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Loading... Alphabet of Thorn (2004)by Patricia A. McKillip (Author)
An absolutely wonderful tale! I haven't read much by McKillip yet but this has to be my favourite so far, I love the themes that the novel touches upon--history, who writes it, the amount of truth in myths and legends, conquest, power--and the setting is both magical and ethereal in a way. You could read my full review of the novel over at my blog (may contain some spoilers): http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=6208 (  ) caffeinatedlife | Apr 26, 2013 |  The prose was a little hard to get through at first, but I eventually found this a very absorbing story. I found myself wanting to know more about this richly imagined world, so it was a little letdown to find the ending came so quickly (and that there aren't any sequels). (  ) bostonian71 | Apr 22, 2013 | What connection is there between a humble librarian and translator in the palace of Raine and an ancient language of thorns which no one can read but her? This is one of McKillip’s strongest books, with a lot of palace intrigue and politics, fascinating characters, and a feeling of strangeness lurking just around the corner. ( ) maureene87 | Apr 4, 2013 | A coming-of-age tale for nearly all the characters involved in this novel. An orphan raised by the royal library as a transcriptor. The young Queen of Raine so to be crowned after the sudden death of her father the King. A minor son of the Second Crown sent to the magician's Floating School. Another library-raised orphan who is love struck by the first. Even the legendary figures from ancient history move through their adolescent struggles via the tale been translated. All these lives weave together to solve the mystery threatening the realm of these Twelve Crowns. Patricia McKillip does not disappoint with her pace, prose and even her poetry. Many of these characters are also strong female role models, without appearing overly feminist. The magic is mystical and mysterious, powerful without being pedantic. ( ) mossjon | Apr 1, 2013 | I don't know if it's that I read this too close to other McKillip books or if it didn't work as well for me. I should read it again and decide. (  ) GinnyTea | Mar 31, 2013 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0441012434, Paperback)Patricia A. McKillip is one of America's greatest fantasy authors. Her best known novels include Riddle-Master; World Fantasy Award winner The Forgotten Beasts of Eld; World Fantasy Award and Mythopoeic Award winner Ombria in Shadow; and In the Forests of Serre. Like its predecessors, Alphabet of Thorn demonstrates McKillip's mastery of prose and her knowledge of the human heart.As an infant, Nepenthe was abandoned by her mother on the edge of a cliff so high no one can hear the sea below. Nepenthe was raised by the librarians of the Royal Library of Raine, and knows little of the outside world beyond what she reads. She has a gift for translation, and she alone has a chance of translating a newly arrived book, a mysterious tome written in an alien alphabet that resembles thorns. But Nepenthe has fallen in love with the high-born student-mage who brings her the book. And the thorns are exerting a strange power over her--a magic that may destroy not only Nepenthe, but the kingdom of Raine and the entire world. --Cynthia Ward (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:13:34 -0400) Nepenthe, an orphan who has been raised by the librarians of the Royal Library of Raine, becomes obsessed with deciphering a supposedly untranslatable book brought to the palace by a young mage, not realizing that the words and her fate are entwined with that of the newly crowned, fourteen-year-old queen.… (more) |
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