The Big Peat
Darth Buddha
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By way of introductory remarks, let me repeat the statement I have made most often to friends while talking about having finished Patricia McKillip’s The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.
“McKillip makes me feel like I’ve taken something usually reserved for shamans with very strong livers”
That is a reflection of McKillip’s prose. She is one of that blessed group of fantasy writers who write in open emulation of the style of the fantastic tales of yore without feeling corny or wrong. More than that, she is an author who takes an idiosyncratic, textured, hypnotic approach to her words and story. There is a rhythm to what she does, a rhythm that lulls you in, until you realise later that you seem to have missed something.
You often have, and that is often deliberate.
Not that I came to such a conclusion all by my wee self. Oh no. I have the excellent forewords by Marjorie Liu and Gail Carriger to thank for that, this being a spiffy 50th edition and all. I have to note that The Forgotten Beasts of Eld feels old, but in a rather timeless sense. It could have been written a hundred years ago, it could have been written yesterday, but whenever it would have been a product of searching for a certain agelessness.
Which tells nobody anything about the novel, except for the most important parts. McKillip is an author to be swept away by, an evocative force of word and imagination that will irritate or enchant depending on the individual. Knowing which of the two you are for her particular style is more crucial for deciding whether to read her than any talk of character, plot or theme. She is like a psychedelic Le Guin, a hippie Tolkien. I am unabashedly in my happy place, even if I find such works hard and slow to read, but some of you may not be.
As for the particulars of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, it is the tale of a sorceress named Sybel, content with her fabulous menagerie of powerful monsters until the arrival of a soldier with a babe. This triggers a set of events in which she is dragged slowly into the intrigues of warlords and the learning of love alike. If this sounds like a romance then it is to some degree, but that is more supporting act than anything. The main source of drama is always Sybel reckoning on the right thing to do with her powers, powers capable of calling and chaining man and monster alike to her will.
A lot of the narrative left me in a mood of pleasant bemusement, not quite connecting with the story but admiring it anyway. The beginning was beguiling, but the rest not so much. It was only at the end that I connected fully and emotionally with what McKillip was doing, at which point it all made sense. It’s a wonderful ending, although not as wonderful as it could have been if I’d connected all the way. It is my small criticism. The friendships Sybel builds are lightly sketched, and perhaps not initially as convincing as they might be.
That might be different for another read though and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is more than enticing enough to suggest one some day. McKillip’s work might be turning fifty any day now, but it remains hard to forget never the less.
I got a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and Taychon Publications for this – and it’s such a shame McKillip never got to see this, may she rest in peace
This review was originally posted at <The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip>
“McKillip makes me feel like I’ve taken something usually reserved for shamans with very strong livers”
That is a reflection of McKillip’s prose. She is one of that blessed group of fantasy writers who write in open emulation of the style of the fantastic tales of yore without feeling corny or wrong. More than that, she is an author who takes an idiosyncratic, textured, hypnotic approach to her words and story. There is a rhythm to what she does, a rhythm that lulls you in, until you realise later that you seem to have missed something.
You often have, and that is often deliberate.
Not that I came to such a conclusion all by my wee self. Oh no. I have the excellent forewords by Marjorie Liu and Gail Carriger to thank for that, this being a spiffy 50th edition and all. I have to note that The Forgotten Beasts of Eld feels old, but in a rather timeless sense. It could have been written a hundred years ago, it could have been written yesterday, but whenever it would have been a product of searching for a certain agelessness.
Which tells nobody anything about the novel, except for the most important parts. McKillip is an author to be swept away by, an evocative force of word and imagination that will irritate or enchant depending on the individual. Knowing which of the two you are for her particular style is more crucial for deciding whether to read her than any talk of character, plot or theme. She is like a psychedelic Le Guin, a hippie Tolkien. I am unabashedly in my happy place, even if I find such works hard and slow to read, but some of you may not be.
As for the particulars of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, it is the tale of a sorceress named Sybel, content with her fabulous menagerie of powerful monsters until the arrival of a soldier with a babe. This triggers a set of events in which she is dragged slowly into the intrigues of warlords and the learning of love alike. If this sounds like a romance then it is to some degree, but that is more supporting act than anything. The main source of drama is always Sybel reckoning on the right thing to do with her powers, powers capable of calling and chaining man and monster alike to her will.
A lot of the narrative left me in a mood of pleasant bemusement, not quite connecting with the story but admiring it anyway. The beginning was beguiling, but the rest not so much. It was only at the end that I connected fully and emotionally with what McKillip was doing, at which point it all made sense. It’s a wonderful ending, although not as wonderful as it could have been if I’d connected all the way. It is my small criticism. The friendships Sybel builds are lightly sketched, and perhaps not initially as convincing as they might be.
That might be different for another read though and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is more than enticing enough to suggest one some day. McKillip’s work might be turning fifty any day now, but it remains hard to forget never the less.
I got a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and Taychon Publications for this – and it’s such a shame McKillip never got to see this, may she rest in peace
This review was originally posted at <The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip>
