Forgotten Beasts of Eld [Paperback]

Patricia A. McKillip (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1984

This World Fantasy Award winner is a spellbinding tale of chilling sorcery, human complexities, and dynastic war. “Like the Ring trilogy or the Earthsea books . . . this magical moonlit fantasy has dignity and romance, heart-stopping suspense, adventure, richness of concept and language.”--Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Almost destroyed because of a man's fear and greed, Sybel, a beautiful young sorceress, embarks on a quest for revenge that proves equally destructive. Winner of the World Fantasy award, this exquisitely written story has something for almost every reader: adventure, romance and a resonant mythology that reveals powerful truths about human nature. Locus praised it for its "marvelous heroine... and chilling sorcery" and The New York Times called it "rich and regal." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"This magical moonlit fantasy has dignity and romance, heart-stopping suspense, adventure, richness of concept and language."--Publishers Weekly

"A mythical kingdom fantasy with a marvelous heroine, satisfying strange beasts, and chilling sorcery."--Locus

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (April 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425065952
• ISBN-13: 978-0425065952
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,924,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchantress on the Mountain, January 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Paperback)

For many years there has been a wizard in residence atop Eld Mountain, living in peaceful contemplation with a group of magical heraldic animals. The last one called a reluctant princess to him with a spell, just as he called the animals, and before she died of loneliness and sorrow she bore a daughter. This daughter, named Sybel, becomes the wizard-in-residence, spending her long days conversing with the wise Beasts and never missing the company of humans. One day a handsome prince brings her a child; her nephew, in danger from political maneuvering. Sybel comes to love little Tam, but as he grows he draws her into the world that she has always ignored. There is danger there; Sybel is lovely and powerful and men covet both attributes. She loves Tam enough to release him to his destiny as Prince Tamlorn; in Coren she finds not only love but acceptance into a family. But across her new life falls the shadow of hate and revenge. Sybel finds no amount of power can spare you from your own humanity. As you might suspect, many readers have treasured copies of this book for years, and I suspect Stephen R. Donaldson of being one of them. Could WHITE GOLD WIELDER or DAUGHTER OF REGALS have existed without this book? It's a seminal work, a book of wonder that has inspired and taught all its readers. On one level, a fairy tale; beneath the surface, a story of choices and ethics. If you turned your eye inward, would you like what you saw inside your mind? Even atop the loneliest mountain in the farthest land, your own humanity will seek you out one day and demand an accounting.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be required reading for all fantasy lovers, April 28, 2000

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Paperback)

Enter a land where wise old boars speak, as well as falcons, lions and cats. A land filled with sorcery, beauty and evil . . .

Known as the ice white lady, Sybil was raised to live to care only for the mythical beasts under her control - powerful, beautiful and wise, and feared by man - she knows none of the ways of men and prefers to keep it that way. Until one day, when a young babe is left in her arms, and she learns to love, and gets entangled in a War she wants no part of.

THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD is a treasure worth seeking out. It's an imaginative story of love, betrayal and forgiveness, filled with intriguing characters you won't soon forget. The dialogue is sparse and the tale is short but there is an abundant amount of character growth and plenty of plot points to ponder. There's also enough magic and surprises to keep those pages turning. I never knew quite where the story was going to lead. I'm now on the hunt for her other work.

This book is a World Fantasy Award winning novel for a good reason.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ice Queen, January 8, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Paperback)

Wizardry has never seemed so seductive or so dangerous as when Patricia McKillip gives a glimpse of it, with a lesson on revenge and hatred and what they do to a person. This is probably my least favorite of her books, but that is still several notches above the average fantasy.

The protagonist, Sybel, is the daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter of powerful wizards, living in an isolated house on a mountain with an array of magical animals. Among them are an ancient dragon Gyld, riddling Boar Cyrin, the deadly Ter Falcon, and others. With telepathic links to her beasts, she has no need for human beings outside the walls of her home. But the animal she still longs to find is the Liralen, a legendary white bird.

She is temporarily distracted from her quest when a nobleman, Coren, arrives with a baby, and asks her to care for it. Sybel learns how to love the child, Tamlorn, and for several years they are happy (with the help of an old lady). She also summons a strange smoky creature called Blammor, which terrifies many people -- but hardly affects the calm, icy Sybel.

Coren returns and is attacked by Gyld, then brought into Sybel's house by Tam. She is angered when she finds that Coren is there to bring Tamlorn back to the world of men, where his father is a powerful and cold-hearted king named Drede. As time goes by, Sybel sees that Tam wants to see his father. She eventually relents and sends him to his father's home, with Ter Falcon to watch over him. Drede offers to let her come and stay near Tam, but she knows that he would only seek to use her wizardry against his enemies.

A dangerous wizard comes hunting for Sybel at Drede's bidding, and tries to seduce her -- before being killed by the Blammor. Sybel is furious and wants revenge on Drede -- but what will she do to gain revenge, and what would the cost of revenge be?

I sometimes wonder if Sybel was an experiment for Patricia McKillip, to see if she could write the ultimate "Ice Queen" and still make her sympathetic. I found Sybel less sympathetic than understandable, in that her lack of unnecessary emotion makes her clear-sighted in some situations, while simultaneously making her more susceptible to hatred. She is not really an admirable character in some respects -- we see her engaging in casual theft, using people like pawns, and coldly threatening to set deadly animals on Coren, but at the same time we see her love for Tamlorn and her struggling emotions for Coren.

Like so many of Patricia McKillip's books, the plot is deceptively simple with nuances woven through it. McKillip's thoughts on revenge are intertwined with the "Riddle-Master" trilogy, "Fool's Run," and "Song for the Basilisk." Here we see how hatred and its offspring, vengeance, might destroy a person from the inside out and destroy what they most care for.

The writing is not as lush and luxurious as in many of her other books, nor is the magic in it as take-your-breath-away as that of the Riddle-Master trilogy. We don't get inside Sybel's head very often. Nor is the attraction between Coren and Sybel quite as well-defined as some of her other romances. Coren himself is a wonderful male lead: handsome, brave, compassionate, forgiving, good-natured and with a tragic streak to make him more real. Tamlorn is an excellent portrayal of an innocent, sweet-natured boy raised in a semi-idyllic enviroment, but who craves something of the outside world.

This is an excellent YA fantasy, but which is not childish in any way. Adults can also benefit from the weave of words and the lesson inside it.