Children of the Shaman (Roc Fantasy) [Paperback]

Jessica Rydill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Roc Fantasy | Publication Date: February 4, 2003

A brother and sister venture out from the sheltered coastal town where they were raised, into the magical kingdom of La Souterraine. Only then and there do they learn what their heritage means, to them, and to those around them...

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Annat and Malchik are Wanderer children. Raised in their aunt's sheltered home among the Doxoi, a Christian-like people who hate and fear Wanderers, they are now to spend six months traveling with their father, the powerful shaman Yuda, to the frozen northlands, where a tunnel is underway beneath the Forest of Ademar to the unknown regions beyond. Yuda's stated mission is one of healing, but secretly he is to investigate a series of murders that threatens the tunnel's completion. Annat has inherited shamanic talent that she is excited about expanding with her father's help, but the scholarly Malchik prefers reading about adventure to living it. Within a day of arrival with their father, however, the children are thrown into a world of pure evil, wild magic, and interdimensional shamanic travel. The world of this wonderful story is a blend of familiar elements: languages are satisfyingly almost French and almost Slavic; religions are akin to Judaism and Christianity. Spirited, fiercely individualistic Yuda is the most fascinating character. Relationships are complex and realistic. Answers aren't easy, and endings aren't tritely happy, though the promise of light and redemption lies shrouded by the tale's heady dark mystery. Garnishing this refreshing fantasy is Rydill's writing, which holds a slightly foreign tone appropriate to the setting yet remains relaxed and easy. A red-letter debut! Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451459113
• ISBN-13: 978-0451459114
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,418,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting dangerous story of journey, August 30, 2003

By 

Me "crybabymommie" (Northern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children of the Shaman (Roc Fantasy) (Paperback)

I highly suggest that you read this book.It is a journey filled with incredible detail from a very kool writer. This book has exciting young characters who encounter all kinds of fantasy and emotional events as they discover their world/s and their family relationships...the language the author uses is vivid and evokes an imaginative tour that follows the children...I loved this book and imediatly sent to AmazonUK for the second novel about these charming characters The Glass Mountain, which I have also finished reading and cared for deeply!!!Both stories work on many levels,sharing worthy bloody battle scenes and touching personal encounters..best young adult series I have read this year!!would make an awesome video game too in my opinion

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Surprise, December 27, 2004

By 

Lillian Frost (NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children of the Shaman (Roc Fantasy) (Paperback)

I received this book as a cheap gift from a dollar store, and had my doubts about how good it would be. Happily, my doubts were unfounded. For those who get tired of the standard fantasy genre that uses a medieval setting and the requisite elves, dragons, and evil wizards, this will be a nice change of pace. The early industrial age technology, religions based on Christianity and Judaism, and easily recognized European geography add an extra dimension to the story as the reader wonders if this is an alternate 18th century Earth, a future earth that has begun to recover after some major calamity, or something completely different. Not all of the "heros" are totally perfect or always heroic, not all the villians are completely despicable, and relationships get complicated. With any luck, this is the first of many books that Rydill will produce.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Debut Novel, January 11, 2004

By 

not4prophet (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children of the Shaman (Roc Fantasy) (Paperback)

Funny thing. A couple weeks ago, I was talking with a friend and we both complained about how there are so few fantasy novels with good portraits of family life. Then I went to the library and found "Children of the Shaman". Thankfully, newcomer Jessica Rydill decided to focus on character-driven fantasy. The story involves two children, Annat and Malchik, who have been raised by their aunt but are now going to join their estanged father, who has just taken a new position in a town to the far north. The level of control and sophistication in the character development is quite impressive. Clearly Rydill understands that interesting people have to be at the heart of a good story. In "Children of the Shaman", it's easy to grow attached to all five of the main characters, because they all have believable strengths and flaws.

The story is set in a remote frozen North. The level of technology seems to be about mid nineteenth century, as we see trains and other glimpses of industrial technology. Unlike many fantasy authors, Rydill actually has researched and understood the societies on which her world is modeled. Thus, we get solid world-building, with lots of attention to the details of daily life, such as medical practice. Indeed, after the first hundred pages or so, this was looking like a five-star book.

Things change a bit once when one character is abducted and taken to a strange alternate universe and the others follow in an attempt to save him. To be sure, Rydill offers some inventive and intriguing possibilities for this new world. Bands of visitiors who have made a deal with evil forces, and mysterious group of people who walk on stilts, and so forth. The problem is that much of the behavior we see during these encounters just doesn't ring true the way that earlier scenes did. For instance, in one situation the heroes encounter a band of natives who mistakes them for a Goddess and her followers. However, the entire scenario, and most particularly the dialogue, feels somewhat forced and unrealistic.

So in summary, "Children of the Shaman" is a good book that could have been even better. Since the ending seems to point towards a possible sequel, we can only hope that Rydill will return to this world, and possibly pay more attention towards capturing realistic behavior in odd situations. Also, the editor needs to be more careful, since this book has a number of errors in spelling and word choice. Finally, I should note that although there are only a few violent scenes here, Rydill does not flinch from intense descriptions, and she has graphic portraits of fight scenes and injuries.