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The Tower at Stony Wood
She saw the knight in the mirror at sunset…
During the wedding festivities of his king, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, is sought out by a mysterious bard and told a terrifying tale: that the king has married a false queen—a lie cloaked in ancient and powerful sorcery. Spurred on by his steadfast honor and loyalty, Cyan departs on a dangerous quest to rescue the real queen from her tower prison, to prevent war, and to awaken magic in a land that has lost its way…
During the wedding festivities of his king, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, is sought out by a mysterious bard and told a terrifying tale: that the king has married a false queen—a lie cloaked in ancient and powerful sorcery. Spurred on by his steadfast honor and loyalty, Cyan departs on a dangerous quest to rescue the real queen from her tower prison, to prevent war, and to awaken magic in a land that has lost its way…
294 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
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2206 people want to read
About the author
Patricia A. McKillip
94 books2,909 followersPatricia Anne McKillip was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. She wrote predominantly standalone fantasy novels and has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre". Her work won many awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
April 2, 2011
In adventurous stories, there often happens to be this character who knows what’s going on. They’re the one who dribbles out confusing riddles to the hero just as he needs them, and no more. The one who could just tell everybody the big plot secret but won’t, because if that happened the characters could just resolve the story’s conflict and go home. These characters seem to take a perverse enjoyment of their job, reveling in the “Nyah, nyah, I know something you don’t know!” Such a character is the Bard of Skye in Patricia A. McKillip’s Tower at Stony Wood.
The Tower at Stony Wood starts out conventionally enough for a fantasy novel. Cyan Dag, knight of the kingdom of Yves, receives a visit from the Bard of Skye on his king’s wedding night. The Bard gives him a dire warning: the king has just married a monster in mortal form, and his true bride has been trapped in a tower! The book then proceeds like a strange dream. Cyan Dag has no specific instructions from the Bard (nor did he think to ask), so he wanders the countrysides of Yves and Skye at random, trying the towers that he comes across. He’s not the sharpest sword in the scabbard.
Invariably his experiences with towers go something like this: “Thank you! But our princess is in another castle. Please try again.”
Meanwhile, the Bard and her sister send Cyan unhelpful dreams, and in two apparently unrelated plotlines, another man in another tower is attempting to tame a dragon, and a baker and her daughter are in yet another tower watching the whole affair – princess, knight, dragon, and Bard – by magic mirror. I think I counted at least six towers in all in this book. Or maybe they were the same tower, all mystically connected? McKillip is never quite clear on this point.
Cyan and I would both like to grab Ms. Bard by the robe and ask her, “What the dickens is going on here?” There is a partial explanation at the end, but it left me feeling like somebody had just played a card trick on me.
The Tower at Stony Wood starts out conventionally enough for a fantasy novel. Cyan Dag, knight of the kingdom of Yves, receives a visit from the Bard of Skye on his king’s wedding night. The Bard gives him a dire warning: the king has just married a monster in mortal form, and his true bride has been trapped in a tower! The book then proceeds like a strange dream. Cyan Dag has no specific instructions from the Bard (nor did he think to ask), so he wanders the countrysides of Yves and Skye at random, trying the towers that he comes across. He’s not the sharpest sword in the scabbard.
Invariably his experiences with towers go something like this: “Thank you! But our princess is in another castle. Please try again.”
Meanwhile, the Bard and her sister send Cyan unhelpful dreams, and in two apparently unrelated plotlines, another man in another tower is attempting to tame a dragon, and a baker and her daughter are in yet another tower watching the whole affair – princess, knight, dragon, and Bard – by magic mirror. I think I counted at least six towers in all in this book. Or maybe they were the same tower, all mystically connected? McKillip is never quite clear on this point.
Cyan and I would both like to grab Ms. Bard by the robe and ask her, “What the dickens is going on here?” There is a partial explanation at the end, but it left me feeling like somebody had just played a card trick on me.
April 29, 2025
{April 2025 Reread}
Patricia sitting down to write this:
More than probably any other author I know, McKillip understands how to spin a story in the truest sense of the term. Her books keep me turning the pages out of the old sheer, simple desire to find out "what happens next" that I've all but forgotten in the rest of my reading life.
The Tower at Stony Wood is everything that, in my humble opinion, fantasy ought to be: entrancing, bewildering, ambiguous, textured, ethereal, human. One thing about McKillip's prose is that it's gonna be some shade of purple, and personally, with a few admitted exceptions, I think that the lavender you'll find here is outstanding. The plot is layered and filmy and confusing and then, eventually, beautifully clear in its confusion. (One thing I did not care for, this time around, was the ever so slightly deterministic bent to the conclusion, once everyone and everything is finally revealed – but that bent is debatable, and I think the narrative still lands on the correct side of the coin.) The characters are compellingly drawn and quietly lovable. Cyan and Thayne are princes amongst men, for real.
I don't know if I had noticed, before this reread, how strongly thematic – though subtle – some of the subject matter is. Today, I was struck by what the story seems to be saying about high-functioning depression, suicidal ideation, and the responsibility each of us has, to our loved ones and to the world in general, to keep living.
Anne Shirley would lose her ever-loving mind over this book.
{Original March 2020 Review}
Dang, this woman can write.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she . . . – Tennyson
Patricia sitting down to write this:
More than probably any other author I know, McKillip understands how to spin a story in the truest sense of the term. Her books keep me turning the pages out of the old sheer, simple desire to find out "what happens next" that I've all but forgotten in the rest of my reading life.
The Tower at Stony Wood is everything that, in my humble opinion, fantasy ought to be: entrancing, bewildering, ambiguous, textured, ethereal, human. One thing about McKillip's prose is that it's gonna be some shade of purple, and personally, with a few admitted exceptions, I think that the lavender you'll find here is outstanding. The plot is layered and filmy and confusing and then, eventually, beautifully clear in its confusion. (One thing I did not care for, this time around, was the ever so slightly deterministic bent to the conclusion, once everyone and everything is finally revealed – but that bent is debatable, and I think the narrative still lands on the correct side of the coin.) The characters are compellingly drawn and quietly lovable. Cyan and Thayne are princes amongst men, for real.
I don't know if I had noticed, before this reread, how strongly thematic – though subtle – some of the subject matter is. Today, I was struck by what the story seems to be saying about high-functioning depression, suicidal ideation, and the responsibility each of us has, to our loved ones and to the world in general, to keep living.
"If I looked at the world I would die. If the world looked at me, saw me with courage and compassion, and reached out to help me – how could I not live? How could that not make me free?"
Anne Shirley would lose her ever-loving mind over this book.
{Original March 2020 Review}
Dang, this woman can write.
August 12, 2011
by Patricia McKillip
Opening line--"She saw the knight in the mirror at sunset."
The first time I read this, a few years ago, I remember expecting a re-telling of "The Lady of Shalott" and not getting it and being somewhat put off by this. On this re-read, I didn't have that expectation and therefore was able to just enjoy the story. And really, McKillip does a fantastic job. It's not a re-telling of "The Lady of Shalott" at all, except for a few little moments where it echoes Tennyson just slightly.
Mirrors are an important theme in the book, and they're also present in a more intangible way. Melanthos and the woman in the tower are mirrors, as are Cyan Dag and Thayne Ysse. Mirrors are shifty. They tell you something that you accept as true, but it's not quite. That's vital for this story.
A tripling of things is another key element. The three sisters, which are both mountains and women, the three women who watch in mirrors and stitch, the three men who fight, the three towers. It's interesting to note that McKillip is from Oregon, where there are three mountains called Three Sisters. While the description of the mountains in the book is quite different than the ones in Oregon, it made for an odd insight.
One of the moments when McKillip echoes Tennyson comes fairly early, when Melanthos is "watching the woman in another mirror within another tower. She saw lilies massed against the tower wall, a shallow river flowing past them, a road beyond the trees along the riverbank, and on the other side of the trees, furrowed fields beginning to flush green. A man rode through the mirror...Silver flared like the glance of light off armor."
Which begins to sound an awful lot like this:
"On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott."
And later:
"The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot."
The other moment where I really noticed the echo was much later. "Separating shadow and leaf and light as he rode beside it, he discovered the dark, worn crenellation of four towers joining four walls." In Tennyson, of course, we have "four grey walls and four grey towers/Over look a space of flowers/And the silent isle imbowers/The Lady of Shalott." There's a very important point to be made here, which is horribly spoilery, so skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want to see the SPOILERS*. Okay, so the lady in the tower, the one that Cyan Dag has to save is the rough analogue of Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott," right? All of these descriptions, the curse that's put on her. But she's the one that's not real, that's a creation of Una's. So what does that say about McKillip reads Tennyson? END SPOILERS
I thought this was another book where McKillip really hit all the right notes. And with the richness of themes and devices, as well as the echoes of Tennyson, there's a lot to chew on here. In fact, this review is starting to sound a bit more like a college essay than anything else, albeit a very short and informal essay. As I think I've said before, when McKillip does it right she creates this dreaminess, where you feel almost as if you're drifting through the story while it's being woven around you, which works very well with what she's doing here.
*That looks like such a weird word when you type it in all caps.
My other McKillip reviews:
Something Rich and Strange and Ombria in Shadow
Riddle of Stars (Riddle-master trilogy)
Harrowing the Dragon
Song for the Basilisk
Official read-through index
-----
The one re-read on this list, for the simple reason that I hardly remembered it and got so much more out of it this time. Although the story echoes “The Lady of Shalott” at times, it’s simply that: the barest echo of Tennyson. And there’s all sorts of symbolism that I can see but can’t quite grasp the meaning of, which is awesome, don’t get me wrong. Anyone who enjoys a thoughtful, dreamy fantasy should give this one a try. [2010 in books]
Opening line--"She saw the knight in the mirror at sunset."
The first time I read this, a few years ago, I remember expecting a re-telling of "The Lady of Shalott" and not getting it and being somewhat put off by this. On this re-read, I didn't have that expectation and therefore was able to just enjoy the story. And really, McKillip does a fantastic job. It's not a re-telling of "The Lady of Shalott" at all, except for a few little moments where it echoes Tennyson just slightly.
Mirrors are an important theme in the book, and they're also present in a more intangible way. Melanthos and the woman in the tower are mirrors, as are Cyan Dag and Thayne Ysse. Mirrors are shifty. They tell you something that you accept as true, but it's not quite. That's vital for this story.
A tripling of things is another key element. The three sisters, which are both mountains and women, the three women who watch in mirrors and stitch, the three men who fight, the three towers. It's interesting to note that McKillip is from Oregon, where there are three mountains called Three Sisters. While the description of the mountains in the book is quite different than the ones in Oregon, it made for an odd insight.
One of the moments when McKillip echoes Tennyson comes fairly early, when Melanthos is "watching the woman in another mirror within another tower. She saw lilies massed against the tower wall, a shallow river flowing past them, a road beyond the trees along the riverbank, and on the other side of the trees, furrowed fields beginning to flush green. A man rode through the mirror...Silver flared like the glance of light off armor."
Which begins to sound an awful lot like this:
"On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott."
And later:
"The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot."
The other moment where I really noticed the echo was much later. "Separating shadow and leaf and light as he rode beside it, he discovered the dark, worn crenellation of four towers joining four walls." In Tennyson, of course, we have "four grey walls and four grey towers/Over look a space of flowers/And the silent isle imbowers/The Lady of Shalott." There's a very important point to be made here, which is horribly spoilery, so skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want to see the SPOILERS*. Okay, so the lady in the tower, the one that Cyan Dag has to save is the rough analogue of Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott," right? All of these descriptions, the curse that's put on her. But she's the one that's not real, that's a creation of Una's. So what does that say about McKillip reads Tennyson? END SPOILERS
I thought this was another book where McKillip really hit all the right notes. And with the richness of themes and devices, as well as the echoes of Tennyson, there's a lot to chew on here. In fact, this review is starting to sound a bit more like a college essay than anything else, albeit a very short and informal essay. As I think I've said before, when McKillip does it right she creates this dreaminess, where you feel almost as if you're drifting through the story while it's being woven around you, which works very well with what she's doing here.
*That looks like such a weird word when you type it in all caps.
My other McKillip reviews:
Something Rich and Strange and Ombria in Shadow
Riddle of Stars (Riddle-master trilogy)
Harrowing the Dragon
Song for the Basilisk
Official read-through index
-----
The one re-read on this list, for the simple reason that I hardly remembered it and got so much more out of it this time. Although the story echoes “The Lady of Shalott” at times, it’s simply that: the barest echo of Tennyson. And there’s all sorts of symbolism that I can see but can’t quite grasp the meaning of, which is awesome, don’t get me wrong. Anyone who enjoys a thoughtful, dreamy fantasy should give this one a try. [2010 in books]
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2022
This is a fantasy novel of heroic quest type, but there is much more. I read it as a part of monthly reading for March 2022 at Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels group. The book was nominated for Nebula in 2001, but lost to The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro.
This was my first book by Patricia A. McKillip. Before starting it I got an unpleasant surprise – it has no e-book version, which is strange – after all, it is relatively recent and if it was good enough to get a nomination, it ought to be good enough to be in most broadly used formats. Not so, but for those, who want to check it – there is a scan on Archive.org, if you’re ok with reading from a screen.
The story starts with a wedding in some kind of medieval castle and the protagonist, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, right hand of the king, who is the groom, gets information from a mysterious lady bard that the bride is false, while the real one sits in a tower and waits for rescue. And he has to go on a quest to save her. The rest of the story is mostly about his wandering about from tower to tower to find out that the princess isn’t there. The story is sometimes interdicted by other seemingly unrelated stories about dragons, revenge, prisoners in towers, who should weave tapestries that turn into reality…
The story is a rare case of lyric fantasy with a style more reminiscent of fables than modern novels. From the reviews here I found out that it can be seen as a reply to The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson about which I haven’t been aware (I know very little of English poetry, being from Ukraine I knew only his The Charge of the Light Brigade, after all, it is about the Crimean war) and quite possibly that I’d have liked it more if I knew the references, but per se the story was boring, with no straight plotline but wanderings, dreams and sadness… so I actually skipped to the ending and hasn’t been impressed with the author.
This was my first book by Patricia A. McKillip. Before starting it I got an unpleasant surprise – it has no e-book version, which is strange – after all, it is relatively recent and if it was good enough to get a nomination, it ought to be good enough to be in most broadly used formats. Not so, but for those, who want to check it – there is a scan on Archive.org, if you’re ok with reading from a screen.
The story starts with a wedding in some kind of medieval castle and the protagonist, Cyan Dag, a knight of Gloinmere, right hand of the king, who is the groom, gets information from a mysterious lady bard that the bride is false, while the real one sits in a tower and waits for rescue. And he has to go on a quest to save her. The rest of the story is mostly about his wandering about from tower to tower to find out that the princess isn’t there. The story is sometimes interdicted by other seemingly unrelated stories about dragons, revenge, prisoners in towers, who should weave tapestries that turn into reality…
The story is a rare case of lyric fantasy with a style more reminiscent of fables than modern novels. From the reviews here I found out that it can be seen as a reply to The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson about which I haven’t been aware (I know very little of English poetry, being from Ukraine I knew only his The Charge of the Light Brigade, after all, it is about the Crimean war) and quite possibly that I’d have liked it more if I knew the references, but per se the story was boring, with no straight plotline but wanderings, dreams and sadness… so I actually skipped to the ending and hasn’t been impressed with the author.
May 20, 2022
Yes, I'm a McKillip fan--I've read almost everything she's ever written. Yes, I've read "The Lady of Shalott" by Tennyson long ago and am familiar with the Pre-Raphaelite paintings about it. Yes, I know Loreena McKinnitt's version. Yes, I like textiles--I sew, quilt, knit. Yes, I sometimes get so caught up in a project that I put dvd after dvd in the player and knit all bloody day. But for God's sake, I know better than to imagine that an extended plot where I freaking knit all day is going to be interesting!
McKillip is unwilling to kill her Lady of Shalott, unlike Tennyson; she wants a happy ending. I get it: I always felt bad that she died. But at least that gives Tennyon's poem some conflict and some resolution. His poem is not actually about her weaving; it's about what happens when she STOPS. McKillip spends WAY too much time on the whole embroidery thing, and her approach to conflict and resolution in this work is an utter failure.
It's not just that there are all these scenes of someone in a tower embroidering. It's that characters who are obsessed with embroidery to the exclusion of everything else are ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND BORING. Then there are all these scenes of some solitary guy riding a horse to a destination, as if recounting a journey so solitary, long, difficult and BORING it saps a character's mental and physical strength is going to make for compelling reading. What on earth was she thinking? There's so little conflict because the characters are so isolated, and when they do encounter each other, it feels artificial and forced. On top of which the plot is so convoluted and impenetrable as to be utterly unsatisfying.
yes, McKillip writes great sentences. But great sentences cannot save such an ill-conceived, BORING failure. Reading it is like being stuck in some god-awful tower. At least there's a simple way out: just close the goddamn book and read something else.
Gah.
McKillip is unwilling to kill her Lady of Shalott, unlike Tennyson; she wants a happy ending. I get it: I always felt bad that she died. But at least that gives Tennyon's poem some conflict and some resolution. His poem is not actually about her weaving; it's about what happens when she STOPS. McKillip spends WAY too much time on the whole embroidery thing, and her approach to conflict and resolution in this work is an utter failure.
It's not just that there are all these scenes of someone in a tower embroidering. It's that characters who are obsessed with embroidery to the exclusion of everything else are ONE-DIMENSIONAL AND BORING. Then there are all these scenes of some solitary guy riding a horse to a destination, as if recounting a journey so solitary, long, difficult and BORING it saps a character's mental and physical strength is going to make for compelling reading. What on earth was she thinking? There's so little conflict because the characters are so isolated, and when they do encounter each other, it feels artificial and forced. On top of which the plot is so convoluted and impenetrable as to be utterly unsatisfying.
yes, McKillip writes great sentences. But great sentences cannot save such an ill-conceived, BORING failure. Reading it is like being stuck in some god-awful tower. At least there's a simple way out: just close the goddamn book and read something else.
Gah.
September 13, 2015
As usual, McKillip's prose is complex, silky, elaborate, and fascinating. Her carefully embroidered and jeweled worlds are a masterpiece in minature. Also as usual, nothing is what it seems-- or that, either. The labyrinthine Escher plot loops around and around itself, circling through time and space in a Arthurian-style country where magic, selkies, embroidery, and baking twine around love, loyalty and honor. The book starts out straightforward enough, hearkening to Tennyson's Lady of Shallot... but the shifting towers of Skye and their bard weave together one man's desire to rescue a queen for his king's sake; another's desire to conquer a king for his land's sake; and a woman hiding magic trapped beneath the pall of widowhood. However, if you don't have the concentration or the patience to get lost in the threads of this elaborate art-- if Diana Wynne Jones' Hexwood baffled you and her Fire and Hemlock left you cold-- this book is not for you.
October 28, 2008
First, let me say that I love Patricia McKillip's writing. I love the way she uses words and somehow manages to make every sentence lovely. And I love the way she often weaves familiar myths and stories into something entirely new.
That said, I really wanted to love this book. There was something of The Lady of Shalott in it: a woman trapped in a tower, embroidering (or weaving) what she sees in her mirror, but unable to look at the world or leave her tower without dying. I was excited to see what McKillip made out of Tennyson's poem. The book starts off wonderfully (I was immediately drawn to the knight Cyan Dag) but toward the middle it starts to stretch out, weaving in sub plots that don't seem necessary. Near the end it felt like there were too many stories clamoring for space within the same book. When everything was revealed and explained at the end, I was disappointed (and disenchanted) with what the lady in the tower turned out to be. I'm still not sure the ends reached by the weaving of the story's goddesses warranted the elaborateness of the scheme that sent Cyan Dag to all those towers.
Basically, the book was a little disappointing–still good–but McKillip has better. I highly recommend The Alphabet of Thorn and the Riddle-Master trilogy to anyone wanting to try another book by her.
That said, I really wanted to love this book. There was something of The Lady of Shalott in it: a woman trapped in a tower, embroidering (or weaving) what she sees in her mirror, but unable to look at the world or leave her tower without dying. I was excited to see what McKillip made out of Tennyson's poem. The book starts off wonderfully (I was immediately drawn to the knight Cyan Dag) but toward the middle it starts to stretch out, weaving in sub plots that don't seem necessary. Near the end it felt like there were too many stories clamoring for space within the same book. When everything was revealed and explained at the end, I was disappointed (and disenchanted) with what the lady in the tower turned out to be. I'm still not sure the ends reached by the weaving of the story's goddesses warranted the elaborateness of the scheme that sent Cyan Dag to all those towers.
Basically, the book was a little disappointing–still good–but McKillip has better. I highly recommend The Alphabet of Thorn and the Riddle-Master trilogy to anyone wanting to try another book by her.
September 13, 2020
Clever, clever, clever. I mean: haunting and dreamlike, in trademark McKillip fashion, yes - but this also has a classic king and a classic knight juxtaposed with an inverted quest. I was not expecting any of this. Inversions - mirrors - things which come in threes - dragons -
I can’t say that all of it makes sense, and something about the mix of haze and calculation doesn’t completely work for me, but the unexpected late arrival of the heroine really does. So four stars. Not the most immersive McKillip, but a very good one nonetheless.
I can’t say that all of it makes sense, and something about the mix of haze and calculation doesn’t completely work for me, but the unexpected late arrival of the heroine really does. So four stars. Not the most immersive McKillip, but a very good one nonetheless.
December 19, 2024
3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
‘They’re beautiful,’ she answered helplessly. ‘Like fragments of stories that I have to piece together to learn where they begin, and how they will end.'
The Tower of Stony Cross is a classic fantasy centered on a quest and reminiscent of Arthurian legends.
It also draws inspiration from The Lady of Shalott and Rapunzel.
While the plot at certain points felt tangled up to me, I still appreciate the beautiful prose and fantastical elements woven into the story.
I did enjoy the twists towards the end! This was the first book I read by Patricia A. McKillip but it certainly won't be my last. I'm excited to explore more from her!
‘They’re beautiful,’ she answered helplessly. ‘Like fragments of stories that I have to piece together to learn where they begin, and how they will end.'
The Tower of Stony Cross is a classic fantasy centered on a quest and reminiscent of Arthurian legends.
It also draws inspiration from The Lady of Shalott and Rapunzel.
While the plot at certain points felt tangled up to me, I still appreciate the beautiful prose and fantastical elements woven into the story.
I did enjoy the twists towards the end! This was the first book I read by Patricia A. McKillip but it certainly won't be my last. I'm excited to explore more from her!
September 3, 2008
There are some Patricia A. McKillip books, the ones with the gorgeous Kinuko Craft covers, that don't have a summary on the back. This used to bother me because how was I going to know if I wanted to read it if I didn't know what it was about? But now, after reading Winter Rose and The Tower at Stony Wood, I understand that it is futile to try to summarize these books. Much as we may wish otherwise, we mere mortals are foreign to Fantasyland, we don't belong there, and we depend on the rare gifted storytellers like McKillip to show it to us. She is one of the most faithful interpreters of Fantasyland, I think, not easing us into the experience by twisting Fantasy into familiar mere-mortal groomed walkways, but showing us the true fairy paths that twist, turn, skip, sing, and turn into dragons if we're willing to follow.
March 10, 2010
This is Patricia McKillip at her most dream-like. . . the prose is lyrical and winds its way through the story, the characters border are more mythic than realistic, and the plot sacrifices rational logic for the logic of fairy tales. Her novels are soap bubbles, frothy and delicate but with magical colors and lights sparking out of them at unexpected moments. This particular novel does not resonate with me quite as strongly as The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, The Sorceress and the Cygnet, or Alphabet of Thorn did, but I still can do nothing but recommend it highly.
December 15, 2024
McKillip is a fine writer, but I found this disjointed and confusing.
April 22, 2023
Characteristically beautiful, ethereal, anf inscrutable work from Mckillip but a bit too inscrutable for me. I appreciate an author who doesn’t underestimate her audience, but this tale consistently lost me, and I wasn't able to invest in any of thr characters. I will revisit this and hopefully find it better. Mckillip is such a wonderful writer and proven favorite I'm inclined to think the problem is me.
June 28, 2025
4.5
Often confusing, but also very beautiful. The ending tied everything together so well!!
Often confusing, but also very beautiful. The ending tied everything together so well!!
December 24, 2019
A knight is sent off on a quest which bifurcates into multiple quests ultimately woven together, I guess the Bard was playing 3-D chess, not regular chess. But it is a rather crowded book, a lot of people, some of greater significance than others but not entirely clear which ones. Like a rather large tapestry, I suppose. But the narrative tells a classic quest, a changling tale, a self-rule rebellion, a gold and dragon quest, a search for magic: a lot to cover. The knight doesn't really solve the quests, to my mind, but is a catalyst to the final conclusion.
November 7, 2012
This book was beautiful and twisting, and the author showed evil and dread very well. But it was a very difficult book to read, too. The language was lovely yet somehow inaccessible, like looking through a frosted mirror. I had a hard time understanding the meanings of sentences sometimes.
That doesn't make much sense, and it's hard to describe. I haven't read anything like it. Like a Magic Eye picture where you have to suspend your disbelief and feel for the meaning instinctually instead of relying on your eyes.
As for the story, it was another brilliant example of storytelling and magic.
That doesn't make much sense, and it's hard to describe. I haven't read anything like it. Like a Magic Eye picture where you have to suspend your disbelief and feel for the meaning instinctually instead of relying on your eyes.
As for the story, it was another brilliant example of storytelling and magic.
January 23, 2018
This is characteristic McKillip--rich prose, numinous swirled with everyday life, a fascination with stories and how they shape us--and yet I think everything it does, a different work of McKillip does better. Worth reading if you're looking for "more, like that," but not an exemplar of her work. I think I would have loved it better had it focused more deeply on Sel and Melanthros; the men of Ysse and their plight never really came alive for me.
July 6, 2020
Brilliance.
McKillip always manages to surprise me with her sometimes very complex novels (Alphabet of Thorn comes to mind), this definitely being one of those. Feels like a modern translation of a medieval/Athurian tale (and made me realize I really have to get around to Lady of Shallot).
McKillip always manages to surprise me with her sometimes very complex novels (Alphabet of Thorn comes to mind), this definitely being one of those. Feels like a modern translation of a medieval/Athurian tale (and made me realize I really have to get around to Lady of Shallot).
August 25, 2022
This was incredible. I had no idea where the ending was going until all the threads started (literally) to piece themselves together. Each character and each piece of the story was perfect and the ending was what I always hope endings of books to be.
March 13, 2022
Exceptional, as we've come to expect. I was saving this last one I hadn't read and it was worth the wait. She takes all the pieces of a typical fantasy story and twists them together to make something new and unexpected and delightful.
March 2, 2012
After having this book and it's gorgeous cover haunt my shelf and memory for years, I finally picked it up and read it all the way through. I won't lie: it was hard going for a while. Its beautiful and haunting but its also very difficult to understand without giving it your undivided attention. It forces you to spellbind yourself, because otherwise you can not appreciate it. There is much of it that is straightforward, but then the rest of it is layered in lyrical and abstract magic so that I often found myself wondering if I knew what I was reading/understanding, just like its hapless hero, Cyan Dag. I felt both helpless and awed at the language and even the power of the story. By the end of it, I felt like him, wanting to cry for no reason, so glad it was all over, but afraid of its ending.
I think the first time I tried to read this I was too young; the abstractions were too vague for me to harness, and there is a bitterness and maturity to this story that would be lost on youth. Not to say that a child can't read it, but I really think this story would have more power over people who have left magic behind.
In the end, that is what the story is about, returning magic to those who have forgotten it, relearning that there is a power in the world that is so much bigger than ourselves and that we may never fully comprehend. When you're a child you understand in your innocence that you are ignorant and its only when you grow older that you forget that awe and wonder and you believe that you know everything, that the world is as limited as your experience of it.
The Tower of Stony Wood reminds you different.
I think the first time I tried to read this I was too young; the abstractions were too vague for me to harness, and there is a bitterness and maturity to this story that would be lost on youth. Not to say that a child can't read it, but I really think this story would have more power over people who have left magic behind.
In the end, that is what the story is about, returning magic to those who have forgotten it, relearning that there is a power in the world that is so much bigger than ourselves and that we may never fully comprehend. When you're a child you understand in your innocence that you are ignorant and its only when you grow older that you forget that awe and wonder and you believe that you know everything, that the world is as limited as your experience of it.
The Tower of Stony Wood reminds you different.
May 7, 2015
I don't have very much to say about The Tower at Stony Wood that I haven't already said about all of the other books I've read by Patricia A. McKillip. Beautiful language, very fairytale-esque, lovely imagery. It didn't really stand out to me in any way, unlike The Bell at Sealey Head which as you may remember I found quite fresh and interesting.
I read this one because I couldn't find any of the books on my reading list at the library and I didn't have time to browse the shelves so I just went looking for books by authors I knew I liked. I WANT TO FIND THE BOOKS ON MY READING LIST. :/
Anyway, the story was actually pretty interesting and exciting, and the characters are strong and likeable--and the book features what I've come to recognize as McKillip's signature LOGIC IS IRRELEVANT (not quite as nonsensical as Douglas Adams, but still with things that happen which make no sense and are not explained even a little)--but I was disappointed by the ending. The plot twist (SPOILERS** the woman in the tower was not the queen, she was the "evil" lady who sent him to rescue the woman in the tower in the first place) was WHOA and I was almost on the edge of my seat to find out what it meant and how it would be resolved, but then it was a huge let down. Because there was really no villain at all. And it just seemed like a really passive and unexciting ending to a book that could have been wonderful.
So yeah... it took me forever to read because I've been really busy finishing up my 9 courses for this term, but I'll be able to read a lot more--and probably write much better reviews--during the Christmas holiday (I get over a month off!!).
I read this one because I couldn't find any of the books on my reading list at the library and I didn't have time to browse the shelves so I just went looking for books by authors I knew I liked. I WANT TO FIND THE BOOKS ON MY READING LIST. :/
Anyway, the story was actually pretty interesting and exciting, and the characters are strong and likeable--and the book features what I've come to recognize as McKillip's signature LOGIC IS IRRELEVANT (not quite as nonsensical as Douglas Adams, but still with things that happen which make no sense and are not explained even a little)--but I was disappointed by the ending. The plot twist (SPOILERS** the woman in the tower was not the queen, she was the "evil" lady who sent him to rescue the woman in the tower in the first place) was WHOA and I was almost on the edge of my seat to find out what it meant and how it would be resolved, but then it was a huge let down. Because there was really no villain at all. And it just seemed like a really passive and unexciting ending to a book that could have been wonderful.
So yeah... it took me forever to read because I've been really busy finishing up my 9 courses for this term, but I'll be able to read a lot more--and probably write much better reviews--during the Christmas holiday (I get over a month off!!).
January 3, 2019
Another leisurely reading... this one reads like a fairytale with a dreamlike atmosphere where nothing is what it seems, where eventually everything falls into place and all dots are connected, but dear Lord what a journey to get there, what perseverance.
First you have to ponder through the philosophical differences of weaving and embroidery, all threads that they are (or so the hero shrugged). At least three story lines are woven together in this book, and you cannot see the whole pattern until you get to the very end. But each scene is well embroidered, with vivid, silky depictions of colours and moods and possibilities.
The hero is a dark-haired knight: quite a beta personality in an alpha casing. The heroine is... who? I was never sure even after the last page. There is this girl, the hero's love interest, but I never got to know her better beyond a name, an occupation and a description of her hair. I cannot root for a person I barely know, so in the end I found myself wishing fervently to the Book Deity (if there's such a thing) to please please please let Cyan fall in love with the other girl(s) instead.
But love is never the point of the book. It really is about having faith and persevering and keep going when there is nothing much to be going for/with, so long as you have the threads of life with you. The writing is a beautiful embroidery and the complex plot is woven to almost-perfection. And the whole thing is like a long, long, long, long dream you're almost thankful to wake up from.
💚
First you have to ponder through the philosophical differences of weaving and embroidery, all threads that they are (or so the hero shrugged). At least three story lines are woven together in this book, and you cannot see the whole pattern until you get to the very end. But each scene is well embroidered, with vivid, silky depictions of colours and moods and possibilities.
The hero is a dark-haired knight: quite a beta personality in an alpha casing. The heroine is... who? I was never sure even after the last page. There is this girl, the hero's love interest, but I never got to know her better beyond a name, an occupation and a description of her hair. I cannot root for a person I barely know, so in the end I found myself wishing fervently to the Book Deity (if there's such a thing) to please please please let Cyan fall in love with the other girl(s) instead.
But love is never the point of the book. It really is about having faith and persevering and keep going when there is nothing much to be going for/with, so long as you have the threads of life with you. The writing is a beautiful embroidery and the complex plot is woven to almost-perfection. And the whole thing is like a long, long, long, long dream you're almost thankful to wake up from.
💚
July 19, 2016
Cyan Dag is a knight of Regis Aurum, King of Yves, and high in his favor through saving his life. But when the king returns with his bride, Cyan sees a dangerous, magical woman, and learns that the true bride is prisoner in a tower, where she can not look out without dying.
Thayne Ysse's brother was crippled in their last fight with Regis Aurum, and his father has gone mad, calling Thayne by the name of his own brother, and trying to persuade Thayne to go to a dragon's towers and get the gold to enable them to fight him again.
Melanthos goes to the tower in Stony Wood and embroiders. She sees the woman described to Cyan in a mirror, and all her embroideries are whipped away. Though her widowed mother Sel starts to go there as well, and never come out.
The first two set out, and the stories begin to interwine in a tale of numerous towers, three magical sisters, and McKillip's usual gorgeous prose. Also bandits and seals and a bakery.
Thayne Ysse's brother was crippled in their last fight with Regis Aurum, and his father has gone mad, calling Thayne by the name of his own brother, and trying to persuade Thayne to go to a dragon's towers and get the gold to enable them to fight him again.
Melanthos goes to the tower in Stony Wood and embroiders. She sees the woman described to Cyan in a mirror, and all her embroideries are whipped away. Though her widowed mother Sel starts to go there as well, and never come out.
The first two set out, and the stories begin to interwine in a tale of numerous towers, three magical sisters, and McKillip's usual gorgeous prose. Also bandits and seals and a bakery.
September 16, 2011
I picked this one up because I remember reading her "Magical Beasts of Eld" a number of years ago and loving it. I liked this book too, but not as much as some others on this list. Without trying to write a spoiler, let me just say I found the dual identities and manipulations of the characters rather confusing by the end. Other than that, it was very beautifully written, and family-friendly. One thing I must say I liked about this book is that one of the characters (not the main one) who made a self-discovery about her magical self and turned out to be something of a heroine by the end was a middle-aged woman with grown children. With the fantasy genre being replete with teenage and twenty-something heroes and heroines, it is nice as a middle-aged woman myself to have a middle-aged heroine. I will probably seek out some other of McKillip's books to read. Recommended for young people.
November 29, 2012
Very very very loosely associated with the poem The Lady of Shallot. I guess I was expecting more of that story to be a bigger part of this one, especially given the dedication. Either way, it was engaging at first and like others have said a little drawn out in the middle and towards the end you're thinking "NO! Please not another digression story!" or, at least that's what I thought. It didn't necessarily flow terrifically but I think that was the intent to experience similar confusion as the knight. I will say she made the confusion so good that you really didn't begin to see the point until the last 20 pages. Decided to finish it and although the identity and reason of the woman in the tower was a bit of a disappointment it was a somewhat clever twist I suppose. I liked it enough to try reading some of her other stuff!
June 13, 2016
The Tower at Stony Wood is a beautiful written fairy tale. It is about a knight that is sent on a quest to save a lady in a tower. But there are many magical towers in the land and during his quest to save the mysterious lady he finds a castle full of gold guarded by a dragon and another with a older woman and her daughter that are creating mysterious cloth and needlework as they observe the outside world in a magical mirror. The story of his quest and the magical castles eventually come together in a satisfying conclusion, although not the obvious one. McKillip creates beautiful imagery with words. The novel has a magical dreamlike feeling as the reader is drawn into the knight's quest. I definitely recommend this to readers that enjoy magical fairy tales.
January 22, 2020
Ouf, I just love McKillip's writing so. much. I love how there's always a puzzle or a mystery or something to put together, slowly revealing itself as the book unfolds. I love her descriptions, her use of metaphor, the way she shows people's characters and thoughts by tiny gestures and moments. I love how I am often surprised and delighted by twists and turns of plot, the way she turns tropes and myths and legends to her own fresh uses. This book was no exception to these traits, and I recommend. Strong family relationships, loyalty, strong men and strong women, strong echoes of the Lady of Shalott and Arthurian legend in general, but with the humanity of the characters shining through at all times; a win.
May 11, 2017
I enjoyed this book very much. I don't think it's the authors best book, but nonetheless it was quite a good read. This author is so good at immediately pulling the reader into the atmosphere of her story. I love the fairy tale feeling that her books invoke. Her writing style is unique and when I started reading McKillip's books I found it somewhat difficult to understand what was sometimes happening in the story. I liked all of the side characters. And I liked the conclusion although I would have liked Cyan to have had more of the book devoted to him. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the fantasy.
February 26, 2022
Several plot threads, which makes the story a little convoluted, but in the end you discover, along with Cyan Dag the hero, that all those threads contribute necessary bits to the resolution. As always, gorgeously written.
2/25/2022 - I find that I enjoy this book more, and understand the story better, with each re-reading. This is not surprising, since McKillip's novels are so multi-layered, and there are always, except perhaps in her earliest novels, multiple points of view. But life, and people, are multi-faceted and tangled.
2/25/2022 - I find that I enjoy this book more, and understand the story better, with each re-reading. This is not surprising, since McKillip's novels are so multi-layered, and there are always, except perhaps in her earliest novels, multiple points of view. But life, and people, are multi-faceted and tangled.
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