By: Mary StewartWhat I find most remarkable about this book, which has easily slipped into the list of my favorite fantasy books of all time- is that there is actually very little in the way of fantasy at all. For a book about one of the most famous wizards of all time, there is almost no magic. Not one spell cast, no mention of faeries, no goblins or elves. There is only the mysterious visions of the crystal cave, the uncontrolled premonitions, and a single glance in a crystal ball.
Just as ironic is the fact that I happened to love a book is predicated on something I have absolutly no belief in - a divine will, a master plan, an unquestioning surrender to the will of god. What makes Mary Stewart's writing so brilliant that she can write a nearly magic-less story about a magician, and enthrall a staunch believer in free will to a story of fate? It must be magic.
Thanks, Castaway, for reminding me about this one. I'm glad I got into this series after failing to breech it years ago back in middle school. The only problem now is finding a copy of The Hollow Hills in China!
3 comments:
I'm sorry I'm so late to comment on your review, which says so well in fewer words what I failed to capture in my longer review. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! I'm shortly on to His Dark Materials and I promise to report back with a review -- I feel confident that you will have done me the favour of a good recommendation in return. Good luck book hunting... I'd ship you a copy of The Hollow Hills if I owned one!
meh- don't compliment me for rushing ;)
I did enjoy it and appreciate the referral- and the HS has a copy of Hollow Hills which I'll check out!
I hope you enjoy HDM, they're up there in my top 10 favorite books.
I missed this one in high school too, as I was also into The Mists of Avalon and the Rosemary Sutcliffe arthurian books.
you might like Titus Groan, as it's considered a british fantasy classic, but not technically part of the genre, since there's no magic or supernatural elements in it. but the world created by Mervyn Peake is no less bizarre or fantastical than the most imaginative books of its ilk.
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