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The Riddle-Master of Hed (Riddle-Master, #1)

Patricia A. McKillip

Start date: April 1, 2019

Finish date: April 30, 2019

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What Members Thought

Sep 02, 2008 Jim rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1paper, fantasy, sword-sorcery, 2fiction, 3series, favorites

2019 Review It's been a long time since I reread this. I have a lot of fond memories & found it quite good again, although I really like more realism in my novels now. This is an epic fantasy, quite lyrical in nature. It's more like a complex fairy tale & beautiful in that way. If you like that sort of thing, this is a 5 star read that I can't recommend highly enough.

Unfortunately, I seem to have become a grump. A farmer who has that much of a problem with death? Bacon doesn't grow at the stor 2019 Review It's been a long time since I reread this. I have a lot of fond memories & found it quite good again, although I really like more realism in my novels now. This is an epic fantasy, quite lyrical in nature. It's more like a complex fairy tale & beautiful in that way. If you like that sort of thing, this is a 5 star read that I can't recommend highly enough.

Unfortunately, I seem to have become a grump. A farmer who has that much of a problem with death? Bacon doesn't grow at the store & butchering Snogg's pigs had to be a regular chore plus he hunted. Well, I guess the Quakers were similar. Still, it rankled.

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, a really big reveal that rocked me back on my heels, & then it ends. Ugh! MUST READ THE NEXT BOOK NOW! Thankfully, I have the full trilogy now. I didn't the first time through. Be warned. Get all 3 books before starting the first & read in order.

Original review from when I joined GR in 2007 I last read this book some time ago, but have reread it a couple of times. McKillip captured me with this book immediately because I just loved the hero. In the first few pages, she draws him so well & in such a novel way that just tickled me. (view spoiler) plus... No, I won't put that here, even under a spoiler tag. Let's just say there is a LOT more to him than meets the eye at first, just as there is to the story.

And there are riddles. I don't particularly care for riddles, but they worked well here, as did the harps. Yeah, hackneyed harps in a S&S world, but the two together, along with a quest & love & destinies foretold in the stars (maybe, if things worked out) all came together under McKillip's beautiful writing to create a wonderful epic story, but be prepared to read the trilogy.

If I have any complaint at all with these books it's that they do NOT stand alone well at all. You need to read them in order & have the next one ready or you may just dissolve into a puddle of frustration. I almost did. I read the first one before I joined the Army & the second one sometime later, but I think I was married with children before I finally got a hold of the third one & got to figure out what happened. I don't recommend doing that if you can help it. ...more

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Jan 21, 2008 Jeffrey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2008, re-read

I reread this book again to see how it holds up and it definitely is still one of the best fantasy novels (and part of one of the best fantasy trilogies out there. McKillip sets the stage for the trilogy with a spare style refreshing in this age of overblown epic fantasies. There is just the mystery of who is the Star bearer, why does he have enemies, what is his mission.

Morgan the hero is a the lord of Hed, a small island in the Land known for its peace. He is also the solver of riddles and cur ...more

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