Od Magic by Patricia McKillip

[meganbmoore]

Od is the legendary, ancient sorceress of the kingdom of Numis.  Though rarely seen in Numis these days, her school-Od School of Magic-flourishes, and she keeps in touch by occasionally sending letters, or by sending people to the school.  One of these people in Brenden Vetch, a young man with a gift for growing things, is sent by Od to be the new

Comments

[salimbol]

I've never read this one, so I can't really say too much about it (obviously). Except for some reason I thought Od was a place, not a person - so I can't even have read the synopsis correctly! Anyway, it sounds pretty good, and it goes on the To Do list. I'm just beginning to think now what shall I do when this degree is finished (three and a bit months - delightfully and yet scarily close, because my research is only just beginning now!), and a big plough through some Patricia McKilip will be a definite. It will be spring heading towards summer by then, which is a good time of year for reading her curving, luscious (and yet still quite delicate) prose.

[meganbmoore]

*checks book blurb since it's right beside her*

Well, the blurb only refers to Od as a person, but the school is named for her, and I think most reviews I've seen name the school. Like a lot of McKillip's places, the school does have a bit of a life of it's own.

I forget, have you read Ombria in Shadow or In the Forests of Serre? Those are my favorites of hers, so far.

[salimbol]

You might just be making nice excuses for my stupid tired brain *grin* - I probably just flick-read the synopsis and went 'uh-huh' and retained virtually nothing. It happens quite a lot, unfortuntately.

I have indeed read those two books - in 2005, I think, when I went through heaps of her stuff. I recall liking them a great deal and I've retained a lot of imagery, but - as per usual - much of the story itself eludes me. So that's part of the reason why I'm so keen to re-read her books; I really do like her work very much and it bugs me a bit that it's all blurring into one undifferentiated mass in my mind!