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briannaorrell's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sonanomander's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this less than I thought I would, and kind of dragged my feet to finish it. It's about a prince grieving over lost his wife and kids (never elaborated), a princess of a magical country forced in a political marriage with that prince so they wouldn't be invaded, a wizard's scribe whose POV seemed inconsequential in the end, and a wizard who seemed to jump back and forth between being the villain and supporting character.
There's also the witch with a Baba Yaga hut which was pretty cool. It ended up feeling comically cyclical because at first meeting the witch seemed to be a harbinger of doom, but every character would keep visiting her hut to the point she became this annoyed old lady in the woods.
There's also this whole thing about the firebird I didn't really get. Only found out it was based on a Slavic fairytale after finishing the book. Still flies over my head but oh well.
I read McKillip for her prose, but it seems less magical for this novel.
There's also the witch with a Baba Yaga hut which was pretty cool. It ended up feeling comically cyclical because at first meeting the witch seemed to be a harbinger of doom, but every character would keep visiting her hut to the point she became this annoyed old lady in the woods.
There's also this whole thing about the firebird I didn't really get. Only found out it was based on a Slavic fairytale after finishing the book. Still flies over my head but oh well.
I read McKillip for her prose, but it seems less magical for this novel.
lilyevangeline's review against another edition
3.0
"Some days you battle yourself and other monsters. Some days you just make soup."
It seems to me that Patricia McKillip managed to fit more excellent characterization in under 300 pages than many authors manage in a 3 book series. Felt like Shakespeare meets Russian Folklore in a fully realized, wide and expansive world full of villians who aren't villians, scribes who dream of saving the world but settle for simply writing down an old man's tales, tired old wizards who are afraid of their pasts, and so much more than just a story about a prince who gets lost in the woods and a princess in a strange new land.
amberlinn's review against another edition
5.0
Wow wow wow! This is my first McKillip book and it won’t be my last. Her writing is lyrical, mystical, poetic. This was fantasy wrapped in folk tales. Strong Baba Yaga vibes and a tale rooted in the earth. I devoured this book on one day and was so swept up in the story, I didn’t even know where I was half the time. I can’t wait to read some more from this author.
alle_kat97's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
szuum's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
linneahedvig's review against another edition
3.0
I've had this sitting on my shelf for years, but sometimes it takes me awhile to get into McKillip books. I love them, though, because they seem so dreamy. I'm not sure what it is, it's not like her characters have no emotion or that they're two dimensional. Maybe they're just two dimensional in that nice dream-fairytale kind of way. Not sure. But all of McKillip's books seem so beautiful in retrospect, even though I can hardly remember what they were about, I remember bits, like a dream. Bits from this book: a firebird floating through a forest, a castle at the top of a waterfall, bees buzzing in golden hair, a monster coming out of a book . . . it was good.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
5.0
Usually I try for something more intelligible than a burble of awestruck cussing, but sweet pants, this book was well wrought. I dunno what to say, other than go read it, and maybe read it a second time. It's worth both of those and a third as well.
daphnefallz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5