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The Gift

(The Books of Pellinor #1)

Alison Croggon (Goodreads Author)

4.01 · Rating details · 22,825 ratings · 1,471 reviews

Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful gift, a gift that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. Now ...more

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Paperback, 494 pages

Published May 3rd 2004 by Walker Books (first published January 1st 2002)

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4.01 ·

Rating details

· 22,825 ratings · 1,471 reviews

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Mar 08, 2008 Hope rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, read-aloud-to-benjamin

I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading the next book. It is a fairly standard fantasy story - orphan is rescued from a horrible life and is found to be the holder of great power and the possible savior of the nation/world. There are bad guys and treachery and so on. It is a bit uneven in places and there is a bit more repetition that I would like, but otherwise quite good.

My biggest quibble is not with the book but with the many reviewers, here and elsewhere, who compare it to ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, high-fantasy, organic-fantasy, the-great-fantasy-road-trip, pretty-green-cover, how-very-original, imported-from-australia, as-it-began, because-magic

Remember when authors talked about landscapes, and you could tell that they might have actually stepped outside once or twice in their lives?

Remember when the male lead and the female lead in a YA book were allowed to develop a strong friendship and partnership, and any romance was left for the later books in the series?

Remember when male characters admired the beauty of female characters but didn’t act like pigs about it?

Remember when not every YA novel featured a love triangle?

I remember two s ...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Ryan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 09, 2007 Alice rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 23, 2016 Kerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A great read, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have gone straight onto Book 2 in the series.
A tale of a young woman rescued from slavery, who is found to be someone special with hidden talents. Her rescuer helps her find out who she is and to develop her skills and talents. Their journey is arduous, thrilling and fraught with danger at times.
A thrilling magical fantasy story and a great start to the series.

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Nov 13, 2008 Debbie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

This book is very slow paced. Most of it is a travel log of the scenery, and the level of detail is much more than is needed. Any potential tension is completely lost in these sections.

I didn't feel like I knew or understood the world very well by the end. We're told a great deal about the landscape, a bunch of intricate but insignificant objects (furniture, etc.), and some ancient history, but very little about the current history and politics which are supposedly driving the character's action ...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Becky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

I truly loved reading this book, and I re-read it constantly. The plot is teased out through out the book in an expert manner with characters that are believable and loveable. With so many twists and revelations it would be easy for a lesser writer to waver, and yet The Naming (or The Gift as I know it in the UK) is an amazing work of fiction which captures my imagination and heart every time I read it.
A once slave is liberated from her morbid life and thrown head first into a battle between go ...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Kumakani rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone really into high fantasy

Recommended to Kumakani by: Good reviews

I admit, I kind of judged a book by its cover with this one. The cover art was pretty and the spine design was also pretty. The blurb on the back cover made the book sound intriguing and I went home and read reviews. The reviews for this book were mostly positive, so I thought, "Hey, why not?"

POTENTIAL SPOILERS. READ AT OWN RISK.

In a word, this book is: boring. So extremely slow-going. The book clocks in at nearly 500 pages. While fantasy is known for its longer books, I've read some books where I admit, I kind of judged a book by its cover with this one. The cover art was pretty and the spine design was also pretty. The blurb on the back cover made the book sound intriguing and I went home and read reviews. The reviews for this book were mostly positive, so I thought, "Hey, why not?"

POTENTIAL SPOILERS. READ AT OWN RISK.

In a word, this book is: boring. So extremely slow-going. The book clocks in at nearly 500 pages. While fantasy is known for its longer books, I've read some books where the 500-page length is pulled off well and seems justified. But at least 50 or so pages could have been cut without losing any essential plot. Too many unnecessary scenes and details. We are treated to a description of nearly every landscape the characters come across. We learn about many different traditions different cultures had. While it helped with the world-building and created a storng fictional world, I think some of this information could have been conveyed without an info-dump. As an extra bonus, readers also get a scene describing Maerad's first period! Fun! >.<

The characters weren't very interesting. Maerad was okay at first, but she quickly became a cliche "Chosen One." She was also very whiny. Yes, she's sixteen, but she became annoyingly whiny.

Cadvan seemed like a typical Gandalf/Obi-Wan/Dumbledore mentor. While not unlikable or annoying like Maerad, he simply didn't feel original or interesting.

I liked Hem's character. While his whole (view spoiler) was completely predictable, he was still one of the most interesting and well-rounded characters in the book.

One thing that bothered me was how the whole "Chosen One" thing played out. While it was blatantly obvious that Maerad was the Chosen One(since no good fantasy book was ever about the Non-Chosen One), it was handled poorly. Cadvan spends most of the book speculating that Maerad might be the Chosen One and then it's revealed that she is. It was anti-climatic. We all ready knew she was going to be the Chosen One. It wasn't a moment of, "Oh, cool!" It was a moment of, "'Kay, I knew that all ready. Can we move on now?"

The writing style in this book was okay. I've read Croggon is a poet and it shows. She definitely wrote some very beautiful descriptions and lines in this book and the poetry was, for once, not painfully cheesy. However, she would sometimes get waaay too into the whole Ye Old Medieval Tymes talka and it got annoying.

Overall, The Naming is not a book I recommend. It was slow-going, plodding, and lacked likable characters. ...more

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Nov 20, 2012 C.L. Walker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, young-adult, scifi-fantasy

I LOVED these books. If I could give them 10 stars, I would. The writing was BEAUTIFUL. I have never felt so at home in a book before as I felt in these. Rich, vibrant descriptions and characters and amazing story!!

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May 17, 2012 Allison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, own-ebook, series-complete, series-i-finished, favorites, 5-stars, first-in-series, favorite-series, potential-re-read

The Naming is a traditional style fantasy with many familiar fantasy elements that are regardless fresh (to my mind), although others might not think so. This is an epic tale of the sort that made me love fantasy in the first place, and I can't say I mind the nostalgia for classic fantasy that this familiarity evokes.

In many ways it did remind me of the LOTR - in the formal tone of the language, the songs, the descriptions of nature (particularly woods), the mood that presses in on you from the The Naming is a traditional style fantasy with many familiar fantasy elements that are regardless fresh (to my mind), although others might not think so. This is an epic tale of the sort that made me love fantasy in the first place, and I can't say I mind the nostalgia for classic fantasy that this familiarity evokes.

In many ways it did remind me of the LOTR - in the formal tone of the language, the songs, the descriptions of nature (particularly woods), the mood that presses in on you from the memories of the land itself, the rising conflict between Light and Dark, the travels through often-hostile countryside, and the havens full of light and wonder that break up the danger and darkness of the journey.

These are all aspects of the LOTR that I love, and while reading The Naming, I relished that feeling which I have found is rare in other fantasy. Actually, I can't really think of anything that has so pleasantly reminded me of Tolkien's work in tone and description before. I especially love the juxtaposition of light and darkness throughout the book - danger, injury, and low spirits are contrasted with the growth of new friendship, the opportunity to rest, eat and bathe, and to take in some of the beauty of the world. I quickly grow tired of fantasy that focuses mainly on the dark. Here we also have light, and not just a sliver of it.

All of that said, this is enough its own story not to be a Tolkien ripoff. The feeling and tone is there, but the plot itself is completely different. First of all, the story focuses on a girl, and the storytelling also feels more personal, dealing with her emotions and internal struggles.

It starts out with Maerad, a slave-girl, who is discovered and rescued by a bard, Cadvan (bards are mages). The rest of the book reveals who she is, and why the Dark and the Light care who she is. It deals with her struggles to find her sense of self when everything she knows has been completely turned upside down. She must learn to read, to fight, to trust, to discern whom not to trust, and to control the magic that she's not even aware she has. The only constant in her life is her music.

In the midst of Maerad's attempts to adjust to a new life, the Dark is already ahead of her and all around her, attempting to stop her before she realizes her power and finds her purpose. She is protected and guided by Cadvan, who is also trying to figure out who she really is before it's too late. There are prophecies, dreams, and visions. There is a sense of urgency, of time running out. There is betrayal, and there is loyalty.

It's a lot of fun to read. In short, I loved it, and I've already started the second book.
...more

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Jun 06, 2008 Marya rated it it was ok

Shelves: teen-fantasy

The pace is not too slow, but not too quick. The characters are not too bland, but not too unique. The writing is good but not great. But instead of being the baby bear of fantasy novels, this one ended up being very run of the mill. I felt like I'd read the story before (the danger of reading too much in one genre), with nothing in this book making it really stand out. I eventually got bored with it and stopped reading about two thirds through.

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Jan 31, 2009 Mekerei rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in ar. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful Gift, a Gift that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. Now, she and her teacher Cadvn must survive a perilous journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with st ...more

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Dec 30, 2016 Harkeerat of the Apollo Cabin rated it really liked it

4.5!
I greatly loved reading this one, I kept it on hold for a little while, but now I'm glad I decided to finished it!
Now, this is what I call High Fantasy!
“There is no shame in not knowing something,” he said gently. “The shame is in not being willing to learn.”
Wow....just wow!
We follow our protagonist, Maerad, a very helpless slave desperately trying to stay alive in the world of evil, with lovely hidden talents. Then comes Cadvan, who's character is the most inspiring in the entire book! He ...more

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Mar 01, 2013 honeybee rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: teenagers

Shelves: 2013-reads, tried-and-abandoned, reviewed

Not only was I seduced by the pretty uk version cover of this book (which i listened to in a pricey audio format) but it came highly recommend, so I really wanted to like this book and its fair to say I did like this book...
but only for a little while.

I liked this book very much at the start. The setting in particular. One cant help but wonder how our young Maerad, will escape and what clever way she will find to do so. I found myself imagining the slave settlement a bit like the setting in the Not only was I seduced by the pretty uk version cover of this book (which i listened to in a pricey audio format) but it came highly recommend, so I really wanted to like this book and its fair to say I did like this book...
but only for a little while.

I liked this book very much at the start. The setting in particular. One cant help but wonder how our young Maerad, will escape and what clever way she will find to do so. I found myself imagining the slave settlement a bit like the setting in the 90's Amiga 500 game- "another world" But meh - that's how geeks roll.

My first disappointment was the escape scene. I Can't help but feel it could of been done in a more dramatic way, with more imagination. A man puts a spell on her and she’s invisible and just walks out? com'on." I didn't expect shawshank but surely something a bit more compelling could of been thought up of? Even the dogs, who could of at least then added the thrill of the chase got closed down just as it got...well er thrilling?
I Would loved to of scene the author really show us something with more depth, or with a bit more edge. Perhaps she does later on in the book? But I didn't find out as around 30% in to the book I stopped, and put it down. I couldn't finish it.

Another negative which is reserved only for the audiobook was the narrator, who did a fine job until they started singing! how did they get this gig when part of the story is all about singing? couldn't they of got a second voice over in for those parts from a gifted songstress? its really did take some of the authenticity away from the story since much of a bards power comes from an outstanding singing voice.

Getting back to the story, I found it very unoriginal - "Yawn. You are the chosen one. You happen to own the most priceless musical bard equipment that only legend talks of... (That hasn't been noticed or stolen before) blar blar, You've saved the life of you mentor twice already even though he's much more experienced/wiser then you & all without any effort because your gift is of such power...and after that point?
Now guessing but... don't tell me! She saves the world? The end? Job done.

Sigh.

...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Ryan rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Naming is from the "coming of age" genre, but is more the "I've gotten through puberty and now am trying to figure out who I am and it would be easier if I were someone magical or famous or something other than I am now". I suppose it is a book of self-discovery, though that isn't quite right either.

The story is fairly straightforward and Potterian. Maerad is an orphan slave girl with some unusual qualities that have kept her from being victimized as most of the young female slaves are. The ...more

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May 03, 2014 Rusty's Ghost Engine (also known as.......... Jinky Spring) rated it liked it

Shelves: high-fantasy, horses-or-animals, potential-to-go-big

2.5 stars

This one's going to be a tough one to review!

This book was very well written with incredible world building and even an appendix at the back explaining the history of the world further. Which I liked as I always love to get into a good fantasy world, but I felt things could have been edited down a bit. Like the descriptions, I felt this book described non-magical everyday situations in far too much detail when only a brief description was needed. I also felt the characters could have h ...more

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Aug 04, 2015 Catherine Ford rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book had a very old-fashioned feel to it. By that I mean it was written in a similar fashion to Lord of the Rings. I quite enjoyed it. Full review to come!

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Nov 30, 2011 Shoujo85 rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: gave-up-on, quick-review

** This is just a QUICK REVIEW of my thoughts on the book **

Largely boring and very typical: orphan girl of mysterious parentage discovers she has magical powers, is shunned by her peers, goes on a journey with traveling mage/warrior and lives at his house. Maybe not quite exactly, but I remember it was very cliché, largely uninteresting and the journey went on FOREVER (“look at this tree, there's another tree, oh see another tree”). Gave it up as not worth reading; couldn't understand why every ...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Jonathan Terrington rated it really liked it

Shelves: favourite-series, fantasy, favourites

This was an interesting series to me when I read it. It contained intriguing characters and despite having been set in the YA fiction section it read more like it was targeted at a slightly older readership. Its monsters, its world, its villains and its prophecies were like The Lord of the Rings but were their own creature.

I still remember the creatures that were so well described. And the idea of how the titular character's gift worked was fascinating compared to magic systems I've encountered ...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Nafiza rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, author-australian, books-i-own, signed, read-2016

https://thebookwars.wordpress.com/201...

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Mar 07, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing, fantasy, old-school-wednesdays, young-adult

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

Ana’s take:

I’d seen The Naming around Goodreads and was intrigued by it but not enough to actually pick it up. I was glad when this showed up in the OSW recommendations.

The Naming was a weird book for me to read. It had tons of potential: tropes and scenarios I am familiar and comfortable with plus the fact that the main character was a girl (when often boys happen to be Chosen Ones). But I had a really hard time with the book because it was so boring and ...more

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Mar 31, 2018 Alicia Huxtable rated it really liked it · review of another edition

While I enjoyed this book, I found it didn't hold my attention like I thought it would. The story was great, the characters were well written but in places it felt like the book dragged a bit. I know that occasionally it needed to so the finger details could be intended with the story but the are the parts where my attention waned. Still a good book and I will continue the rest of the series

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Dec 25, 2008 Shaun Duke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Naming is the beginning of Alison Croggon's well received Books of the Pellinor, a young adult fantasy trilogy centered around the land of Edil-Amarandh. Reading through the appendices reveals that Edil-Amarandh precedes Atlantis as a mythical continent that simply disappeared (presumably, of course, this is all Croggon's creation, but at least it's an interesting way to bring the Books of the Pellinor to the real world). As the first book in a trilogy it does a fine job establishing the plo The Naming is the beginning of Alison Croggon's well received Books of the Pellinor, a young adult fantasy trilogy centered around the land of Edil-Amarandh. Reading through the appendices reveals that Edil-Amarandh precedes Atlantis as a mythical continent that simply disappeared (presumably, of course, this is all Croggon's creation, but at least it's an interesting way to bring the Books of the Pellinor to the real world). As the first book in a trilogy it does a fine job establishing the plot and the world, giving us a clear view of all the basic things we need to know in order to continue through the second and third books.

The Naming follows Maerad, a slave girl with an extraordinary musical talent who accidentally discovers a man named Cadvan. Except, she's not supposed to be able to see through Cadvan's spell-induced invisibility...unless she is a bard like him. It soon becomes clear that Maerad is more than just a lowly slave girl and outside of her prison she finds that darkness is returning to Edil-Amarandh and the brief glimpse of joy she had after having escaped will be short lived indeed.

Croggon is quite the world builder, to say the least. Edil-Amarandh is almost as richly detailed as Tolkien's Middle Earth. That's saying something here. Few books can have that sort of detail and succeed; Croggon's novel passes with flying colors on this front. Everything from the lay of the land to the hierarchy of the bards, even a little on the personal aspects of characters one might not expect in a book in the first place; all these things are delved into by Croggon so we get a good sense of what this place is like. There's a good amount of dialogue and narrative devoted to establishing this world and for the most part it works.

The characters in this novel are fairly easy to be sympathetic towards. This is a young adult novel, yet it reads very much like a novel meant for adults. Maerad, however, does deal with issues of pertinence to the teenage community, particularly issues of "growing up" (as a woman, mind you) and coming into her new found power, whilst dealing with the past she never knew. Cadvan acts the part of mentor, in a way, but has a fair amount of depth to take him over the hump from the cliche.

It should also be mentioned that Croggon's narrative style is stunning. She writes with superb skill, which I find tremendously refreshing in this modern age of commercial fantasy. Her prose is beautiful and alluring, fluid and surprisingly poetic. It's not perfect, but she certainly can weave a good sentence.

I had two problems with Croggon's writing in this novel. The first was the seeming necessity for dialogue that reads somewhat Shakespearean (though, thankfully, not so Shakespearean that I wanted to drop the book). The second problem was the very obvious "Tolkien" feel. The names and even certain elements of the world itself feel almost as if they were lifted right out of Lord of the Rings. I doubt this was intentional. It wasn't enough to prevent me from finishing the story (it's an entertaining read after all), but it should be noted nonetheless. I think one thing that could be improved is injecting a deeper and more creative feel to Edil-Amarandh.

Other issues were the slightly simplistic plot line, particularly where Croggon tried to be rather clever in regards to a riddle, only I saw through it almost immediately. Perhaps there are strange twists in the next two books, however, that make my current assumptions quite wrong (I actually hope so, because I like being proved wrong in fantasy). We'll see. Also, I'd hope that in future books there is less of Cadvan telling Maerad things. I get that the characters are bards, who are known for telling tales and what not, but he doesn't have to explain in great detail everything. Some things can be left for Maerad to discover (or perhaps Maerad could learn them by furthering her interests in the subject of lore).

Overall, the novel was actually quite good. It was entertaining, dealt with some tough issues that I've not seen done well in fantasy, or anything for that matter (particularly certain things with Maerad, which I won't spoil here, as you should read the book to understand). I did enjoy the richness and depth of her world, despite some flaws I saw with it. I am quite fond of fantasy that is capable of making a world feel lived in, as opposed to just randomly created so the author could write a novel. Croggon gives me the impression that she didn't create this world overnight, or even over a year. It feels like a decade in the making. Maerad is a great character to center on, too, and I found myself deeply interested in what happened to her. To add, the action and pacing were relatively flawless. Basically, this is a darn good book for fantasy readers young and old. It's a great introduction for younger folks who find Tolkien's windy prose too "classic" feeling, and a welcome treat for adult readers looking for something with a little classic adventure with depth. ...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Lindsay Stares rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

Premise: Girl has never known anything but the life of a slave. when a mysterious man claiming to be a Bard offers to take her away to a new life, she leaves without another thought.

Urgh. This is only sort of a review. I didn't finish this book. I was skeptical from the start, when the prose lurched awkwardly between too cliche and too purple. The mixed metaphors made me wince.

“Freedom was a fantasy she gnawed obsessively in her few moments of leisure, like an old bone with just a trace of meat Premise: Girl has never known anything but the life of a slave. when a mysterious man claiming to be a Bard offers to take her away to a new life, she leaves without another thought.

Urgh. This is only sort of a review. I didn't finish this book. I was skeptical from the start, when the prose lurched awkwardly between too cliche and too purple. The mixed metaphors made me wince.

“Freedom was a fantasy she gnawed obsessively in her few moments of leisure, like an old bone with just a trace of meat, and like all illusions, it left her hungrier than before, only more keenly aware of how her soul starved within her, its wings wasting with the despair of disuse.”

I was having trouble putting my finger on what bothered me at first. It seemed okay for a while, I mean. Well until the characters luck into a crazy unbelievably perfect under mountain passage to a magically perfectly timed meeting of ridiculously good wizards, I'm sorry, Bards, (only they’re really wizards/elves because they love life! and they love music! and they love the world! yay!) and she immediately is super special and heir to mysterious powers and fated to be important and starts remembering her infant time in an impossibly good city of impossibly talented people. That...started to bug me. Sure there are suspicious characters working against the self-evidently good protagonists, and she sucks at swordplay, but the impression of unending wish-fulfillment was too hard to shake.

I just didn’t connect to her at all. The narration kept saying things about her like ‘she had never had a bath before’ and yet she never ever acted like that person. There was a evil bad guy who was obviously coming back, and yet, I didn’t care. I just had to stop, finally.

Plus if I wanted to read a badly disguised reworking of Tolkien I have other options. It was when Cadvan mentioned that his horse was from a race of magic horses and had come to his call that I had to put the book down and move on to something else before I flung my Kindle at something. There's just not enough hours in the day for truly boring books. ...more

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Jul 28, 2008 Sheena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter

I found this book by chance at the university book store and cannot express how happy I am that I did! I have been craving a good series since the end of Harry Potter and this book definitely got me hooked.

This is a fantasy/adventure novel that reminds me in many ways of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. However in this series you have the young Bard, Maerad, as the heroine who follows the classic plot line of a "diamond in the rough" destined to save her world from the utter destruction of the Nam ...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Jillian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Basically every fantasy owes its existence to Lord of the Rings, but some take it to a whole new level. The Naming is straight up LOTR with Chosen One plot. Most of the characters and settings have direct parallels to LOTR, and not even in the archetype-way. You can say that Dumbledore and Gandalf fill the same mold, but Lady Ardina and Galadriel are the same person. Also Hulls are Black Riders. And Nameless One? Psssshhhaw his name is Sauron. And Cadvan's past comes beat for beat from Wizard of ...more

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Aug 22, 2008 Beckett rated it liked it · review of another edition

The Naming has some great adventure and I like the characters, though they're not as developed as I'd like. It felt like this book was more of an introduction to the coming books, a setting of the scene introducing the many characters and the conflict. It's a sloooow-moving book, to be sure.
Nice vocabulary but an overuse of exclamation points! And you know how I am biased towards those who overuse exclamation points! This is a book for adolescents... I wonder how well it goes over with them. The ...more

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Feb 06, 2019 Olivia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

WELL.

This, folks, is a specimen of what I believe is termed 'high fantasy'; and like most high fantasy of the twenty-first century, it seems to pretty much be a rip-off of Tolkien. HOWEVER, this is a really good rip-off of Tolkien, so . . . I'll take it. ;)

Was it absolutely flawless? No. Were the similarities to Middle-earth always well-disguised? No. (I, mean, "Star of Evening"?! Is it even worthwhile to try, at that point?!) Was the style of dialogue always consistent? No. Was it always well-p ...more

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Oct 21, 2017 Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

This is such a detailed high fantasy that could've been too dense for me if the writing was different. I really liked this author's writing. it just flowed so well for me.

I know some of the politics, relationships and magic went over my head so I'll have to reread it once I pick up the sequels. I think this book and most other fantasies use very similar tropes (orphaned slave who thinks brother is dead) but I didn't find myself rolling my eyes or anything. I did laugh though when she used the " ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 Sarah Windsor rated it liked it · review of another edition

I think this story is a conversation with Tolkien, as though the author read LOTR and thought about what she disagreed with and what she loved. It's an interesting conversation. I like Maerad's sullen mistrust and fear of intimacy. I like Cadvan's dark past. The story feels shallow though, for all its length, in a way a lot of YA can feel to me. The narnia books feel oversimplified, for example, reading them as an adult. Young me would have eaten this up.

The prose is beautiful. The characters ar ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Three young adult books about a kid that has to play a certain song to become free/break a curse. [s]	6	38	Oct 18, 2018 11:01PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Fiction (adventure/magic) teen girl slave leaves her home with mysterious traveler and gets trained in magic [s]	4	30	Apr 10, 2018 12:27AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Fantasy - Young Girl in Mountain Village Goes on Adventure w/Older Guy/Guard/Mentor? [s]	3	20	Dec 31, 2017 11:17PM
What's the Name o...: solved it was the pellinor series [s]	1	19	Jun 28, 2014 04:33PM
if this were made in to a movie would it be better then harry potter	18	82	Jan 04, 2014 04:06AM
What's the Name o...: Story with a powerful mage girl and a harp. [s]	5	46	Nov 19, 2013 08:50AM

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About Alison Croggon

Alison Croggon

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Alison Croggon is the award winning author of the acclaimed fantasy series The Books of Pellinor. You can sign up to her monthly newsletter and receive a free Pellinor story at alisoncroggon.com

Her most recent book is Fleshers, the first in a dazzling new SF series co-written with her husband, acclaimed playwright Daniel Keene. Her latest Pellinor book, The Bone Queen, was a 2016 Aurealis Awards B ...more