This book was a gift from a very special friend. When they gave it to me, they said that it had given them strength and inspiration through tough times in their life and they wanted to pass it on.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a story about a young woman who grows up, the daughter of a great man, who has called to him a variety of different fantastical beasts, all of which she cares for after her father's passing.

The characters are imaginative, from the wise boar who can answer every question save one, to the dragon, to the elusive Liralen. They come alive through the pages and each narrative, dialogue and descriptive draws you further into this amazing, emotive world.

From cover to cover, the story captivates and draws you in, so in the end, you're as in love with the characters as they might be for one another.

The author has a way with words, a deep, wise voice for her narratives and a whimsy to the interactions that the characters have with one another. An excellent story to share with a young loved one going through a hard time, or an old friend who just loves a good book. ( )

The Forgotten Beast of Eld by Patricia McKillip is an old friend. I do not reread it as often as the Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy, but it still has a timeless charm, as do all of her stories.

This is the story of Sybel, a third-generation wizard. She has always lived alone in the mountains with her magical menagerie in the house her grandfather built until the day that Coren brings her the baby Tamlorn to save him from the power struggles around the throne. And so she learns to love. This is a story of love, fear, desire, need, betrayal, hurt, compulsion, vengeance: Sybel, Tam, his father King Drood, Coren and his brothers, the old witch woman Maelga, and the various talking animals (Tyr the Falcon, Cyrin the Boar, Gyld the Dragon and more).

It is a straightforward story, filled with evocative imagery and dialogue, very reminiscent of fairy tales and styles of storytelling that are not so common anymore. The exposition is minimal; the prose is good; the characters aren't very deep. In some ways they feel more like archetypes than individuals. ( )

This was my first McKillip fantasy and I enjoyed it very much. It brought to mind Robin McKinley’s [The Blue Sword] and [The Hero and the Crown] which I read earlier this year. The writing in this was beautiful and she described her people and places vividly so it was easy to envision what was happening, which for me made it not only pleasurable but also a fairly quick read. I was a little disappointed in the beginning because I had wanted more told about the development of the relationship between Sybel and Tam. (nb—this is one of my problems with YA literature, they are often skimpy on the development of characters and relationships in order to get to the “action.”) However, the book made up for that as it followed Sybel’s development after she encounters Coren the second tine and in all that follows. The ending is stunning and satisfying, although I had expected one aspect of it. Highly recommended ( )

A wizard, daughter of wizards, has a menagerie of mythical and powerful beasts. Her otherwise solitary life changes when a man brings her a child to raise.

I picked up this book due to several recommendations and I'm afraid I'm didn't quite get the point. The language is stilted, the characters are dull, and the plot is plodding and uninspired. Interesting parts are glossed over and boring parts are greatly elaborated on. Intriguing characters get little or no time, which is instead given to boring conversations that could have been summed up in a few lines instead of a few pages and often appear out of nowhere with no build-up.

I rather think it might have been as a better short story or several short stories.

I liked the end well enough, but I haven't yet read a book I disliked where the end made up for everything else, and this is no exception. Definitely will not reread. ( )

I am of two minds about this World Fantasy Award winner. On one hand, I can definitely see why this was a winner--McKillip has an interesting and lyrical flair with formal and archaic language. The character conflict of Sybel, the almost misanthropic sorceress who struggles with relating to those who care for her and for revenge, is something that can either be taken at face value or analyzed to death. (more)