Heir of Sea and Fire

The writing is still magical, just like in the first book.

“The sunlight seemed to leap goatlike from peak to peak; the air crackled white with the smell of melting ice.”

There are so many heartbreaking and horrifying things happening, with something dark and unknowable always in the background.

I love it that Raedarle has a strong will, and a temper, and strange amazing powers. Her character arc was something I enjoyed very much - there are no princesses in towers patiently waiting for heroes to come back from quests in this book. Thank you!

I jumped for joy when Raedarle and Lyra teamed up and were being badass together. It was great to see Tristan again, and I liked the interactions between her and Lyra and Raedarle. I loved them show more all - even when their quest was all over the place. Really, I am impressed that a fantasy book published in the 1970’s did such cool things with its female characters.

The themes of the nature of trust, love of land and home, understanding who you are are woven very skillfully into the book (and the whole series, I am beginning to think).

(Insert minor complaint here: Why does everyone keep bringing the heels of his/her hands up to their eyes? It happened several times in book one, and at least three times in this one. Please stop doing this.)

Here is my favourite part - Raedarle gives Morgon a piece of her mind when he is all “thank you, love you, you are great, I have this and that quest left to do, wait for me a little longer”:

“Her smile faded. “Morgon of Hed”, she said evenly, “if you take one step across this threshold without me, I will lay a curse on your next step and your next until no matter where you go your path will lead you back to me.”

(She can do it, too.)

Wonderful ending. (Awwww…) show less

I love the Riddle-Master trilogy; it is beautifully written, sweet and funny, heart-breaking and heart-warming, and still one of my all-time favorites. I am re-reading the series for the umpteenth time, but it's so worthwhile; I am discovering how funny it is, when the first time, as a teenager, I read it so earnestly. I've just re-read 'Heir of Sea and Fire', the sequel to 'The Riddle-Master of Hed', and the writing still evokes a wistfulness in me.

The series still tugs on my heart-strings. I love the interplay between characters, especially family members, and the juxtaposition of ethereal magic against every-day farm concerns. And the descriptions are delicious : coloured sails collapse like 'weary sighs' as boats come into show more harbour.

As a child, Raederle was promised, by her father, the King of An, to whoever recovered the long-lost crown of An. Morgon, Prince of Hed, did so, but has been lost on a journey to the Northern Wastes. Raederle determines to journey there herself, accompanied by the land-heirs of other kingdoms. Along the way, she makes discoveries about events and about her heritage that have ominous repercussions for the realm. show less

Book 2 of The Riddle-Master Trilogy. This was a re-read for me, after a hiatus of some 20 years. I found the story dragged on too long and bogged down too often with Morgan, the Star-Bearer, repeatedly battling the shape-shifters. Raederele is an interesting protagonist that I felt had short shrift in the book. In several chapters, she could have been more fully developed. Instead there was so much happening and the whirlwind transitioning of Morgon was distracting.

I did take a long time to read the novel this time around, so perhaps that affected my overall view of this narrative. I'll move onto the last book when I feel more like continuing a re-reading this trilogy.

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Title: Heir of Sea and Fire
Series: Riddlemaster #2
Author: Patricia McKillip
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 215
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Raederle, the woman betrothed to Morgan, sets out to find him as he has gone missing. She hooks up with some others, one of them being Morgan's younger sister and sails all over. Morgan has thoroughly disappeared though and the landheir power has been passed on to his brother. This usually means the show more original holder of said power is dead and almost everyone but Raederle believes Morgan to be dead.

Part way through Morgan is revealed to be alive and chasing after the Bard who betrayed him AND that the wizard Ohm has been masquerading as The One (the magical master of the whole land). Raederle must convince Morgan to not take his vengeance against the Bard as it will destroy who Morgan is.

Raederle also comes into powers of her own. She finds out that one of her ancestors was a shapeshifter from the sea and this blood has bestowed peculiar power to her. Considering that the shapeshifters were doing their best to kill Morgan in the previous book, Raederle isn't sure how Morgan is going to act when he finds out his betrothed belongs to those who wanted him dead.

The book ends with a showdown between the dead of Hel, controlled by Raederle and the Bard and Morgan. Morgan is convinced to show mercy and then he and Raederle set out to track down Ohm and get some answers for all the mysteries going on.

My Thoughts:

While I am giving this 4stars this time, I completely understand myself for giving it 2 stars back in '07. This was trying to tell a fantasy story that needed a trilogy and McKillip kept going between fantasy writerstyle of the day and her own style of lyrical prose. It makes for an unsettling read as at one point you'll have everything spelled out for you and then 10 pages later some monumental revelation is made as an aside in some oblique reference to some myth.

That was the weakness of this book and I am not sure that it can truly overcome that weakness. It's the same problem I had with Riddlemaster of Hed and the main reason I wouldn't recommend these as starter books for someone looking to get into McKillip.

Now that being said, since I have already read almost everything of McKillip's and am currently re-reading everything, I can appreciate this book for its strengths.

This borrows heavily from Welsh/Welch (love that grapejuice by the way!) myth with the lands of Hel, Awn, etc and the unsettled dead and magic held by the lands rulers. If you've ever read The Prydain Chronicles by Llloyd Alexander, you'll recognize a lot of the places and situations McKillip uses in this book. I think having that pre-existing knowledge will help a lot in understanding just what is going on, since there is so much happening without being spelled out. McKillip was writing for a well-read audience and I think a more modern audience will miss out on a lot of references, references that make this a much fuller, richer story.

Raederle was a great character. She wasn't pie in the eye in love with Morgan, since she had only known him as a friend growing up. But since he was her betrothed, she was going to find out what happened to him. It showed a core of steel in her character. That showed her as strong but not some kickass heroine where her femininity was completely overshadowed by her being a man with breasts. She wasn't a warrior, she couldn't sail the ship she was on but there was NEVER any doubt that it was Raederle driving and leading everyone else on. When she confronts Morgon about his quest for vengeance, she doesn't kick his legs out from under him and pin him down until he submits. She supports the parts of him that she does admire and lets him see that and lets that support decide him.

The supporting characters, from Morgon's younger sister to the ghost of the King of Hel (that is him on the cover, lusting after his skull, which had been nailed to a midden pile and that Raederle used as a bargaining chip in obtaining his help) to Morgon himself were just as good.

To end, I once again thoroughly enjoyed another McKillip story while definitely not recommending this as a starting place for anyone thinking about a McKillip journey. Get some “experience” with her as an author and then come back to this.

★★★★☆ show less

I recently finished rereading [The Riddle-Master of Hed] trilogy by Patricia McKillip. It's been decades since I last read these little novels. They remain favorites from my youth. When I spent a semester in Costa Rica in the 1980s, the only books I brought to sustain me were this trilogy for my fantasy selection and David Brin's [Startide Rising] and [The Uplift War], which felt like a duology at the time.

I worried that rereading this high fantasy trilogy would tarnish the sheen of fond remembrance. No such thing! I still savored the lyrical prose, the imagery and metaphors, the characters, the world-building, all of it. I thought then and still think that these would translate well to the cinema given the advances in special effects show more that really bring magic alive on the screen. But of course, I'd hate to see how Hollywood would butcher the story.

[Heir of Sea and Fire] is the second book of the trilogy, where we're introduced to Raederle. It's spring again, and no one has seen or heard from Morgon or Deth for a year. Raederle sets out to find out what happened to Morgon, accompanied by his sister Tristan and Lyra, the land heir of the kingdom of Herun, who had met Morgon two years ago and is haunted by his refusal to accept her help and his possible death. Along the way, Raederle discovers she's more than the second most beautiful woman of An, with dangerous and powerful magic of her own.

These books remain charming classics for me. They were a perfect bedtime read--comforting and familiar and uncomplicated. show less

When Raederle of An receives some distressing news, she sets out on a quest that will take her far from home and back again. Along the way, she learns many things about her own power, where it comes from and what it can do.

While I appreciated many things about this book, including its many strong female characters, I never found it particularly compelling. I also found more of the dreamy abstraction that I associate with McKillip's writing in this book, which made for slow going when I hit those parts. I didn't hate it, but I don't think it's one I'll revisit, and I'm not sure yet if I will read the third book in the trilogy.

The second book of a great 3 book fantasy series. Unlike many series, this second book is just as good as the first, if not a little better. The action and characters shift to other locations, but this was still fascinating. McKillip does an excellent job of drawing you in and making her world an entertaining place. Definitely not standard fantasy, but still some of the best