Patricia McKillip is one of my favourite authors; I adore her dreamy, luminous prose, and her real-seeming and likeable characters. She does, however, tend to fall down on plot – or maybe not at plot so much as at plot resolution. There are many threads to 'The Bell at Sealey Head', and at least two worlds, and although all are tied up more-or-less tidily there are many questions left unanswered, and a number of plot points that seem to go nowhere. I loved it nonetheless; her writing really is that good, and her people really that charming. ( )

I had made it a goal to buy all Patricia A. McKillip's books, but I'm going to give this one a pass. Although her characters are easier to connect with than in some of her recent books, the women are barely distinguishable and the writing is subpar. Several times a character "felt herself" doing something. However, the portion of the plot having to do with they mystery of unexplained and unending ritual was novel. The book makes good, gentle bedtime reading, but is not one of McKillip's best. ( )

A friend gave this to me for my birthday, as she was aghast at my neglect of McKillip. I'm a convert now. :) This is a lovely magical story about a house on a sea cliff with another house hidden behind it's doors. Only the maid can open the doors to the other house. The lady of the house is dying, her niece comes from the big city to wait upon her death, a scholar comes to investigate the mystery of the bell that tolls once at sundown. The denizens of the town are richly characterised, the inn keeper with his blind father, the merchant and his daughter, the young people who live at the manor across the harbour from the magical house. The princess who lives in the hidden house has befriended the maid, stealing conversations through open doors when the rituals that govern her movements through the day can spare her for a few words. The final resolution, evil sorcerer and all, was anticlimactic, but I think it was because I didn't pick up on some of the hints scattered for me earlier in the story. ( )

I've long been a fan of the lyrical and lovely Patricia McKillip, and I've been looking forward to her latest book, The Bell at Sealey Head, with high hopes. This anticipation was also fueled by several friends who peer-pressured me into bumping this to the top of my to-read list. I'm glad they did, because I enjoyed it quite a bit. But I'm not sure I can rave quite as unreservedly as those friends might like. I like the book, but do not adore it — at least, not yet. I think I will reread it in a few months.

For as long as they can remember, the people of the small coastal town of Sealey Head have heard a mythical bell tolling out of thin air. At least, most of the people can hear it; there are a few who can't. It tolls at the same time every evening, and various legends exist to explain it. When a scholar arrives from the city to research the bell he heard tolling, several young people from the town's three most prominent families — the Sproules, the Blairs, and the Cauleys — become involved in the strange happenings at Aislinn House. The past and present seem to run side by side there, and a strange ritualistic captivity echoes through the sleeping corridors.

Like many of McKillip's stories, this one has a lot of characters, each experiencing the unfolding story in a different way. I found the writer Gwyneth's tale for the bell, scattered in bits and pieces as she wrote it throughout the book, to be quite fun; perhaps it was a half-discarded plot of McKillip's that was picked out of the wastebasket?

The romantic relationships are understated and perfect in their few words. There is nothing explicit in this book; indeed, the charm of her romantic scenes is their brevity. It feels real because there is a lot happening under the surface of a few sentences. In one part two characters steal off for a walk on the beach, and all we hear about it is, "When they returned..." It adds such a lovely touch to the story, and I get the impression that McKillip respects her characters. The romantic tension reminds me of Robin McKinley's style in The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Stirring, I think one reviewer called it. In this story McKillip ventures into almost Austenian situations and characters, which is unusual for her. I enjoyed it, but I think I need to reread to fully adjust to it.

McKillip loves to write about the worlds behind the everyday physical world, the fantasy counterparts to our familiar realities. Too often the entry to the other side is bricked up, as happens in Aislinn House in this story. What I love about McKillip is her ability to find a way around those bricked doors, to lead us into the beautiful and perilous places of her imagination. Recommended. ( )

I love fantasy, especially fantasy which creeps up on a non-fantasy world. I enjoy mysteries, and stories of deception and hidden identities. I like reading Victorian-esque tales of amusing familial drawing-room discussions, balls and courtship. I love stories about magical doorways and gateways, parallel dimensions and secret friends. I like books about book people; characters who read - or write. I love picturesque, rustic settings. I enjoy reading about inns, and innkeepers, too.  And The Bell at Sealey Head manages to combine all of these things successfully! Furthermore, its narrative skips around four main protagonists without bothering me in the slightest.

Sealey Head is a small, rustic town by the ocean, where at sunset an unseen bell can be heard ringing - a mystery most take for granted. As his father has become blind, Judd Cauley is the innkeeper of an inn with limited custom and a terrible cook they can't afford to replace, but has no ambition beyond reading all the books he can find. Gwyneth, a merchant's daughter, is (to her aunt's delight) being courted by the wealthy Raven Sproule, but Gwyneth would much rather spend her time writing stories which speculate about the mystery of the bell.  Emma is the housemaid at Aislinn House, where she often opens doors not to find the rooms and cupboards she expects but to the other Aislinn House, the castle where Princess Ysabo lives, unable to go outside and with her life dictated by the ritual.
Aislinn House's owner, Lady Eglantyne, is dying, and so her heir is sent for. Suddenly Aislinn House is full with the heir and her entourage, there are guests at the inn and strangers in town. The characters find themselves caught up in a mystery about ancient magic and an old bid for power - and the reason for the ringing bell.

It doesn't have the same epic brilliance as the Riddle-Master trilogy, nor the lyrical fable quality of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, but it is beautifully written, with insight, wit and humour. The plot is complex, but without being confusing, and many of the characters' interactions are delightful. I laughed, I insisted on reading bits aloud to whoever happened to be in the room at the time - and put real life on hold until I had finished it. There's just something immensely satisfying about this book. :) ( )