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The View From Castle Always
Men and women come to Castle Always to receive a destiny. Few of those questers survive to return home. Mysterious, difficult to find, and possibly sentient, the Castle keeps its secrets hidden away where no one thinks to look for them.
Unlike other questers, Ailanthe just wants to return to her forest home. She travels to the Castle searching for something to send her back, not for a destiny. But the Castle refuses to let her leave—and worse, it wants her dead.
With the help of another man trapped by the Castle, Coren, and the mysterious cat Miriethiel, Ailanthe sets out to unravel the truth about the Castle not only to gain her freedom, but to save her life.
Unlike other questers, Ailanthe just wants to return to her forest home. She travels to the Castle searching for something to send her back, not for a destiny. But the Castle refuses to let her leave—and worse, it wants her dead.
With the help of another man trapped by the Castle, Coren, and the mysterious cat Miriethiel, Ailanthe sets out to unravel the truth about the Castle not only to gain her freedom, but to save her life.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2015
14 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Melissa McShane
94 books861 followersMelissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 16, 2019
Jan 2019: Melissa has released this book for general purchase, so I took the time to reread it. I have to say that I'm as enchanted as ever and was so happy to revisit Coren and Ailanthe and the castle. I'm also updating with the "chaste" tag and note below.
Like others of Melissa's books, this is mostly fantasy, but with a light romance and interesting characters. This one has more world building and a stronger fantasy flavor due to the central role played by the Castle. Castle Always exists in every land and is said to exist in every time. There, one may find one's destiny and true purpose, or so they say. Needless to say, it's not quite that simple in reality.
My draw to the book is the characters. I really like Ailanthe and her willingness to face up to hard truths and keep going in the face of setbacks. I like her determination and inner strength, even as her life takes unexpected turns like having to leave the home and trees that she loves. But I like Coren even better. He has Ailanthe's determination only dialed up to eleven. I particularly like his calm seriousness with that subtle sense of humor buried underneath.
And I really like the Castle itself. Since most of the story happens in the castle and thus in relative isolation, getting to know the castle, its quirks and dangers, is a good part of the fun. Others will have to see how effectively the atmosphere is built and how it changes as the characters come to know it better. I think it's engaging, but I was rather closely involved in the story's genesis, so can't judge for certain.
So yeah, there's no surprise I'm giving this five stars. I feel at least slightly justified as I had a hard time putting it down even on this latest reread.
A note about Chaste: I'm marking this chaste because there are no explicit sex scenes. This is one of Melissa's where it's clear that there is sex, however, and strict readers might find that too much so thought I'd be clear here.
A note about acquiring the book: right now this is only available as a free download when subscribing to Melissa's newsletter (link on the right of that home page). So free! But if you hate newsletters, that's not so much a consolation...
A note with some inside baseball: If you knew our cat, Ivan, you'd know exactly where Miriethiel comes from. Ivan wandered into our hearts out of a winter snow storm and has provided a steady supply of lap warming comfort ever since. I tell Melissa she really needs to dedicate the book to him. She says she's considering it...
Like others of Melissa's books, this is mostly fantasy, but with a light romance and interesting characters. This one has more world building and a stronger fantasy flavor due to the central role played by the Castle. Castle Always exists in every land and is said to exist in every time. There, one may find one's destiny and true purpose, or so they say. Needless to say, it's not quite that simple in reality.
My draw to the book is the characters. I really like Ailanthe and her willingness to face up to hard truths and keep going in the face of setbacks. I like her determination and inner strength, even as her life takes unexpected turns like having to leave the home and trees that she loves. But I like Coren even better. He has Ailanthe's determination only dialed up to eleven. I particularly like his calm seriousness with that subtle sense of humor buried underneath.
And I really like the Castle itself. Since most of the story happens in the castle and thus in relative isolation, getting to know the castle, its quirks and dangers, is a good part of the fun. Others will have to see how effectively the atmosphere is built and how it changes as the characters come to know it better. I think it's engaging, but I was rather closely involved in the story's genesis, so can't judge for certain.
So yeah, there's no surprise I'm giving this five stars. I feel at least slightly justified as I had a hard time putting it down even on this latest reread.
A note about Chaste: I'm marking this chaste because there are no explicit sex scenes. This is one of Melissa's where it's clear that there is sex, however, and strict readers might find that too much so thought I'd be clear here.
A note with some inside baseball: If you knew our cat, Ivan, you'd know exactly where Miriethiel comes from. Ivan wandered into our hearts out of a winter snow storm and has provided a steady supply of lap warming comfort ever since. I tell Melissa she really needs to dedicate the book to him. She says she's considering it...
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March 21, 2023Re-read 1/9/19 in preparation for the official launch! I used to give this away as a freebie to newsletter subscribers, and when I stopped doing that, I wanted to publish it for real. But life, and other books, kept getting in the way. Now it's out there (as of 1/15/19) and I'm so excited for people to read it. It's one of my favorites of my books. I'm really glad I didn't wait to read it until after the release, because I found a major copy/paste error that would have been really embarrassing.
I should also thank Leslye Penelope, who graciously read this book in draft and provided some valuable feedback. Half of the first chapter and all of Chapter Eight are due to her, and she was the one who pointed out that what I was doing with Coren's character wasn't working. I read her book Song of Blood & Stone in exchange and loved it, and I hope I was able to be as helpful to her as she was to me.
I wish I had a good picture of my cat Ivan, who plays Miriethiel in the book, to post here, but all his pictures make him look like Satan's spawn. He's actually extremely laid-back and good-natured, and he really is as silent as Miriethiel. It's kind of weird when he meows, because his voice isn't like any of the other cats' so we always know it's him, but it happens so rarely it's always startling.
Aside from a few tweaks, I have left the text intact as a marker of how my style has changed over the years since I wrote it. I do paragraphing differently now, and I don't use as many semicolons. I hope readers love this book as much as I do.
Original review: It was Sunday, and I had nothing else to do, so I re-read this book. It's sort of an only child, product of the same title-generation game that produced The Smoke-Scented Girl, and all I remember of its creation was the desire to write about a sentient Castle, drawing from my memories of Howl's Moving Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. It was also fun to research; the Castle's floor plans are drawn from those of Castle Peles in Romania, including the Honor Hall, which has a somewhat different role in the original castle. It's short, and quick to read, and my own cat Ivan plays an important role. Nobody knows why Ivan won't meow except under duress, but he's eerily silent and it made for an interesting character. There's also a giant Library, and I think I may be a tad obsessed with libraries in general, but they have a unique magic that I think all readers respond to. I had fun writing it, and I hope people enjoy reading it.
I should also thank Leslye Penelope, who graciously read this book in draft and provided some valuable feedback. Half of the first chapter and all of Chapter Eight are due to her, and she was the one who pointed out that what I was doing with Coren's character wasn't working. I read her book Song of Blood & Stone in exchange and loved it, and I hope I was able to be as helpful to her as she was to me.
I wish I had a good picture of my cat Ivan, who plays Miriethiel in the book, to post here, but all his pictures make him look like Satan's spawn. He's actually extremely laid-back and good-natured, and he really is as silent as Miriethiel. It's kind of weird when he meows, because his voice isn't like any of the other cats' so we always know it's him, but it happens so rarely it's always startling.
Aside from a few tweaks, I have left the text intact as a marker of how my style has changed over the years since I wrote it. I do paragraphing differently now, and I don't use as many semicolons. I hope readers love this book as much as I do.
Original review: It was Sunday, and I had nothing else to do, so I re-read this book. It's sort of an only child, product of the same title-generation game that produced The Smoke-Scented Girl, and all I remember of its creation was the desire to write about a sentient Castle, drawing from my memories of Howl's Moving Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. It was also fun to research; the Castle's floor plans are drawn from those of Castle Peles in Romania, including the Honor Hall, which has a somewhat different role in the original castle. It's short, and quick to read, and my own cat Ivan plays an important role. Nobody knows why Ivan won't meow except under duress, but he's eerily silent and it made for an interesting character. There's also a giant Library, and I think I may be a tad obsessed with libraries in general, but they have a unique magic that I think all readers respond to. I had fun writing it, and I hope people enjoy reading it.
June 5, 2020
The View from Castle Always engaged and surprised me—and unsettled me a little. The premise is that there’s a castle that’s accessible from anywhere in the world it exists in, and that can open doors to anywhere in that world. People come there to find their destinies or sort out life problems and leave with a token that will help them. But when Ailanthe comes because she has been rejected by the trees in which her people make their homes, the castle won’t let her leave. In the castle she meets Coren, a young man who’s been there for six years because he wandered in to seek refuge from the rain. He hasn’t left because he can’t leave without taking a destiny-quest object, but he doesn’t want a destiny quest—he just wants to go home.
Most of the story gives you the pleasure of exploring a many-roomed magical space with people who ask the sorts of questions you’d likely ask and who attempt escapes and work-arounds to deal with the apparent rules of the castle-space much as you yourself might if you were to find yourself in such a place. It’s the pleasure of exploration and attempted puzzle solving, and in the process you learn more about the world beyond the castle walls and also more about Coren and Ailanthe. A third character joins them/forces his company upon them, adding some conflicts and also some additional humor.
Then the last 20 percent or so of the story brings up some sizable philosophical questions and life-changing developments. The philosophical questions are the sort of thing that arise naturally when you’re dealing with a destiny-revealing castle (what is destiny; how fixed is it; should “goodness” be forced upon people, and who determines what “goodness” is, among others), but they don’t actually get addressed until this point because the characters have been so focused on dealing with immediate problems. It’s understandable and believable within-story, but I think if the questions had been woven into the story from earlier—if maybe the characters had talked about them over meals or something—I wouldn’t have felt such a tonal shift at this point.
All in all though, I thought the solution to the castle puzzle/problem was very neat, and this story has whetted my appetite for more Melissa McShane!
Most of the story gives you the pleasure of exploring a many-roomed magical space with people who ask the sorts of questions you’d likely ask and who attempt escapes and work-arounds to deal with the apparent rules of the castle-space much as you yourself might if you were to find yourself in such a place. It’s the pleasure of exploration and attempted puzzle solving, and in the process you learn more about the world beyond the castle walls and also more about Coren and Ailanthe. A third character joins them/forces his company upon them, adding some conflicts and also some additional humor.
Then the last 20 percent or so of the story brings up some sizable philosophical questions and life-changing developments. The philosophical questions are the sort of thing that arise naturally when you’re dealing with a destiny-revealing castle (what is destiny; how fixed is it; should “goodness” be forced upon people, and who determines what “goodness” is, among others), but they don’t actually get addressed until this point because the characters have been so focused on dealing with immediate problems. It’s understandable and believable within-story, but I think if the questions had been woven into the story from earlier—if maybe the characters had talked about them over meals or something—I wouldn’t have felt such a tonal shift at this point.
All in all though, I thought the solution to the castle puzzle/problem was very neat, and this story has whetted my appetite for more Melissa McShane!
January 25, 2016
I got this book for free when signing up to Melissa's mailing list, and I have to say it's fantastic. The story is riveting and woven with a distinct melancholy and longing throughout that you don't fully understand until you get to the end and can look back over the whole thing with a clarity of understanding.
Utterly brilliant! I hesitate to say it, but I would love a sequel.
Utterly brilliant! I hesitate to say it, but I would love a sequel.
January 30, 2019
The View from the Castle Always is the newest release by Melissa McShane. I am not a huge fantasy fiction fan, but I do enjoy her stories. I thought this was a good read. I enjoyed Coren and Ailanthe’s story. I love the mystery, suspense, adventure and clean romance. It is a fun read that kept me wondering where the characters would end up.
I give The View from the Castle Always four and a half stars.
I received this book from the author but was no required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
I give The View from the Castle Always four and a half stars.
I received this book from the author but was no required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
December 23, 2017
Really interesting idea, but I just didn't click with this.
April 25, 2021
This was a very odd little book— it almost felt more like an outline than a fleshed out novel. The beginning moved faster than the speed of light and then came to an abrupt halt in pace. I felt like the author was trying to make a statement about choice and destiny but it paid off like a half finished thought. Can’t say I recommend.
April 6, 2019
Melissa McShane has been regularly making my Best of the Year list lately, and books like this are why.
The old enchanted castle trope is a good one, and here it's handled well and with some originality. Not only do different parts of the castle look out on different parts of the world (including from different windows in the same room), but the castle's purpose seems to be to give questers their choice of token and then shove them out the exit to meet their destiny.
But Alianthe, who has only come to the castle because the trees of her woodland home have rejected her, is trapped in the castle, and it won't let her leave. It may even be trying to kill her.
Fortunately, she has company: a man who came in, not in quest of anything, but in order to get out of the rain, and who is stubbornly refusing to choose a token, because he doesn't want to be shoved out in some random part of the world to live or die at the whim of fate; he just wants to go home.
Cue slow-burn romance - interrupted when a would-be chivalrous idiot comes questing and refuses to leave without rescuing Alianthe, who is perfectly capable of rescuing herself. Meanwhile, the castle is becoming stranger and more dangerous all the time (but so is Alianthe, rather to her disquiet).
A terrific twist ending; some good-quality reflection on the nature of choice, goodness, and heroism; and a delightful cat all combine with excellent editing and strong writing to take this to five stars, and into a high position on my Best of 2019.
The old enchanted castle trope is a good one, and here it's handled well and with some originality. Not only do different parts of the castle look out on different parts of the world (including from different windows in the same room), but the castle's purpose seems to be to give questers their choice of token and then shove them out the exit to meet their destiny.
But Alianthe, who has only come to the castle because the trees of her woodland home have rejected her, is trapped in the castle, and it won't let her leave. It may even be trying to kill her.
Fortunately, she has company: a man who came in, not in quest of anything, but in order to get out of the rain, and who is stubbornly refusing to choose a token, because he doesn't want to be shoved out in some random part of the world to live or die at the whim of fate; he just wants to go home.
Cue slow-burn romance - interrupted when a would-be chivalrous idiot comes questing and refuses to leave without rescuing Alianthe, who is perfectly capable of rescuing herself. Meanwhile, the castle is becoming stranger and more dangerous all the time (but so is Alianthe, rather to her disquiet).
A terrific twist ending; some good-quality reflection on the nature of choice, goodness, and heroism; and a delightful cat all combine with excellent editing and strong writing to take this to five stars, and into a high position on my Best of 2019.
January 23, 2019
Castle Always is a magical place where young adventurers go to receive guidance to the pathway they should take. Ailanthe is somewhat atypical of this mighty castle's usual customer. She isn't really seeking a destiny, but rather an answer to why the magical trees of her Homeland have rejected her. She enters the castle, explores a little, and then chooses a token which is supposed to send her back out into the world with the answers she seeks. But the castle won't let her leave. She makes friends with a young man who is also locked in the castle, Coren. They explore the castle intensively, seeking a weak spot or a way around the magic of the castle which has obviously gone awry. Soon it begins to look like the castle is not only imprisoning them, but trying to kill Ailanthe. This exciting, intense story had me on the edge of my seat. I am seldom completely surprised by a plot turn, but I was blown away by the ending and liked the story so much that I read it again, marveling at how it works!
January 24, 2019
I like Melissa McShane's books. Some more than others, but all of them are well-written. I enjoyed this one. It has a unique take on the 'find your destiny' fantasy. There's a magic castle, that the heroine can't leave, a handsome man who refuses to leave, and a knight who can leave but won't. And then there's the wild magic—is it good, evil, something else entirely?
I thought the characters were interesting. The plot wasn't as strong as I like them, but it was fun to follow the characters as they explored the castle. The ending was unusual—not a straight up happy ending, but a satisfying ending.
There are some implied closed-door sex scenes, not graphic, so maybe not a good one for younger teens. I give it 4 1/2 stars and recommend it to those who like light fantasy, with some romance thrown in.
I thought the characters were interesting. The plot wasn't as strong as I like them, but it was fun to follow the characters as they explored the castle. The ending was unusual—not a straight up happy ending, but a satisfying ending.
There are some implied closed-door sex scenes, not graphic, so maybe not a good one for younger teens. I give it 4 1/2 stars and recommend it to those who like light fantasy, with some romance thrown in.
April 30, 2019
How weird. I love this author; I love books where the setting is a castle, I love magic and cats and intelligent castles and strong heroes, but I didn't like this book one bit. It took me so long to "finish" and I say that with quotation marks because I skim-read all the second half of the book. Nothing happened, the cat was unimportant (at least for the first half); the characters were boring, I didn't care one iota for the romance...
I guess it is one of those cases of "it is not you, it is me" thing.
I guess it is one of those cases of "it is not you, it is me" thing.
April 13, 2020
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE for adults.
Ailanthe travels to Castle Always to find out what’s wrong with her so she can go home to her people who live in the trees. But the castle, which has doors to many lands, won’t let her leave. Coren has lived at the castle for six years and refuses to take an item (giving him a quest) so he can leave. Together they try to understand the castle’s magic and find their freedom.
The plot is like a very complex escape room and the character’s have to figure it out before they are killed.
Ailanthe travels to Castle Always to find out what’s wrong with her so she can go home to her people who live in the trees. But the castle, which has doors to many lands, won’t let her leave. Coren has lived at the castle for six years and refuses to take an item (giving him a quest) so he can leave. Together they try to understand the castle’s magic and find their freedom.
The plot is like a very complex escape room and the character’s have to figure it out before they are killed.
April 8, 2021
4.5 stars. Ailanthe and her people live in the canopy of trees. When Ailanthe loses her ability to walk in the trees without falling, she travels to Castle Always where she hopes she can regain her balance. The only problem is: the castle won't let her back out.
Ailanthe teams up with another person stuck in the castle, Coren, and together they explore the castle seeking a way out and unearthing mysteries along the way.
This is a quick, mostly lighthearted read. I was excited to read more of Melissa McShane's works as I'd read (and loved!) "Burning Bright."
The second half of this book isn't as strong as the first half. I also felt that Tristram overstays his welcome. Then again, being annoying is rather the point of his character.
I look forward to reading more from Melissa McShane.
Ailanthe teams up with another person stuck in the castle, Coren, and together they explore the castle seeking a way out and unearthing mysteries along the way.
This is a quick, mostly lighthearted read. I was excited to read more of Melissa McShane's works as I'd read (and loved!) "Burning Bright."
The second half of this book isn't as strong as the first half. I also felt that Tristram overstays his welcome. Then again, being annoying is rather the point of his character.
I look forward to reading more from Melissa McShane.
April 4, 2023
Melissa McShane always has fun ideas for stories! I enjoyed reading this book in regard to the mystery and uniqueness of the story. I was interested in her world building which was a 7 out of 10. In regard to the romance it was probably a 4 out of 10 because of her description of their sexual life. It was WAY too much description to the point I had to skip a page to avoid such comments. The mystery was a 9 out of 10 and I think if more time and description into the world, and less gross sex talk I think this book could have been a 10 out of 10 in my opinion.
March 6, 2019
Wonderful story
This book, like all her stories, has a plot that draws you in, characters that grow and reveal themselves to the reader as they discover more about themselves. This book also has redemption and a powerful meditation on freedom and the uses of power. One reviewer said this did not have a happy ending: I disagree. It is an unconventional ending, but one of the best I have read. If you like Melissa McShane's books, you will love this one.
This book, like all her stories, has a plot that draws you in, characters that grow and reveal themselves to the reader as they discover more about themselves. This book also has redemption and a powerful meditation on freedom and the uses of power. One reviewer said this did not have a happy ending: I disagree. It is an unconventional ending, but one of the best I have read. If you like Melissa McShane's books, you will love this one.
March 28, 2019
It's a weird little story. Slow at first. VERY original! Definitely not my favorite, though.
June 1, 2019
Melissa McShane is becoming a name I respect as much as Andre Norton, Robin Hobb, or Tamora Pierce. She always provides a good yarn, and it never goes quite where I expect it to.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews