Customer Reviews

Guardian's Key

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an amazing book!

I like fairy tales written for adults, and eagerly seek them out whenever I can, but sadly find that many of those I read are dull, predictable, unoriginal, pale imitations of each other. This book, however, totally shatters that mould. This is inventive, original, lively, beguiling, and utterly charming.

I will not rehash the plotline of this book in my review...others have already done that, some of them rather too thoroughly (do not read the review written by reviewer 'Willow and Jasmine "Wren"' if you don't want the ending of this book spoilt for you.) But I will say, I thought this book had a LOT going for it. Realistic, intelligent characters, unique plot twists and settings, and surprises around every corner. The ending was perhaps a mite predictable, I'll grant you, but in a good way, and trust me, there are still many aspects to it that you definitely won't see coming. Personally, I was shocked by one of them, when what I thought was going to be a sugary metaphor turned out to be gritty reality. But I was pleased to be shocked...I like unpredictability and daring in a book. Bravo!

If this book is any indicator of Anne Logston's skill as a writer, I will definitely be reading more of her books in future. I would thoroughly recommend this book to others. It's not just a story about magic, it's a magical story!

I always loved this book and all the author's other stories. I wish she had written more books. Her characters are approachable and yet approriatley foreign. The land is just obscure enough to not be ours but yet relatable enough to makeit viable. I love her humor and her characterization.

For anyone who has ever loved Jim Henson's Labyrinth, reading this book is a must. You'll find more parallels than there are minutes in a Labyrinthininan day. Only this time, there's no Sarah, and the girl gets the man.

The Guardian's Key is an .....okay story. Dara is likeable even if somewhat gullible, she is still intelligent, brave and has a good resolve. Her scenes with Lord Vanian are well written and leave you eager for the next scene between the two. I like Lord Vanian's character, he has just the right mixture of arrogance, bitterness, charming appeal and is at times innocently perplexed by the opposite sex to solidify the story. My issues with the book is that she goes on this quest because she wants to marry the man she thinks she loves and as we learn more about this man she loves it becomes clear he is not worthy. It takes Dara more than 3/4 of the book to figure this out for herself. Now while I understand this may have been necessary for Dara's character development I think she should have come to terms with this earlier on and then perhaps the story could have moved on a bit more quickly.

All in all the book is a decent read.

This book is just marvellous. If you like the magical dream-like world of Patricia A. McKillip, you'll love this story. On a quest to get the thing she needs to marry her true love, Dara finds herself exploring the Crystal Keep and its hallway of endless doors to search out the Oracle's answers. The characters are brightly-painted, the Keep is dream-like, and the plot moves rapidly and enthrallingly. Different from Logston's other books, but very very good!

_Guardian's Key_ is one of the best books I've ever read! Anne Logston spins a wonderful yarn with a captivating mystery, a likeable heroine, and a wonderfully complex villain! If you have anything important to do, do not start this book, because once you start, you will be so caught up that you won't be able to stop! Enjoy!

I totally enjoyed this book. Even though the heroine is quite unrelistic, who cares! This is a fun book to read. The plot is entertaining. You like the villian and admire the heroine. If you don't want to mess with the problems of the world around you, read this book. Even the most unsurmountable problems can be overcome

After reading all of the raving reviews on this page, I thought to myself, "Wow, this must be something special!" I went out and bought the book, but now I wish I hadn't wasted the money. It's not that I thought the book was terrible or anything, but it wasn't believable, didn't really have a sense of humor, and was just a let-down.

It begins with Dara, a serving maid who goes off to find the Crystal Keep to ask for whatever she needs to win the man she loves. Who in this case happens to be a prince, named Cav. Apparently, he loves her too, but his parents don't approve. Anyway, Dara finds the Crystal Keep, and is greeted by the cold and mysterious Guardian of the Keep, Lord Vanian. She is given a key and told to look for the Oracle, which will answer her question. Then she sets off to look for it.

The Keep is a long, long corridor with many doors leading into different worlds. Dara begins searching them and has many adventures with hostile creatures, She finds someone's lost wish, meets a demon named Gespry, and an old woman named Granny Good, and also has a few nasty encounters with Lord Vanian. Very gradually, the mysteries of the Keep become clearer to her. But it is only when Lord Vanian takes a poisoned dart meant for Dara that things start to get interesting (this was about 20 pages from the end) Dara has to take care of him and begins to take pity on him. At the end of the book, Dara gets her magical powers, finds the Oracle, and somehow or other decides to stay with Lord Vanian.

My main problems with the book were: the plot was very unbelievable and somewhat boring. Dara goes around into more rooms looking for things and being scared of Lord Vanian popping in on her. Gespry just goes around being scared, and Granny goes around being mysterious, like Lord Vanian. The other problem was the romance. Some people have said that they liked Lord Vanian, but I didn't, and I thought the romance was totally unbelievable. I mean one second she wants to go back to Cav, the next she is deciding to stay in the Crystal Keep with Lord Vanian forever. There is no communication between them of loving each other, so I thought it was a ridiculous ending. The other thing was the addition of a couple of somewhat graphic scenes that were really unneccesary to the story. Because of that I would only recommend it for teens or up. Anyway, I didn't hate it, and it wasn't a total waste of time, but I could take it or leave it.