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Tyger, Tyger and Pegasus
Dec. 20th, 2010 10:39 amThe nice thing about my library requests is that they all converted from ILL requests to purchase requests. And they're all coming in right now. It's like the library has bought me books for Christmas. Nice!
So if you are in a fantasy mood and want something to dig into on a snowy December day, I read a couple of nice ones this last week. First, Robin McKinley's Pegasus (which I won in a drawing--thank you!).
I confess I love old McKinley and have not been able to connect as well with say, Sunshine. I liked this one--it was more of her old style. It's a lovely world to fall into, where long ago, humans moved into an area and helped the pegasi living there fight off common monstrous enemies. As a result, there's a strange sort of contract between the two groups, where the noble humans are "bound" to a pegasus at age 12. I'm not sure what they expect to accomplish with that, as communication between the two groups is very limited. The human king and the pegasus king can communicate some through rough sign language, but most can't even get that far. But when Sylvi, the fourth child and first daughter of the human king, turns twelve, something strange happens. She and "her" pegasus, Ebon, can communicate telepathically. Suddenly, the doors are open between the peoples. But the communication that should be a welcome advancement comes as a threat to the magicians who oversee human-pegasus bondings and who influence the way the kingdom runs. Pegasus is a bit of a departure from McKinley's usual standalone books, but there is nothing on the book jacket to indicate this, so if you read, don't be alarmed at the sudden ending. It's only half a book. The second volume comes out in 2012.
Then I read Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.
The story: Teagan's adopted cousin Finn shows up at her house just as her best friend Abby starts having ominous dreams about Teagan being in danger. Abby has no idea of the extent of that, though. Finn's the descendant of a mighty Irish goblin hunter, and with his arrival come goblins themselves, bent on attacking Teagan's family. When the goblins steal her dad, she and her never-gets-lost little brother Aiden travel with Finn into a frightening fairy world to rescue him. What I loved about this book: the Celtic mythology and the Irish Catholic faith elements flow together organically. The characters feel real, not like tick marks on a paranormal creation list (hot boy? Check. Otherworldly creatures? Check.) Some nice twists on the paranormal genre, too. My favorite line: "Teagan knelt beside her mother, took her hand, and breathed in the scent of paint, linseed oil, and turpentine. Her mom always smelled like creation."
So if you are in a fantasy mood and want something to dig into on a snowy December day, I read a couple of nice ones this last week. First, Robin McKinley's Pegasus (which I won in a drawing--thank you!).
I confess I love old McKinley and have not been able to connect as well with say, Sunshine. I liked this one--it was more of her old style. It's a lovely world to fall into, where long ago, humans moved into an area and helped the pegasi living there fight off common monstrous enemies. As a result, there's a strange sort of contract between the two groups, where the noble humans are "bound" to a pegasus at age 12. I'm not sure what they expect to accomplish with that, as communication between the two groups is very limited. The human king and the pegasus king can communicate some through rough sign language, but most can't even get that far. But when Sylvi, the fourth child and first daughter of the human king, turns twelve, something strange happens. She and "her" pegasus, Ebon, can communicate telepathically. Suddenly, the doors are open between the peoples. But the communication that should be a welcome advancement comes as a threat to the magicians who oversee human-pegasus bondings and who influence the way the kingdom runs. Pegasus is a bit of a departure from McKinley's usual standalone books, but there is nothing on the book jacket to indicate this, so if you read, don't be alarmed at the sudden ending. It's only half a book. The second volume comes out in 2012.
Then I read Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton.
The story: Teagan's adopted cousin Finn shows up at her house just as her best friend Abby starts having ominous dreams about Teagan being in danger. Abby has no idea of the extent of that, though. Finn's the descendant of a mighty Irish goblin hunter, and with his arrival come goblins themselves, bent on attacking Teagan's family. When the goblins steal her dad, she and her never-gets-lost little brother Aiden travel with Finn into a frightening fairy world to rescue him. What I loved about this book: the Celtic mythology and the Irish Catholic faith elements flow together organically. The characters feel real, not like tick marks on a paranormal creation list (hot boy? Check. Otherworldly creatures? Check.) Some nice twists on the paranormal genre, too. My favorite line: "Teagan knelt beside her mother, took her hand, and breathed in the scent of paint, linseed oil, and turpentine. Her mom always smelled like creation."
