elrhiarhodan

Day 13

In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favourite interview, a book) and explain why you love it so much.

This one is going to be a little different - I’m not reccing anything White Collar or even anything fannish. I’m reccing my favorite book from my early teenage years, a book (or actually trilogy) that continues to enrapture me 30+ years on.

I first read Patricia McKillip’s “Riddle Master of Hed” when I was in 7th grade. I remember carrying it with me in my brand new pocketbook - it was newly published and I savored every word. Then disaster struck, and I lost it! My mother, who was indulgent up to a point, refused to forward the next two weeks’ allowance so I could replace it. I remember not pouting, just calling all of the nearby libraries to see if they had a copy. And then three days after, she surprised me with a brand new copy, which I had to print my name in.

I still have that copy, with my name and homeroom number (210). And I have my originally purchased copies of the two sequels - Heir of Sea and Fire and Harpist in the Wind. I’ve read them so many times, the covers have all but fallen off. About a decade ago, I bought “Riddle-Master” which is a single volume version of the three books, and I take it out once a year to reread. I try not to do it too often, as I don’t want to lose the magic.

What do I love about this trilogy? It is basically the anti-Tolkien, written at a time when all good fantasy needed to replicate Middle Earth. The world-building works not on the deeds of sorcerers and mages, but on a magic imbued in the very fabric of the land itself. It is as much a story about politics and alliances as it is about swords and magic. And the evil that haunts the books is not the violent ugliness of trolls and orcs, it is ancient and powerful and above all, subtle.

I have, for many years, read and loved Patricia McKillip’s other works - they are all excellent, lyrical and beautifully written fantasies of the highest order - but as flawed as these books are (there are some definite rough spots), the still remain my favorites.

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