Bookstooge
Written on May 18, 2020
In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic.
Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. “Look for us,” they tell Pierce, “if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”
Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden’s court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father’s destructive love for King Arden’s queen, and Heloise’s decision to raise her younger son alone.
As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce’s heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce’s; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father’s kingdom.
Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it...
- ISBN13 9781489361486
- Publish Date 28 October 2016 (first published 2 February 2016)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country AU
- Publisher Bolinda Publishing
- Imprint Bolinda/Audible Audio
- Edition Unabridged edition
- Format Audiobook (MP3)
- Duration 10 hours and 7 minutes
- Language English
Reviews
Lianne
Written on Jan 17, 2016
Kingfisher is something of a coming of age story, a family drama, and a fantastical quest that’s King Arthur-esque. A lot of elements of this story were familiar to Patricia McKillip’s storytelling: the strange nature of magic and how it comes forth through everyday items and activities, the dream-like cross between reality and magic and dreams and illusions, the gorgeous writing and the cryptic natures of some of the characters that grace the story.
Despite of these familiar elements present in Patricia McKillip’s latest novel, it was much harder to get into this novel. While dreamy at some parts, it overall didn’t feel as fantastical or as dreamy as her previous novels. Part of it might be because of the setting of this story; a bit of a personal preference thing but I do find it a bit weird whenever a fantasy novel has cars and other modern conventions and equipment in it.
The story itself also made it rather difficult to really get into the novel and travel alongside these characters; I appreciated the complexity in the different groups of characters and how they represented different trajectories and storylines that eventually coalesce and how the kingdom’s politics mingled in with the quest for the magical cauldron and the potential return of magic into the world. But I found that I didn’t really connect with the characters; I thought Heloise Oliver was the most interesting character and would’ve loved to have followed her story instead.
Overall, Kingfisher was an interesting enough story but it didn’t feel as self-contained as her previous novels or as wondrous. The ending left me with more questions and an overall sense of dissatisfaction that left me wondering if perhaps this might be the start of a new trilogy from the author. Nonetheless it’s nice to see Patricia A. McKillip come out with a new novel, I look forward to seeing what she writes next.