The Hidden Arrow of Maether [Hardcover]

Aiden Beaverson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Does Linn possess the gift that can save the mythical lysefolk of Maether? Fantasy at its most appealing.
Linn wants nothing more than to be left in peace–but her brutish stepfather has other plans. When he demands that she convert her faith and worship the demon Rane in order to wed a local Ranite townsman, Linn dares to do the one thing she dreams of: escape. But not before receiving a whipping at her stepfather’s cruel hands, an act that leaves a gash in her palm in the shape of an arrow–and sets in motion Linn’s destiny.

A mystifying path opens up before her, a path of bent grasses and sloping tree branches. It guides her through the landscape of Maether on a quest to find the City of Trees, home to the mythical lysefolk. . . and to a world whose future depends on Linn alone.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-A promising first novel. Fourteen-year-old Linn, who secretly follows the Truen faith, is horrified when her brutal stepfather decides to marry her off to a member of his malevolent religious sect, the Ranites. When she defies him, his beating slices an arrow-shaped wound on her palm. In the aftermath of this violence, Linn follows an enchanted path away from home and eventually to the fabled City of Trees. There she is admitted to the company of the lysefolk, whose magic guides and protects the world of Maether. Beaverson does a good job establishing the preindustrial setting with its goat herding, sailing ships, and female subservience, and she is at her best when describing the viciousness of the Ranites and their beautiful, evil god Rane. Linn is a believably imperfect protagonist whose faith and native goodness only barely outweigh her fear and longing for an easier life. Although the dialogue is occasionally stilted, the plot is fast paced and compelling. Perhaps a sequel will wrap up the many loose ends of the story; otherwise, readers will find the tale incomplete since it concludes rather abruptly with many questions about the fate of the lysefolk and the world of Maether still unanswered.
Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Does Linn possess the gift that can save the mythical lysefolk of Maether? Fantasy at its most appealing.
Linn wants nothing more than to be left in peace?but her brutish stepfather has other plans. When he demands that she convert her faith and worship the demon Rane in order to wed a local Ranite townsman, Linn dares to do the one thing she dreams of: escape. But not before receiving a whipping at her stepfather?s cruel hands, an act that leaves a gash in her palm in the shape of an arrow?and sets in motion Linn?s destiny.

A mystifying path opens up before her, a path of bent grasses and sloping tree branches. It guides her through the landscape of Maether on a quest to find the City of Trees, home to the mythical lysefolk. . . and to a world whose future depends on Linn alone.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (November 14, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385327501
• ISBN-13: 978-0385327503
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,925,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An imaginative fantasy novel., August 30, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hidden Arrow of Maether (Hardcover)

Fourteen-year-old Linn continues to mourn her father, even though it's been years since he died. When her mother remarried, this time to a worshipper of the demon Rane, it was almost more than Linn could bear. Her stepfather's beatings over the past years are nothing compared to his latest demand, however. He arranges a marriage for Linn that will requirer her to convert her faith and becom a worshiper of the demon. Obeying this order would go against everything Linn's beloved father taught her. So she runs away and boards a ship, hoping to find the fabled City of the Trees, where the Lysefolk spoken of in her father's religion are said to live. But not before recieving a harsh beating from her stepfather that leaves a strange mark the shape of an arrow in the palm of her hand. This mark, supposedly the Hidden Arrow that can defeat Rane once and for all, causes some to fear and hate her, and others to trust her for their salvation. Linn must find out the true meaning of the "Hidden Arrow" if she is to fufill her destiny and build a new life for herself. I highly reccomend this book to teens who enjoy fantasy novels.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, October 8, 2000

By 

Barbara Granick (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hidden Arrow of Maether (Hardcover)

The Hidden Arrow is a fun book for kids and adults. There's a main character you instinctively identify with, lots of suspense both in plot and character development, and enough fantasy to keep you on your toes. I couldn't put it down until it was finished. This is Aiden Beaverson's first book. I predict she'll go far.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You will enjoy the imaginative world the author creates., July 21, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Hidden Arrow of Maether (School & Library Binding)

In this allegorical fantasy of good versus evil, the world of Maether was created by the Great One and is held together by the mighty sentinels and the 60 lysefolk that the Great One placed in the City of Trees. Whenever a lyse (pronounced lees) dies, the Great One sends another. There must always be the mighty sentinel trees and the 60 lysefolk, or Maether will no longer exist. But the demon Rane, the enemy of the Great One, is killing the sentinels one by one, and he wants to destroy the lysefolk and the City of Trees. Rane is getting stronger and stronger, and his followers are beginning to dominate the land. Truens, who are followers of the Great One, must keep their faith secret or they'll be attacked by Rane's worshippers, robbed of all their belongings, and even killed.

In the midst of this cosmic struggle, 15-year-old Linnet lives quietly in Maether, wishing for nothing except that her brutal stepfather will leave her alone. Linnet's own father died when she was a small child, and her mother remarried a Rane worshiper. All Linnet has left of her father is his Lysetome, the leather book of his faith which she cherishes, and the dreams she has of her father telling her to "take the path." She remains faithful to her Truen faith. So, when her stepfather tells her that he has betrothed her to a Ranite and she must accept the red tattoo of Rane on her forehead, Linnet decides to escape. That's when something miraculous happens: a pathway forms as the grasses and weeds bend down before her. It can't be the wind doing it because the wind is blowing from the north, and the pathway leads toward the east. Could this be what her father meant in her dreams?

Linnet follows the path, which leads her on a quest. She wants to find the City of Trees. This quest is difficult enough. She almost doesn't make it. But when she gets there, she learns that she must embark on another, even greater and more dangerous quest. This second quest is so dangerous, in fact, that one lyse has already died trying to make it, and the lysefolk can only ask Linnet to embark upon it --- she alone must decide if she will. Does the lysemark on her hand mean that the Great One has chosen her to be a lyse? Will she be able to find the path to the sacred waters of Maer's Lake? The future of the lysefolk and all of Maether depends upon it. And Rane will stop at nothing to prevent it.

THE HIDDEN ARROW OF MAETHER is a book of courage, faith, and high purpose, with a dash of romance tossed in. You will enjoy the imaginative world the author creates, and you'll want to read about Linnet's quests as she fights for the Great One.


---Reviewed by Tamara Penny