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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid and Intensely Involving Fantasy, October 5, 2000
This review is from: Harpy's Flight (Paperback)
I first read this book (and the other books of the Windsinger series) about 15 years ago. I know I enjoyed it then. I have enjoyed many fantasy novels over the years, and occasionally I have enjoyed rereading them. But I have never felt compelled, after so many years, to seek out a book which was out of print. When I finally got a hold of Harpy's Flight, I found I remembered the central characters vividly, but the plot seemed new and fresh. Ki has lost her family in a brutal attack by harpies, sentient flying creatures. Her first thought is vengeance, and then survival. Along the way, she meets a down and out adventurer, Vandien, when he makes an unsuccessful attempt to rob her. The central characters, Ki and Vandien, are tough, strong, and very human. Their relationship, as they confront dangers, grows in a measured, realistic way. They do not solve each other's problems, but they do help each other survive. As I continued reading, I found some insight as to why I felt so drawn to this particular book at this time of my life. It is about letting go of the past and making a positive decision to live in the face of loss. In the midst of a rich, brightly colored, and strange world, Lindholm somehow draws you in to experience the most intense and sensual grief, anger, love, and compassion, and to make it your own. (Is this a kind of surrealism?) This book is a classic of fantasy literature, and should never have gone out of print.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful fantasy with enjoyable characters, April 15, 2000
This review is from: Harpy's Flight (Paperback)
Harpy's Flight is the beginning of Megan Lindholm's Windersinger trilogy, which, although overlooked by many and often regarded as just another couple of fantasy novels, stands far out of the crowd. Lindholm created a vivid world and tells us enough of it to understand the deeper mechanisms that keep it working but still leaves enough to the reader to let him fill in the rest with his own imagination. In Harpy's Flight character development seems a little shaky compared to the following novels, but Ki and Vandien, the two main protagonists, are highly enjoyable to be acquainted with. There are some quite surprising twists in the story and the book will keep you glued to it to find out what it all comes down to. You probably won't regret buying this book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vengeance..., July 5, 2007
Love, magic and blood is what this tale is about. Ki is an outcast, partly because of what happened to her family and partly by her own actions. Now she must decide, where is she going, what will she become? But what goes around comes around and, after getting her revenge, it looks like she may end up running for her life. The problem is, who is she running from and who can she trust?
I was first exposed to the skill of Megan Lindholm when I read a short fantasy story starring Ki and Vandien while in college, in the early 90s. I was very impressed by the friendship between the male character and female character. They were partners in arms but not lovers. It seemed fresh, interesting and didn't in any way take away from the story.
So a few weeks ago, looking for some good fantasy to read I searched for a novel with the same characters. And I was not disappointed as you can plainly see.
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