Books: Finished reading the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon
Oh my goodness, this series was such a good read. I could barely put each book down! After finishing "The Gift/The Naming" and the "Riddle", I was stressed about starting "The Crow" because I wasn't able to find a soft copy of "The Singing" anywhere and amazon.com won't be selling the Kindle version for a while and I didn't want the suspense of waiting for delivery of a paper copy.
Rant: Honestly, I really wish the publishers/authors/book sellers would just get their act together about epublishing. So many authors and publishers are acting like e-publishing is Pure Evil and so there are delayed publication dates and some publishers are making ebooks more expensive than the paper copies ... I really think they should try to find a way to make the technology work. The record labels fought for SO long and they kept trying to stamp out mp3 and these days you can buy legitimate copies of songs as mp3s! /rant over.
Anyway, finally my beloved public library came to the rescue and I was able to pick up a copy of "The Singing" after I was just a few pages into "The Crow". I'll put the book blurbs beneath the cut plus a non-spoilery discussion.
It's been a while since a series has been this gripping. Yes, it's very familiar, yes the female heroine and the quest themes have been doing to death, but there's a difference - Croggon's a very talented writer and in her hand, Maerad's quest is both epic and personal. The battles are terrifying and suspenseful and Croggon makes you care about the fate of even minor characters.
Blurb for "The Gift" (known as "The Naming" in the US)
Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful Gift, a Gift that makes her a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. Noe, she and her teacher Cadvan must survive a perilous journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with stem from the deepest recesses of other-worldly terror.
This epic fantasy about Maerad and her astonishing yet dangerous Gift is an unforgettable tale. Steeped in the rich and complex landscape of Annar, a legendary world few have yet discovered, it is one of literature's most exciting stories.
Blurb for "The Riddle"
Maerad is a girl with a tragic and bitter past, but her powers grow stronger by the day. Now she and her mentor, Cadvan, pursued by both the Light and the Dark, are seeking the Riddle of the Treesong - the key to restoring peace in the ravaged kingdom.
But is Maerad herself the greatest riddle of them all?
Maerad's epic quest continues as she travels from terrifying seas to vast stretches of glacial wilderness, drawn ever closer to her enemy the Winterking - the strongest ally of the Nameless One and the greatest tyrant of them all.
Blurb for "The Crow"
The earth is poisoned by a deep wrongness and the forces of the Nameless One grow ever stronger. The Treesong - the key to restoring peace - is lost, and only Maerad can unravel its mysteries. While she seeks answers in the north, her brother Hem makes the perilous journey south to Turbansk - aided by his pet crow, Irc - to spy on the child armies of the Dark.
Hem is haunted by his bitter past and the uncertainty of his future as evil forces threaten to destroy the city. But his destiny may be linked to the Treesong more closely than he realises...
Blurb for "The Singing"
In a desperate race against the Dark, Maerad must try to solve the final riddle of the Treesong. Only then will the Nameless One be defeated and peace restored in the Seven Kingdoms. But Maerad only holds the key to half the riddle - her long-lost brother, Hem, has the other.
Before embarking on a perilous journey to find Hem, Maerad must first wage an epic war against the Landrost. And Hem, fleeing the advances of the Black Army, must endure betrayal and mortal illness in his search for Maerad.
But the Dark grows ever more powerful - will brother and sister reach one another in time or will all be lost in a final, apocalyptic battle?
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Non-spoilery comments
I did not want the series to end! Maerad the main character is sometimes lovable, sometimes obnoxious but a very tragic and strong heroine. Her mentor Cadvan of Lirigon is all he should be - wise, gorgeous, strong, powerful - and flawed. He also has his darkness. Croggon introduces us to a very, very large cast of characters and I don't know how she does it but she certainly made me interested in the fate of almost all of them
I want to read more books by Alison Croggin ... I'm both happy and sad that the series has ended. Happy because I have a stack of other books that I want to read, but sad because it was such a rollicking and mesmerising adventure!!