Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip

The Riddle-Master of Hed is an oldie but a goodie. According to wiki, it was first published in 1976. I first encountered it decades later in high school. I read the combined trilogy, because that’s what the library had. It was good than, and when I reread it, I found it was still good. Not a common occurrence with works I loved when I was 14.

When I first read it I was fascinated with the idea of a prince who lived in a normal house and promised to fix the roof of his pig herder. It didn’t seem especially prince-like. I also liked the idea of magic that bound the rulers to their land and a sort of higher education that taught riddles. On rereading, I still found these ideas interesting.

The first book ends on a cliffhanger. This did not trouble me, because I had the omnibus and could read the next immediately. If I hadn’t, I imagine that ending would have driven me crazy wanting the second book. Even with it, for a little while, I didn’t know if he was dead or alive. I couldn’t believe he was dead (when does the hero ever die?) but for a while it seemed as if he had. The second is also told from the point of view of her heroine, which I had forgotten, and which was also a jarring change. The third is good, with a really fantastic finish.

The Riddle-Master of Hed has its flaws, of course. At times, the dialogue seems forced and stilted. I would have liked to see heroine could use her powers more.  If you are familiar with other fantasy, I don’t think there any twists and turns. Even if you aren’t, I don’t think there are many surprised. I don’t mind any of these flaws.

Grade: A-

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