I feel like I'm missing the majority of the story
Rating:
1 / 5
I couldn't finish this book. I felt like the story was in fast forward. This happened and then this, and then this, oh and by the way this.
There was no character development and you had no idea what the character was feeling when all these crazy things happened. I stopped reading because I just couldn't convince myself to care if he ever decided to solve the major riddle or what the answer to it was. I'm the sort of person who likes a book with good characters. Even if the plot isn't that great, if it has good characters I am engaged. But this book had no emotion so I didn't like it.
Sometimes baffling, always beautiful
Rating:
5 / 5
Reading "The Riddle-Master of Hed" is like trying to solve the riddle of someone else's partially-glimpsed dream. You enter a rich world of metaphor, sometimes baffling but always beautiful. A standard hero's quest is overgrown with fabulous beasts, children of stone, and death-dealing harps.
When Land-Ruler Morgon of Hed wins a bride and a crown in a riddling contest with a ghost, he wipes the cow manure off of his boots and sets sail from his tiny island kingdom. Unsure as to whether his beautiful, red-haired prize has any interest in marrying a farmer-king, Morgon sets course for the College of Riddle-Masters at Caithnard, where he was once a student and where his bride's brother still resides. His companion for the journey is Deth, the thousand-year-old High One's harpist.
Morgon and Deth are shipwrecked, and once Morgon regains his memory he discovers that he has unknown, shape-changing enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy him. As he flees through the kingdoms of his world, he is befriended by the various land-rulers and is gifted with a harp and a sword that are decorated with three stars--identical to the birthmark of stars on his forehead. He also learns how to change his own shape into beasts and trees.
Finally Morgon makes his way to Erlenstar Mountain with Deth, the harpist, hoping that the High One will solve the riddle of his stars and defend him against his implacable enemies.
Warning: don't read "The Riddle-Master of Hed" without the last two books of the trilogy at hand. The ending of the first book is a completely unexpected sucker-punch, and although "Heir of Sea and Fire" ends by reconciling Morgon with his bride Raederle, they are both still being pursued by a very nasty wizard and an equally nasty horde of shape-changers. You have to read to the very end of this absorbing trilogy before you find even a tentative glimmering of peace and happiness at the end of "Harpist in the Wind."
Different
Rating:
4 / 5
For those whose experience in fantasy is limited to the clunker Tolkien-ripoffs that swarm our bookstore shelves these days, "The Riddle Master of Hed" will be a decidedly unique experience. The philosophy that McKillip used when writing this book is almost the opposite of what many of today's authors do. Here the plot is the central thing, and nothing gets included unless it contributes to the central story about Morgon's travels and his struggle to unravel the mysteries of his world. No time is wasted on character development scenes or on long descriptions. The story practically flies from one event to the next. Consequently, despite being only 200 pages long, you get more plot from this book than from certain 800-page stinkers I could name.So what's it about. Well, a Prince named Morgon lives in his peaceful island kingdom after recently wining a crown in a riddle-contest. He travels to the mainland to claim his prize, a marriage to a princess, but more than a few surprises are in store when he gets there. There's lots more twists and turns before the big shock at the end, but why should I spoil it for you. "The Riddle Master of Hed" may disappoint those who want in-depth character development, but it will delight anyone who loves puzzles, surprises, and originality.
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