The Keeper of the Mist

{stand alone. Fantasy, YA}

I really liked this story. There are no big action scenes, although there is danger, but it was a gentle, charming book. It felt a lot like Patricia McKillip's work or Stardust with an innate, quirky magic.

Nimmira is a small but prosperous land with green pastures and productive mines. It sits on the mountainous border between the lands of Tor Carron, which doesn't have much rich pasturage, and Eschallion whose long-lived Wyvern King has absorbed all the other lands around into his country. In defence Nimmira hid itself so it would escape being acquired by either country. (And wyverns, for those like me who need to look it up, are two-legged dragons.)

Keri, who is still a teenager, is a baker and works hard to show more keep her mother's bakery going, since her mother died. Her father never acknowledged her but when the Lord of Nimmira dies, she unexpectedly inherits the magic ahead of her three half brothers. However it turns out that, as Lord, Dorric has mismanaged things so badly that the mists that hide Nimmira from the outside world are thinning and the border is failing. She not only has to defend her country from hostile outside forces when the mists that traditionally hide Nimmira suddenly fail but also has to contend with finding her way with the Household staff she has inherited from her father.

Keri's magic grants her an awareness of the land of Nimmira; together with her Doorkeeper - who can open or shut any door within the boundary and shut the boundary itself, as long as it doesn't fade - her Bookkeeper - who can bring to hand any book or information and records births and deaths - and her Timekeeper - who lets her know when her meetings are scheduled - Keri has to save Nimmira from the danger her father has put the land into when the border starts to fail and the other two lands suddenly notice that it is there. Fortunately for Keri her two best friends feel compelled to take up the reins as Doorkeeper and Bookkeeper and are very well suited to the roles, while the previous Timekeeper is willing to continue and she feels she should have someone with experience to help her.

I loved the gentle charm and quirky land magic of this book.

5 stars show less

This is a beautifully written fantasy novel about power and unexpected responsibility, friendship and magic.

When the Lord of Nimmira dies, two unexpected things happen: his position passes to Keri the baker, his unacknowledged teenage daughter, rather than any of his grown sons, and the mists protecting Nimmira’s borders begin to fade.
Keri is confronted with her new duties, older half-brothers who are sceptical of her competence, the arrival of Outside visitors eager to take advantage and the mystery of the failing mists. But she does not have to face all her challenges alone: her oldest friends are her Bookkeeper and Doorkeeper, and the ancient Timekeeper may be an ally.

I fell in love with The Keeper of the Mist from the opening show more scene - from the opening of the opening scene, before the plot begins. The prose was lovely and the characterisation was lively, filling me with confidence that this story was being told by an excellent storyteller.

But I think it was also because that scene - in which Keri decorates a cake (and internally reflects on the challenges of running a bakery), while she and Tassel speculate about the state of affairs in Nimmira - captures important elements of the story. The girls’ interest in the wellbeing of their kingdom; their warm uncomplicated friendship (and the subtler complexities of Keri’s relationship with Cort); Keri’s careful attention to detail, determination to do her job well and perseverance when not everyone in her community supports her.

The worldbuilding reminded me of Robin McKinley’s Chalice, which is a favourite of mine. There’s definitely a McKinley-ish vibe to this, while at the same time managing to be completely its own thing.

Clearly I need to read more by Rachel Neumeier.

She wondered what she should do, or say, or think. The necessities of the succession had contained them all and carried them forward, but the familiar ritual had ended now. Her anger had broken with it, somehow. They were all left bewildered, like fish stranded in strange waters by an ebbing flood, to manage their own affairs as best they might. She looked around the bakery kitchen, as though it might contain cues for her about what came next. But the jars of flour and oil and sugar, the little wooden boxes of salt and potash, told her nothing. show less

I always like Neumeier books. While this wasn't one of her best it was still a good read. The heroine was awesome.

I was very, very, very disappointed by this book. I couldn't get into it at all after repeated attempts and finally gave up at the 35 page mark.

Excellent!