A review by stelladallas
Riddle-Master: The Complete Trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I'd like to read this again, because there's a lot here, to like but I just didn't really click with it. I enjoy her later work more. The dialogue here is a little heavy-handed and stilted; and although I like that the second book focuses on the women, it's frustrating that it basically retreads the first. But it feels weird to complain about such a great author because I know the next fantasy I read is probably not going to be at her level. And I still think she's one of my favourite authors purely in terms of ideas-- like, the premises and concepts she comes up with alone are so fascinating to me.

It's funny-- in her own introduction, she basically says "I'm not crazy about this looking back and I wish I had done things in my own way." You can definitely feel the weight of genre influence on the book, and it is cool to see how she evolved towards her own style.

Also the repetitive names drove me a little nuts. Morgon, Morgol, Hel, Hed-- enuf!!