5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure enchantment., September 1, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Chalice and the Blade (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is so superbly written, it belongs in a class/category that is far beyond the "plot by the numbers" books I am often stuck with. Because I am an omniverous reader, I finish even the poorly conceived and written romance books. The stunning writing and story in The Chalice and the Blade make it worth while to read a few mediocre books. This book is a gem among many. I can't wait for Ms. McReynolds's new book to come into paperback. I don't understand how anyone could give this wonderful book a poor review. But, to each his/her own.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE is a fascinating story, August 26, 1997
THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE by Glenna McReynolds
Bantam Nov.97 ISBN 0-553-10384-9
THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE is a fascinating story
that's a mixture of several genres; there's historical romance in
twelfth century Wales, science fiction with mages and dragon
larvae, adventure with battles and mysteries, and ticklish humor
that's like a chocolate topping on ice cream.
The adventure begins at the scene of a Celtic festival, Calan
Gaef on October 31, deep in the tunnels beneath castle Carn
Merioneth on the cliffs of the Irish Sea. The "wild folk" of the
mountains, meadows, and caves and the people from the castle
gather with the three persons needed to "call the dragons" and look
into the scrying pool to mark the eternal cycle of life, death and
rebirth. They are Rhiannon, caller of the dragons, Nemeton, a great
sorcerer, and Rhuddlan, leader of the Quicken-tree tribe. But when
Rhiannon peers into the pool this night, it's the fall of Carn
Merioneth she sees as a band of soldiers advance upon the Keep.
Five-year-olds Ceridwen and Mychael are spared only
because they've disobeyed and ventured into the tunnels to catch a
glimpse of the festival. Nemeton's daughter Moriath, their nurse,
also survives, and smuggles Mychael to Strata Florida Abbey while
taking Ceridwen to Usk Abbey where she herself grew up -- and
hid a mysterious book. Also spared is Rhuddlan, who seals the
weir gate and traps the dragon larvae in their dark maze. Years
later, he must again bring together the threefold union who can
open the gate and free the pyrf: himself, Ceridwen ab Arawn,
daughter of Rhiannon who inherited the gift of calling the dragons,
and Dain Lavrans, successor of the sorcerer Nemeton.
Chapter one opens with a less than brave groom being sent
to fetch the Danish sorcerer Dain Lavrans to the great hall of
Wydehaw Castle. The little man is so terrified of the mage that
when lightning strikes as he grabs the gargoyle door knocker he
faints dead away. Lavrans opens the door to find a man frozen to
it, and delights in the knowledge that he will be accredited with
accomplishing the great feat himself.
Lavrans goes to the great hall and discovers he's been
summoned to tend the wounds of a jewel-like beauty captured by
Ragnor the Red, Wydehaw's most bestial knight. Chained to the
wall, Ceridwen has been gashed across her forehead, has a deep
bite wound on her shoulder, and a broken ankle. Lavrans is the
only man the red-haired giant is frightened of and therefore plays on
his fear of spells and dark incantations by using a magic trick. He
takes a green bauble from his pocket, deftly doing sleight-of-hand
with the orb as he gives Ragnor a choice; take the stone and keep
the maiden, or have neither. As he chants of faerie dreams and
death and serpent stones for effect, the tiny slip of a girl suddenly
snatches the stone from him herself -- thus sending Ragnor fleeing
in horror.
Dain takes the maid to his tower to tend her, and finds that
her innocence is like a balm to his old and weary soul, helping him
heal from his disgraceful past where he was known as "the Swan"
to a desert slaver. Ceridwen remembers love, but having been torn
from everyone who ever cared for her at the tender age of five, she
is very hungry to know it again. Together Dain and Ceridwen must
face a destiny foretold by their ancestors, and embark on an
adventure that could either tear them apart or seal their fate forever.
Glenna McReynold's turn of phrase and humor is as
engrossing as her story and characters. Through rich description
and detail she allows readers to slip on the cloak of the characters
and become them, feeling their desolation when love seems lost and
elation when obstacles are overcome. A tear, chuckle, shudder or
sigh is never more than a sentence away, and readers are eager to
discover what awaits them next. Her people are realistic,
with everyday foibles, and you'll miss them when you close the
book. But if you're like me, you'll be eager to revisit them on the
keeper shelf.
--Kat Bragg, CompuServe Romance Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!!, November 26, 2005
This review is from: The Chalice and the Blade (Mass Market Paperback)
AS an avid reader, I found this book to be one of the best I've ever read. I find fantasy and romance, if well done, are the best of books. Throw in some sexual tension, and there you have it. I wish she would write more of Dain & Cedric. I'm about to try several of her other books; hope I'm not disappointed.
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