rhiannon struggles to accept the assistance that is offered to her from strangers who want nothing in return.
With Lewen, Lilanthe's son, Rhiannon joins a travelling group of apprentice-witches, led by Nina the Nightingale and heads for Lucescere, with a letter of introduction to Isabeau, the legendary Keybearer of the Coven and an obligation to explain to the Righ the death of his Yeoman. Needing to reach the capital quickly, Nina and her husband, Iven Yellowbeard, decide to risk cutting cross-country and passing under the shadow of the haunted Tower of Ravens. But it is here that dead walk the land and the band of witches faces grave danger as they come across a circle of necromancers. In a battle of pride and confusion, brought on by the newly experienced emotions of friendship and love, Rhiannon fights to gain the trust of her companions, as the dark forces that stalk them grow in strength and a member of their party goes missing.
Kate has delivered another enthralling instalment of magic and adventure in the world she brought to life with Celtic myth and legend in the Witches of Eileanan. With humour and deft hand, she convincingly draws a variety of characters whose similarities and differences suggest a writer of consummate skill who still knows how to have fun. In Rhiannon she has created a strong, believable heroine and an intriguing character to write a story around. I really enjoyed this tale. It's a light, easy read and I fairly flew threw it, such is Kate's ability to catch her audience.
December 30, 2010
Kate Forsyth is best known for her last series the Witches of Eileanan which I haven't read. This book is the first book in her latest series; Rhiannon's Ride. Rhiannon's Ride is a trilogy. Overall this was an excellent and very solid fantasy. For me it fell somewhere between and epic type of fantasy and an adventure fantasy. The first book is more of an adventure fantasy.
This book starts out with No-Horn a half-satrycorn girl who is in danger on being killed by the satrycorn tribe because she has not yet grown a horn. No-Horn manages to kill a prisoner and steal his goods; she captures a black-winged horse and flees the tribe. She ends up in the forest near Lewen's parents' land. Lewen finds her tied to the horse and helps to heal her. Lewen and family decide to name her Rhiannon. The remainder of the book deals with their adventures on their way to the Shining City of Lucescere.
This was a great book. There was a lot of action, the plot is complex and deep. The world is magnificent and is developed to great detail. There are a number of different races of creatures and there is a very complex history behind the story. I am guessing that some of the history and backstory were developed in the Witches of Eileanan series. Rhiannon and Lewen are wonderful characters who come across as believable both in the heroism and their humanity. The supporting characters are also rich with personality and history. Reading this book really made me want to go back to the first series and read more about all the fascinating characters in the background.
That being said, I found this to be a stand alone series. Although I am guessing you might understand the motives of some of the supporting characters better if you knew their history from the first series. That being said this is *not* a stand alone book. The first book stops basically mid journey. I was extremely greatful that I had purchased the next book in the series already.
This really is one of the best straight fantasy novels I have read in some time. There is action, adventure, intrigue, true love, and magic. The intricies of all of the customs of the different races are fascinating but never overbearing.
In summary a wonderful read. My only complaint would be that the book does not wrap anything up before it's conclusion. I would recommend buying all three books if you opt to read the first one; otherwise you will be fretting about what is going to happen to Rhiannon while you wait to get the next book. I can't imagine reading the first book and not reading the second and third one. This book made me want to go out and get all of the books in the Witches of Eileanan series too!
This book starts out with No-Horn a half-satrycorn girl who is in danger on being killed by the satrycorn tribe because she has not yet grown a horn. No-Horn manages to kill a prisoner and steal his goods; she captures a black-winged horse and flees the tribe. She ends up in the forest near Lewen's parents' land. Lewen finds her tied to the horse and helps to heal her. Lewen and family decide to name her Rhiannon. The remainder of the book deals with their adventures on their way to the Shining City of Lucescere.
This was a great book. There was a lot of action, the plot is complex and deep. The world is magnificent and is developed to great detail. There are a number of different races of creatures and there is a very complex history behind the story. I am guessing that some of the history and backstory were developed in the Witches of Eileanan series. Rhiannon and Lewen are wonderful characters who come across as believable both in the heroism and their humanity. The supporting characters are also rich with personality and history. Reading this book really made me want to go back to the first series and read more about all the fascinating characters in the background.
That being said, I found this to be a stand alone series. Although I am guessing you might understand the motives of some of the supporting characters better if you knew their history from the first series. That being said this is *not* a stand alone book. The first book stops basically mid journey. I was extremely greatful that I had purchased the next book in the series already.
This really is one of the best straight fantasy novels I have read in some time. There is action, adventure, intrigue, true love, and magic. The intricies of all of the customs of the different races are fascinating but never overbearing.
In summary a wonderful read. My only complaint would be that the book does not wrap anything up before it's conclusion. I would recommend buying all three books if you opt to read the first one; otherwise you will be fretting about what is going to happen to Rhiannon while you wait to get the next book. I can't imagine reading the first book and not reading the second and third one. This book made me want to go out and get all of the books in the Witches of Eileanan series too!
September 10, 2011
I had no idea what I was to expect when I picked up the Tower of Raven's at my school's library. I had mixed feelings since I had trouble even getting half-way through the slow-moving fantasy book I had tried to read before it. It was starred less than the Tower of Raven's on goodreads.com but I didn't bother checking before I started.
The Tower of Raven's did not disappoint. The dialogue amongst characters and the expressions of both Rhiannon and Lewen were rather amusing that at times I couldn't at all help laughing out loud to myself. The Tower of Rhiannon strongly touches and appeals to emotions of people in a realistic manner, from desperation to protection and love.
It's my first time picking up a Kate Forsyth book. As a result, here on hence, I'm certain I'd be reading more of hers, much like my fascination of works from Traci Harding and Julia Gray.
I found the beginning of the book rather unusual, unfamiliar with the myriad species' of the world of Eileanan. What were these mysterious horned beasts called satyricons? Why were the characters enjoying food through their feet? How very odd. :O It was only into the 4th chapter did I realize the creatures of this world were different. You might consider me rather slow but I was slightly hoping it was otherwise as if I had to read about the constant gruelsome murder of how the satyricons lived throughout the rest of the book, I would be describing how I vomited all over this piece of writing.
However, that was not the case at all. :) Although I hardly saw the point of having a black-winged horse other than in Rhiannon's need to escape, the other characters, especially Iven and Nina were incorporated well into the lives of the young apprentice-witches.
The Tower of Raven will make you laugh at the characters and the dialogue but blow all your confusion and frustration towards the barbaric satyricon beasts.
Only took a day to read this book. I could not put it down! Other than for dinner of course. :)
The Tower of Raven's did not disappoint. The dialogue amongst characters and the expressions of both Rhiannon and Lewen were rather amusing that at times I couldn't at all help laughing out loud to myself. The Tower of Rhiannon strongly touches and appeals to emotions of people in a realistic manner, from desperation to protection and love.
It's my first time picking up a Kate Forsyth book. As a result, here on hence, I'm certain I'd be reading more of hers, much like my fascination of works from Traci Harding and Julia Gray.
I found the beginning of the book rather unusual, unfamiliar with the myriad species' of the world of Eileanan. What were these mysterious horned beasts called satyricons? Why were the characters enjoying food through their feet? How very odd. :O It was only into the 4th chapter did I realize the creatures of this world were different. You might consider me rather slow but I was slightly hoping it was otherwise as if I had to read about the constant gruelsome murder of how the satyricons lived throughout the rest of the book, I would be describing how I vomited all over this piece of writing.
However, that was not the case at all. :) Although I hardly saw the point of having a black-winged horse other than in Rhiannon's need to escape, the other characters, especially Iven and Nina were incorporated well into the lives of the young apprentice-witches.
The Tower of Raven will make you laugh at the characters and the dialogue but blow all your confusion and frustration towards the barbaric satyricon beasts.
Only took a day to read this book. I could not put it down! Other than for dinner of course. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2011
Der erste Teil der neuen Trilogie einer meiner Lieblingsautorinnen spielt in der Welt Eileanan, die ich bereits in der 9-teiligen Reihe “Der magische Schlüssel” lieben gelernt habe. Und schnell erlag ich wieder der faszinierenden Kombination aus vielen verschiedenen Wesen und diesem besonderen Stil von Kate Forsyth. Detailliert, ruhig und liebevoll beschreibt sie Eileanan und die Figuren, so dass ich mir über einen schweren Zugang oder fehlende Nähe keinerlei Sorgen machen muss.
Man trifft einige alte Bekannte, z.B. Lilanthe vom Walde (eine Baumtauscherin) und Nina die Nachtigall (eine Jongleurin und Zauberin), aber auch viele neue ebenso interessante Figuren. Zu Beginn geht es hauptsächlich um die ungewöhnliche Rhiannon, nach und nach spielen aber auch andere Charaktere eine Rolle. Durch Rhiannon lernen wir diese ihr fremde Welt kennen – ihre Bewohner, Denkweise und Geschichte. So wird auch das Wissen des Lesers um Maya die Verhexerin, die Hexenverfolgung und spätere Rebellion aufgefrischt.
Die Magie steckt nicht nur in den vielen verschiedenen Wesen, sondern auch in den Talenten der einzelnen Figuren. Damit ist hier ein besonders ausgeprägte Begabung gemeint, die aus der Verbindung der Kräfte einer Hexe mit den verschiedenen Elementen stammt. Es gibt da die unterschiedlichsten Möglichkeiten, beispielsweise das Singen oder die Bearbeitung von Holz.
In dieser bunten, lebendigen Geschichte gibt es viel Platz für die Entwicklung von Freundschaften – es kommt aber auch zu gefährlichen Momenten und einigen unheimlichen Szenen, die die Atmosphäre verdüstern.
Man trifft einige alte Bekannte, z.B. Lilanthe vom Walde (eine Baumtauscherin) und Nina die Nachtigall (eine Jongleurin und Zauberin), aber auch viele neue ebenso interessante Figuren. Zu Beginn geht es hauptsächlich um die ungewöhnliche Rhiannon, nach und nach spielen aber auch andere Charaktere eine Rolle. Durch Rhiannon lernen wir diese ihr fremde Welt kennen – ihre Bewohner, Denkweise und Geschichte. So wird auch das Wissen des Lesers um Maya die Verhexerin, die Hexenverfolgung und spätere Rebellion aufgefrischt.
Die Magie steckt nicht nur in den vielen verschiedenen Wesen, sondern auch in den Talenten der einzelnen Figuren. Damit ist hier ein besonders ausgeprägte Begabung gemeint, die aus der Verbindung der Kräfte einer Hexe mit den verschiedenen Elementen stammt. Es gibt da die unterschiedlichsten Möglichkeiten, beispielsweise das Singen oder die Bearbeitung von Holz.
In dieser bunten, lebendigen Geschichte gibt es viel Platz für die Entwicklung von Freundschaften – es kommt aber auch zu gefährlichen Momenten und einigen unheimlichen Szenen, die die Atmosphäre verdüstern.
September 25, 2016
I started reading this series after finishing the Witches of Eileanan, my favourite book series EVER, because I liked the idea of this series continuing on from the Witches of Eileanan 20 years in the future and I was happy to find that many of the characters from the previous series were included.
I certainly enjoyed this book and will be reading the next two but something I have noticed about Kate Forsyth's writing style is that she includes far too much romance, maybe it's because I'm not a female and not a fan of romance novels but in my opinion the romance between characters happens far too quickly and is, at times, bizarrely sexually explicit. Also, and it pains me to admit this, but it was incredibly tedious to read at times early on, such as when Rhiannon first met Lilanthe and her family and we had to read about their constant explanations of the meaning of words and expressions and custom that Rhiannon didn't know which dragged on and on and on! There was a point where I thought to myself I CANNOT keep reading this, it's torture! Why do they need to explain to her why it's important to be polite for 4 pages?!
But after staggering through the swamp of the first few chapters it got INSANELY good, I couldn't put it down I even took it to work with me! You learn so much that you didn't know about Eileanan and the war on magic and about previous beloved characters it makes me want to read the first series over again.
I certainly enjoyed this book and will be reading the next two but something I have noticed about Kate Forsyth's writing style is that she includes far too much romance, maybe it's because I'm not a female and not a fan of romance novels but in my opinion the romance between characters happens far too quickly and is, at times, bizarrely sexually explicit. Also, and it pains me to admit this, but it was incredibly tedious to read at times early on, such as when Rhiannon first met Lilanthe and her family and we had to read about their constant explanations of the meaning of words and expressions and custom that Rhiannon didn't know which dragged on and on and on! There was a point where I thought to myself I CANNOT keep reading this, it's torture! Why do they need to explain to her why it's important to be polite for 4 pages?!
But after staggering through the swamp of the first few chapters it got INSANELY good, I couldn't put it down I even took it to work with me! You learn so much that you didn't know about Eileanan and the war on magic and about previous beloved characters it makes me want to read the first series over again.
May 16, 2011
Nina and Iven service the crown by finding and escorting prospective Theurgia students to Lucescere. On this particular journey, they are accompanied by the chief protagonists of the series: Lewen, son of Lilanthe and Niall, returning from a visit home and Rhiannon, a feral, half-satyricorn thigearna, who recently escaped execution at the hands of her herd for failing to develop horns on maturity. News of the murder of a Yeoman causes the group to take a shortcut through lands rumored to be haunted by ghosts and the walking dead, where they uncover an evil plot.
I read The Witches of Eileanan two years ago, and loved the series. I knew Rhiannon's Ride was set in the same universe, but I was happily surprised to find that it involved many of the same characters (mostly in the latter two books -- only Nina and Iven feature in the first, with a brief appearance by Lilanthe and Niall). The Tower of Ravens takes place ~20 years after the events in The Fathomless Caves. I liked The Witches of Eileanan better because it was more epic in scope, but the characters and plot in The Tower of Ravens were solid although the storyline advanced slower than I would have liked. I couldn't wait to read the next book when I had finished.
I read The Witches of Eileanan two years ago, and loved the series. I knew Rhiannon's Ride was set in the same universe, but I was happily surprised to find that it involved many of the same characters (mostly in the latter two books -- only Nina and Iven feature in the first, with a brief appearance by Lilanthe and Niall). The Tower of Ravens takes place ~20 years after the events in The Fathomless Caves. I liked The Witches of Eileanan better because it was more epic in scope, but the characters and plot in The Tower of Ravens were solid although the storyline advanced slower than I would have liked. I couldn't wait to read the next book when I had finished.
November 21, 2010
I haven't read any of Kate Forsyth's long running Witches of Eileanan series, and this trilogy of books is set sometime after the events in that series. It doesn't really hinder a new reader, but there's clearly a lot of backstory and history for some of the characters which is brushed over (or awkwardly articulated in little mental monologues).
In The Tower of Ravens, a half-satyricorn (kind of... horned fairies?) girl, called Rhiannon, who escapes her herd, on a winged horse, and discovers the world of humans. And then she goes on a road trip with a whole lot of young witches on their way to an academy (including a guy called Lewen, who falls in love with her), and then they end up in a haunted castle for a fair bit of the rest of the book. And there's Rhiannon's dark past which she has to hide from everyone. There's almost too many plot elements going on here at times. And the Irish/Scots/whatever dialect that everyone speaks in drove me a little bit insane. There's nothing I hate more than fantasy books where everyone speaks in dialect. Ye ken? Argh.
However, it's pretty fast paced and enjoyable, although it ends very abruptly - if you're into the story, you'll want the second book at hand to start right away.
In The Tower of Ravens, a half-satyricorn (kind of... horned fairies?) girl, called Rhiannon, who escapes her herd, on a winged horse, and discovers the world of humans. And then she goes on a road trip with a whole lot of young witches on their way to an academy (including a guy called Lewen, who falls in love with her), and then they end up in a haunted castle for a fair bit of the rest of the book. And there's Rhiannon's dark past which she has to hide from everyone. There's almost too many plot elements going on here at times. And the Irish/Scots/whatever dialect that everyone speaks in drove me a little bit insane. There's nothing I hate more than fantasy books where everyone speaks in dialect. Ye ken? Argh.
However, it's pretty fast paced and enjoyable, although it ends very abruptly - if you're into the story, you'll want the second book at hand to start right away.
August 20, 2012
I originally read this and the second book when it first came out, but for some reason never finished the trilogy. I've finally bought the third one, so I am re-reading the first two. I'll add to this review once I'm done. :)
Edit: After re-reading this book, I changed my rating to five stars. I'd forgotten how much I love Forsyth's style, I think: her descriptions are vivid without labouring the point, and the way she writes the dialogue is evocative too - Scottish without being inteligible.
The other thing that has changed for me since the first time I read the book is that I became a mother to a little boy. And given the main plot of this book involves the kidnapping and murder of small boys (I can say that much without spoilers), the threat and tragedy of it resonated more greatly with me than it has in the past.
The only suggestion I have for you if you are reading Forsyth for the first time would be to read her original Witches of Eileanan series first. This trilogy is set in the same world only decades later; a lot of the background is explained to Rhiannon because she doesn't know the history, but if you know and love the characters from the first series you'll have a greater appreciation of the current world.
Edit: After re-reading this book, I changed my rating to five stars. I'd forgotten how much I love Forsyth's style, I think: her descriptions are vivid without labouring the point, and the way she writes the dialogue is evocative too - Scottish without being inteligible.
The other thing that has changed for me since the first time I read the book is that I became a mother to a little boy. And given the main plot of this book involves the kidnapping and murder of small boys (I can say that much without spoilers), the threat and tragedy of it resonated more greatly with me than it has in the past.
The only suggestion I have for you if you are reading Forsyth for the first time would be to read her original Witches of Eileanan series first. This trilogy is set in the same world only decades later; a lot of the background is explained to Rhiannon because she doesn't know the history, but if you know and love the characters from the first series you'll have a greater appreciation of the current world.
June 14, 2012
The first time I read it I had not read the Witches of Eileanen series. I liked it then, but felt there was something I was missing, and boy was I right. Having now read the entire witches of Eileanan series the experience of reading this book is much much richer. Kate says theoretically, you should be able to read the Rhiannon's Ride Trilogy without having read the Witches Series (what ever the classification for 6 books is). However I would not recommend it. Kate is an AWSOME character creator and I would have hated to meet Finn the Cat and Jay the Fiddler for the first time in The Shining City.
Also, knowing all about Lachlan the Winged, Maya and her daughter Bronwyn, and of course the League of the Healing Hand from the Witches of Eileanan series made such a difference to the second reading - oh, so that's why they're so incredibly upset about what Rhiannon did!
One review of the series described it as "a challenging read for all ages" and this is true. Kate Forsyth does not take the easy option. Emotional involvment is required and you will wish life was a little more fair, but in Eileanan and the Fair Isles that just isn't the case.
Also, knowing all about Lachlan the Winged, Maya and her daughter Bronwyn, and of course the League of the Healing Hand from the Witches of Eileanan series made such a difference to the second reading - oh, so that's why they're so incredibly upset about what Rhiannon did!
One review of the series described it as "a challenging read for all ages" and this is true. Kate Forsyth does not take the easy option. Emotional involvment is required and you will wish life was a little more fair, but in Eileanan and the Fair Isles that just isn't the case.
February 6, 2012
This book is a very well-rounded story about a girl who is misunderstood and isolated by her own people("people" used loosely). Forsyth seems to know exactly when to put certain elements into the plot and when not to. If flows so well! And the story has everything in it: fantasy, adventure, suspense, romance, drama, a little horror(if you ask me). I really could'nt put it down. The Tower of Ravens is unlike anything I've ever read and it has given me a new respect for adult fantasy. It reached levels of intensity (thrilling but sometimes creepy) that I barely even noticed the strangeness of the main character who is half satyricorn, half human. Forsyth at first baffles you with this strange magical world, but then forces you to sympathize with Rhiannon, the main character. Once you're attached to the story and the mystery that unfolds, you won't want to put it down!
July 18, 2015
I loved this series so much that I went out and bought it after reading it twice in a row. It helps if you read the Witches of Eileanan first before you read this series, but the first time I read this series I wasn't totally lost and I really enjoyed it. Kate Forsyth writes in a Celtic accent, it is really different from anything I've read before, but it made it all the more intriguing and fun to read. The story was good and the characters are well developed. It's really original, I've read a lot of books and there are none to compare to this one. If you love fantasy then this is the book for you. I happen to love horses and because this series is based around a horse mage and her flying horse, it made the story all the more enjoyable for me to read. I would definitely recommend this book.
September 1, 2012
A wild, beautiful, strange young woman who is half Satyricon escapes from her herd after she kills a human man. Stealing his effects since doing so is a right of conquest, Rhiannon then bravely manages to tame a winged horse enough to ride it away over the mountains. She meets Lewen, whose family takes her in. Rhiannon joins Lewen and his friends on their way back to the Tower of the Two Moons, where Lewen is studying to be a full fledged witch. Because they are pressed for time the group travels through a dangerous country, and encounter terrors such as they never imagined. Forsyth takes her time telling the story, which could be shortened in places, but she writes well and blends her fantasy with elements of horror and romance. Part one of the trilogy. Adult.
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