A review by sfian
A Blackbird in Silver by Freda Warrington
3.0
It's worth noting, without giving anything away, that the majority of the contents of this book exist because somebody didn't give the protagonists clear instructions at the beginning...
I read this book some time around it's original release date and it, along with three other volumes in the series, have sat on my various bookshelves since, so I must have remembered enjoying it, or at least thought I would re-read it, at some point. Having done so, as part of the new "the Covid crisis means I have more spare time" era, I wonder what my approximately twenty-year-old self actually thought of it.
It's not a bad book. Maybe it's just that fantasy writing has evolved since it was first published. There are hints of Age of Aquarius mysticism, with flat planes, populated by immortal beings, intersecting the novel's "Earth", and mentions of great cosmic forces. Some off the dialogue could come from a Regency novel, at least in style, and there is a possibility that it is meant to come across as "olde worlde", just to reinforce the setting.
But the characters and the world they inhabit are interesting, even if, unlike other quest fantasies, the protagonists are whisked all over the place rather than having to endure the hardships of travel - there's very little in the way of seeking out inns or suitable spots to camp for the night.
I will endure with the rest of the series, but it's likely that these books will, eventually, make way for newer volumes on my shelves.
I read this book some time around it's original release date and it, along with three other volumes in the series, have sat on my various bookshelves since, so I must have remembered enjoying it, or at least thought I would re-read it, at some point. Having done so, as part of the new "the Covid crisis means I have more spare time" era, I wonder what my approximately twenty-year-old self actually thought of it.
It's not a bad book. Maybe it's just that fantasy writing has evolved since it was first published. There are hints of Age of Aquarius mysticism, with flat planes, populated by immortal beings, intersecting the novel's "Earth", and mentions of great cosmic forces. Some off the dialogue could come from a Regency novel, at least in style, and there is a possibility that it is meant to come across as "olde worlde", just to reinforce the setting.
But the characters and the world they inhabit are interesting, even if, unlike other quest fantasies, the protagonists are whisked all over the place rather than having to endure the hardships of travel - there's very little in the way of seeking out inns or suitable spots to camp for the night.
I will endure with the rest of the series, but it's likely that these books will, eventually, make way for newer volumes on my shelves.