The Golden Band of Eddris [Hardcover]

Ellen Kindt McKenzie (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

"A complicated but compelling fantasy. Morals and principles with implications for today’s world as well as the imaginary one are as important as the magical elements.... A compact and cogent tale." --School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7?Keld and Elylden have no idea what future awaits them when their mother Anna sends them to the village of Adnor to find the blind potter she once studied with so that Keld can learn his trade. Unbeknownst to them, Anna is also leaving their cottage, just ahead of the villagers who have come to accuse her of witchcraft. She heads up and somehow through the mountains to return to her home, the world of the Nedoman. This place of wisdom and beauty is a sharp contrast to the harsh, cruel world she leaves behind. Here, she is Teyapherendana, about to be entrusted with the sources of all of the knowledge of the Women of the Nedoman, but Eddris, the regent holding the position until Teyapherendana comes of age, has been scheming to replace her forever. At Eddris's bidding, Anna has spent the last 20 years among humankind, although only a morning has passed in Nedoman. Realizing that these time shifts have greater implications for his grandchildren, Anna's father, the great wizard Stilthorn, enters this world to find and protect them from Eddris, who is also hunting for them. Thus the story becomes a race against time and fate. This is a complicated but compelling fantasy. Morals and principles with implications for today's world as well as the imaginary one are as important as the magical elements. There are many threads to the story but only enough room to introduce, rather than fully explain, some of them. Intriguing characters and urgent situations take precedence over the kind of background and description common to many fantasies, but in this case sacrificing detail makes for a more compact and cogent tale. A brief epilogue ties up some loose ends, and could easily be the source for a sequel.?Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-9. As Anna dispatches son Keld and daughter Elylden off to the village of Adnor, she gives each of them gifts they will need when they confront the witch Eddris. The duo soon learns that the evil Blygen and his new wife Sirdde (Eddris backwards) are terrorizing the people of Adnor. With the aid and wisdom of a wizard, Keld and Elylden lure Eddris to the mountains where Keld battles her in a dramatic struggle. Elylden and Keld, with their special talents and human flaws, are believable protagonists, but the plot is so dense and complicated it seems like the latter book in a series. The rural and urban landscapes are vivid, especially the squalid Adnor underground, but the locations are confusing, despite the map. This makes the book best suited for large collections or those with avid fantasy readers. Linda Perkins

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805043896
• ISBN-13: 978-0805043891
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,394,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly average juvenile fantasy, January 20, 2000

By 

Jennifer Mo - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Band of Eddris (Hardcover)

The Golden Band of Eddris is by no means a book without merit; it simply fails to stand out from the hundreds of other mediocre books written in the genre. I find that these books have several common faults, not the least of which is that they take themselves far too seriously. The plot in GBoE is unmemorable-- two young children on a quest with many cliches (see Diana Wynne Jones' Tough Guide to Fantasyland, especially sections on Rings, Maps and Mysterious Benefactors), and Keld and Elylden join the numerous other undistinguishable characters of mediocre fantasies. On the up side, there is some very potentially interesting background, particularly concerning Anna, the settings are well done, and the plot moves along. The climax, however, is too ambiguous to have as much impact as it really needs.

If you enjoy this type of YA quest-type fantasy, you might give this one a try. As opposed to the implication of the cover art, the Sword Swinging Hero is not one of the cliches contained herein. For more in a similar vein, you might try Edith Pattou's Hero's Song. Personally, I'm going to go back to Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing book, March 2, 2002

By 

S. A. Cain "writer" (Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Band of Eddris (Hardcover)

I finished this book only because I kept hoping it would get better. The plot was rather muddled, the characters mostly two-dimensional (if that), their motivations a mystery, the plot twist at the end not much of a twist, and the time rather squishy. Months or weeks or mere days may have passed during the action of the book, but I have absolutely no idea how long the action took.

The characters went willy-nilly from place to place, without any apparent rhyme or reason. Once aligned with a higher power, the two main characters (a 14-year-old and an 8-year-old sent off into the world by their mother) still had very little direction to their journeys. The ending was unsatisfying, and I finished the book with a bad taste in my mouth.

As the other reviewer pointed out, the background for this book is intriguing, as is the world in which it is set. Unfortunately, this book read as if it were about 200 pages too short, as if all the character and plot development hadn't been given the attention the world development had. The richness of the setting, which led me to hope for a good read, actually made me feel the disappointment more keenly.

I really don't recommend this book (though the cover art is very nice).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, August 14, 2002

By 

"fantasymaniak" (Staten Island, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Band of Eddris (Hardcover)

This Book, The Golden Band Of Eddris, Is a Great book, its one of those books that once you start to read, theres no putting it down! I highly suggest it to all you fantasy fans, and all just wanting to read a good book. Aloso, for the price it is selling for, EXCELLENT!