Lianne
Written on Dec 11, 2013
The stories themselves were interesting, a mix of light tales and more serious quests. One title, “The Footsteps of Retribution”, was especially chilling. The stories were also a lot funnier at times than I initially thought it would be, which was a pleasant surprise. Lythande comes across some exasperating characters along the way, which adds a splash of colour to her travels. My favourite stories from this collection would probably have to be “The Incompetent Magician”, “Someone Else’s Magic”, “The Footsteps of Retribution”, “The Virgin and the Volcano”, “Chalice of Tears”, “North to Northwander” and “The Gratitude of Kings.”
The world in which these stories take place was also intriguing, mysterious and familiar in some ways (and yet in other ways it’s not). The different schools of magicians were interesting (this Final Battle between Law and Chaos that her order speaks of was especially intriguing; I initially thought that the various stories would somehow make its way to that battle but then realised it was merely part of the adepts’ beliefs and end goal/destination), as were some of the strange kingdoms that Lythande found herself in. It was a bit baffling at times as well.
Overall, The Complete Lythande was an interesting and wondrous read. I’ve always found MZB to be a wonderful storyteller with a unique voice in the fantasy genre and this collection once again reinforces that in my mind. I’m also quite glad that the publishers decided to collect and re-release these stories, I would definitely recommend checking them out, especially for fantasy fans who have enjoyed MZB’s previous works.
The original review of this collection was posted on my blog at http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2013/12/16/review-the-complete-lythande/