Greatpilgrim's Full Review: Patricia A. McKillip - The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld
I often frequented the McK section of the library, in search of my favorite author Robin McKinley, until purchasing all her works made such trips unnecessary. However, my fingers recently walked themselves over just a volume or two away to Patricia McKillip, and thus I discovered another impressive fantasy author, although I definitely have come to prefer her earlier novels. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is the first McKillip book I read, and captured my fancy so quickly that I bought it within two weeks.
It's a simple story of fairy-tale proportions and feel, complete with requisite talking dragon and foundling prince. But though McKillip handles her subject matter seriously, her simplistic earnestness is surprisingly bewitching, with a kind of wide-eyed wonder and magic as you trail through the confines of her creation. She lets you accept Sybel, daughter of wizards, who lives high on the mountain of Eld with her crystal gazing chamber and the mythic beasts she has called, undisturbed by the comings and goings of men until the arrival of a sweet-tongued, red-haired stranger who brings a baby. And this child is, in fact, Sybel's nephew, the heir of Eldwold; his keeper, Coren, lord of Sirle and foe of Eldwold's King Drede.
Sybel wants no part of men's schemings; the sole thing she wants in the world is the legendary Liralen, the only animal who eludes her Call. But in her care, little Tamlorn singlehandedly awakens her love, and when he seeks out his father, Drede, Sybel is thrust into the battle between Sirle and Eldwold. For both lands lust for her power, and great leaders of both desire her love; and each may use desperate measures to achieve those goals...
Despite its relatively unadorned plot, The Forgotten Beasts of Eldwold nevertheless conveys a degree of sophistication in the way it unfolds. McKillip uses few specifics and concentrates on mood rather than world-building. This technique of skimping on details becomes maddening in her later book as her writing grows more dense and unlinear, but is actually very effective here - it makes you pay close attention to the descriptions and explanations she does give. It's very much an inductive story, content to let the reader muddle over the piecemeal bits of information McKillip reveals, until one-by-one they fall into place.
Wrapped in a tasty magical packaging, The Forgotten Beasts has a definite mythilogical feel, aided by the fantastic (and quite charming) creatures that flock around Sybil. Though at times it can feel almost aloof, not unlike its heroine, nevertheless its coldness has a delicate beauty, a piercing quality at times, that winds its way into the reader's soul and touches you there with occasional flashes of light and warmth. that manages to transcend the traps of typical fantasy cliches, and leaves the book with a timeless feel despite some minor plot holes and contrivances (not surprising for a beginning fantasy author).
It's not a long story - it took me about a couple uninterrupted hours to finish - nor a very complex one, although the language has a quaint, almost mythical texture, and the concepts are rather intriguing. I'm not fond of McKillip's later writing style, as it seems too long-winded and meandering and I tend to get impatient with it, but here she's content to tell the story with simplicity and relative ease. Dialogue is written in a stylized, almost fairy-tale fashion, not so much unrealistic as surrealistic, and for the most part it works, adding to the dreamlike mood of the book. If you're used to modern storytelling, you might have to readjust your thought processes a bit to slip into this style; it is still archaic and formal, for all its economy of words and wintry beauty, but it's worth it in my opinion.
Like any mythology, characters in this book tend to lurk behind the shadow of their actions, so that it's practically a mystery figuring out who each person really is and whether they're good or bad. The result are characters that have surprising depth when you put all the clues together. Sybel is an interesting heroine to root for, as she seems remote and otherworldly for most of the book, both to the other characters and to the reader, while her slow induction into human emotions (love, grief, jealousy, fear, rage) is a major factor in the development of the story. Tam, her adopted charge, is pure sunshine and light, but the rest of the characters are a beguiling mix of good and bad, all of them with shades of gray amidst the white and black, a rather unusual occurrence in a fantasy novel. The evil characters, mainly the wizard Mithran and King Drede, are as fascinating as they are frustrating in their scarcity, forcing the reader to look closely in order to decide what their motivations are.
Underneath the fantasy trappings are two main threads underlying The Forgotten Beasts of Eld: the mystery of life and death, exemplified by Sybel's longing for the beautiful Liralen and fear of the death-bringing (but not necessarily evil) Blammor; and the restorative power of love - a cliche, yes, but a gently explored concept in this story, not hammered into the readers, just offered as a hopeful thought to cling to at the bittersweet end, when Sybel's romance coincides with her separation from Tam. For the girls who hesitate to read fantasy if there isn't some kind of lurve story (and *raises hand* I used to be one of them!), there's one here if you pay attention! It's simply more understated than most.
Bottom line
I can see this book leaving some readers cold - it's not really a "universally charming" book - but for those who like this kind of magical fare, it's very very tasty. It has a lot of paradoxes going for it - simple and thought-provoking, detached and powerful, fairy tale characters with very little black and white to them - and I loved all these shifting dimensions. It's the kind of book that you can race to the end with or enjoy in a leisurely fashion, and get a kick out of it both ways. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld would make a wonderful choice for preteen or teenage readers who want to explore fantasy fiction, but it's also stimulating enough for adults to read with pleasure. This and The Changeling Sea are my top two recommendations for Patricia McKillip books, so get going on them!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.