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A review by saoki
Riddle-Master by Patricia A. McKillip
5.0
It's easy to understand why this is considered one of the fantasy classics. Patricia McKillip weaves an epic story of lyrical beauty, with high stakes, passionate characters, such vivid scenes and so much emotion, I believe some of the images will live forever in my mind.
Absolutely recommended.
An aside:
I guess every SF book builds on top of other stories, but I find it an special treat to see where an author might have gone "oh, that's not how I'd done it". The Riddle-Master trilogy really feels like a series that got Patrick Rothfuss thinking the question that became The Kingkiller Chronicles, as much as The Amber Chronicles feel like a series that got Neil Gaiman thinking about Sandman (in both cases, the authors have recommended those books, so I'm not pulling this out of the aether).
I, on the other hand, am too much a child of my times and country. Where Mr. Rothfuss saw the name of the wind being lovingly harped, I saw an extremely unequal society with no mobility whatsoever, demonized rebels and a supreme power that abhors destruction but has no qualms with destroying those who oppose it. I kept wanting to know who those rebels were, why did they make the choices they made and how could they succeed without actually ending the world. Their voice was silenced. I guess that's my own question to answer.
Absolutely recommended.
An aside:
I guess every SF book builds on top of other stories, but I find it an special treat to see where an author might have gone "oh, that's not how I'd done it". The Riddle-Master trilogy really feels like a series that got Patrick Rothfuss thinking the question that became The Kingkiller Chronicles, as much as The Amber Chronicles feel like a series that got Neil Gaiman thinking about Sandman (in both cases, the authors have recommended those books, so I'm not pulling this out of the aether).
I, on the other hand, am too much a child of my times and country. Where Mr. Rothfuss saw the name of the wind being lovingly harped, I saw an extremely unequal society with no mobility whatsoever, demonized rebels and a supreme power that abhors destruction but has no qualms with destroying those who oppose it. I kept wanting to know who those rebels were, why did they make the choices they made and how could they succeed without actually ending the world. Their voice was silenced. I guess that's my own question to answer.