The Knight, the Harp, and the Maiden (Secrets of the Witch World) [Library Binding]

Anne Kelleher Bush (Author)

Book Description

Series: Secrets of the Witch World | Publication Date: July 1999

The foremost city-state of Sylyria is in the cold grasp of Lindos, a cruel wizard who has mastered the magic to turn 10,000 years of peace into a reign of horror. Rejected in his marriage proposal to the beautiful noblewoman Juilene, the evil Lindos plagues her with a hateful curse: anyone who helps her will be destroyed. A forlorn exile with nothing more than her harp, the young songsayer flees her home to protect her family. But, in the distant city of Khardroon, she meets a mysterious knight prophesied to be the true savior of Sylyria -- and the confrontation with Lindos is now inevitable.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Econo-Clad Books (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061329274X
• ISBN-13: 978-0613292740
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not as good as it could have been, January 2, 2000

By 

Sarah E. Morin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knight, the Harp, and the Maiden (Secrets of the Witch World) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was drawn to this book by an unusual plot device: the main character's curse is that she cannot receive charity of any kind. I expected this to get her into all sorts of interesting predicaments. And it did - some of the time. I was not thoroughly convinced of the threat she was supposed to be to other people, nor of the evil sorceror who proposes without provocation. The helpless victim attitude annoyed me; I wanted to slap her even as I pitied her. Juilene is not one of those endearing heroines whose image will stay with me for a long time. But the book has some merit. The role of the songsayer within society has some definite parallels to our first wandering musicians. The implications of a society based on thanes and thurges (rulers and wizards) deserves expansion, as well as the implications of time-travel. The most interesting character in the book is a poor chap with something of an Oedipus problem. Unfortunately, everyone in the book seems infected with some degree of a female-inferiority complex, and the rebuttal is never fully realized. The ending comes too quickly and easily. Could it be redeemed with a sequel? Perhaps - I would like to see the author develop many of the things hinted at in this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Different from what I usually read., February 22, 2003

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Knight, the Harp, and the Maiden (Secrets of the Witch World) (Mass Market Paperback)

To be honest, when I picked up this book I was expecting a historical medieval romance, this was not what I got. This story was pure fantasy, about a make believe world with evil wizardry, thurges, master thurges, over thurges - thanes, and all sorts of classes of people that I had never run across before running all over in a fantasy land - again that I had never heard of. But I figured what the heck, I am into it why not broaden my horizons!

The story starts off with Lady Juilene who has been classically trained as a harpist and with a pleasing voice wants nothing more than to enter a competition before she marries her betrothed Arimond. Arimond's sister is attacked rather brutally by the evil thurge Lindos' soldiers - one of many such brutal type happenings in their domain. Arimond thinks he can defeat and kill the thurge if Juilene can, pose as a song-sayer and get Lindos to drop his guard. - This does not happen - Arimond is caught and killed - Juilene is brought back to Lindos' keep and given an option - marry Lindos. She refuses, and he places a curse on her that would hurt anyone who offers her aid, to be broken only by someone who will love her for herself. To save her family and friends she flees with nothing but her harp and a few coins.

The rest of the story tells the trials and tribulations of this once pampered Lady who must now earn coin for her food, shelter and anything else she needs. You get to watch her grow up and draw on strengths she never knew she had. I would say that this was geared more for a young adult but there is a scene in which Juliene loses her innocence that might make a parent think twice. Eventually, a knight does come into her life with many secrets of his own. The romance story is sweet and their journey together is rife with danger. All in all - this not being a genre that I have immense knowledge of - I would say it is an okay read. Interesting concept if you like that sort of thing.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Slow and Stupid, August 22, 2000

By 

bookaddict01 (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Knight, the Harp, and the Maiden (Secrets of the Witch World) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm on the hundreth and something page(about a third of the book) and NOTHING has really happen yet. Not anything not told on the back of the book. The main character was only in the prologue and then he disappear. The girl of the story was so stupid I don't even want to go into it. Suffice to say that she brought a curse down on herself and got rape without putting up much of a struggle. You can't even say it was a struggle since the rapist didn't get hurt. All she did was tried to push his hands away and then scream when she finally realize what he was doing. I didn't even bother to finish a book with such a weak, pathetic heroine.