Customer Reviews

Ombria in Shadow

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Patricia McKillip at her worst is far better than usual fantasy writing, and here she is in fine form. Three-dimensional characters, flowing plot, flowery prose all meld together into a satisfying novel.

Gloom and shadow fall over the city of Ombria as its ruling prince lies dying, leaving four people in the palace: Kyel, his child-heir who is traumatized by the loss of his family and friends. Lydea, the prince's mistress from a tavern, who genuinely mourns him. Domina Pearl (also called "Black Pearl"), an ancient, hideous, deathless, inhuman woman who seeks to control Kyel for her own power over Ombria. And Ducon Greve, the prince's silver-eyed nephew, whose father is a mystery and who expresses himself through charcoal drawings.

When the prince dies, Kyel becomes the new prince -- but not before Domina Pearl throws Lydea out of the palace, and she flees to her father's grimy tavern -- only to find that she longer belongs there, but that she never belonged at the palace either.. Ducon is asked by nobles to try to overthrow the Black Pearl, but his sole concern seems to be for Kyel's safety, and he cannot act if it could hurt his young cousin. And in the "undercity," the sorceress Faey (who is definitely not human) is hired to "undo" Ducon -- except her waxling Mag (a living creature formed from wax) doesn't want Ducon to be killed.

But the political strife is only a portent of things to come. It's all linked to strange, ancient events that start with "perilous times, a desperate city, the ruling house in chaos, in danger." It's all linked to Ducon, Domina Pearl, Mag, a locket of blood and rose petals, a children's tale, and the shadow.

Like many of her recent books, this book focuses on several individuals whose lives interconnect within the main plot. As for the plot itself, well, expect the unexpected. In some ways it resembles "Song for the Basilisk," a prior book of McKillip's, with its mingling of magic and politics; also, Domina Pearl is in some ways reminiscent of the Basilisk, with her aura of quiet, stifling malevolence. But while the plotline of "Basilisk" was politics fueled by magic, it's the reverse here, magic fueled by politics; also, while the Basilisk was the figure on the throne, Domina Pearl is the power behind the throne. The "shadow city" is freshly created and beautifully explains certain plot points.

Like Morgan of the Riddle-Master trilogy, Ducon Greve is a quiet person who doesn't particularly want to get involved in earthshaking events, but has to anyhow. Lydea's growth is also well-done, as she tries to help Ducon and Kyel. Mag is a little more difficult to connect to at first, as she seems to think in a manner entirely differently from Lydea and more like (but not exactly like) Ducon. As the book unfolds, we do see more of her emotions and feelings. Faey is one of the most original characters -- we're never entirely sure what she is or what her motivations are, aside from herself. But that never makes her unsympathetic or hard to connect to.

McKillip's writing is, as always, lush and detailed without being smothering. Her dialogue ranges from beautiful and poetic to downright funny in a few places, down to Kyel playing with his little puppets. And we have yet another gorgeous Kinuko Craft cover (look carefully for the black pearls in Lydea's hair).

This will probably be one of the best fiction releases all year, a tale of power-seeking, magic, the cycles of history, ghosts, shadows, and underground sorcery. A treasure.

Reading Patricia McKillip is akin to lucid dreaming; I am aware that the world is not real and is not functioning according to everyday logic, but people and events form oddly beautiful and meaningful patterns. I slow down, reading individual words instead of compressing them into sentences and paragraphs; McKillip's language is half the pleasure of her books.

The other thing I love about McKillip is how little her books resemble cookie-cutter "fantasy" dreck. While her books are all reminiscent of each other, they are all individual. And they are not like anything else I've read. "Ombria in Shadow" is no exception.

Ombria is an ancient city; its past lies buried underground, layers of buildings and previous incarnations of the city shrouded in darkness. Aboveground, the city is troubled. The prince has died, leaving his five-year-old son Kyel Greve under the control of Domina Pearl, a woman who is steadily running Ombria into the ground for her own purposes. She is opposed by the prince's mistress, Lydea; his bastard nephew, the artist Ducon Greve; Mag, the "waxling" servant of a mysterious sorceress who lives in the underground city; and various coalitions of nobles who know nothing of the magical forces also working in Ombria.

Magic and legends of a shadow city weave in and out of the political story. I am still not sure how everything connects, particularly since none of the characters completely understands what happens towards the end. I am not terribly convinced by the explanations given to Ducon and Mag, and the last chapter left me thoroughly confused. However, while the story leaves a lot to be desired on the everyday level, the end *feels* right.

I just wish it made sense, too.

Patricia Mckillip's best prose returns as she renders this tale of an ancient city teetering between present and past in a rich and satisfying read. She draws you in with her wonderfully rendered language and holds you throughout with this story of tavern-keeper's daughters, ancient sorceresss, bastard princes, amoral tutors and scheming nobles as they via to bring their vision of the city of Ombria from off the pages of history and fairy tale to waking life. Sound like any number of stereotypical fantasy conventions? Think again. Patricia Mckillip is never anything less than original, even when borrowing the trappings of convential fantasy.

While each person is interesting the city itself is another character, one afflicted with duel personalities, and Mckillip renders its odd corners, endless layers and hidden depths much as she would another person. The essential mystery is whether Ombria is two cities, one identity dominant while the other lies dormant. The conflict between the two halves of the city is mirrored in the opposing forces of the two sorceress, Dominia Pearl, regent to a powerless boy-prince (and a pirate to boot!)who is determined to bring the shadow city to life for her gain. Faey, a power so old she has forgetten more than any remember goes her own way in the hidden undercity of Ombria, sending her "waxling" Mag into the world to fetch her needs. Only when Mag decides to meddle in the affairs of the Black Pearl and join with those opposing her is Faey moved to act.

Mckillip's tale winds through secret passages in the castle, between the covers of old children's tales and in the sketches of the bastard painter Ducon as the stuggle for power and possession of the city unfolds. Only through unlocking the mysteries of their own shadowy pasts will Mag and Ducon hope to tip the balance of Ombria to the side of light. The end, when it comes is a bittersweet one, for both the characters and the reader. A thoroughly engrossing tale.

I would actually give this book 4.5 stars if I could, but since that's not an option, 4 stars is better. I do agree with some of the other reviews saying that there is something missing from the book. It just...I want to know more! And that's a good thing! I find myself thinking about this book constantly. It's very thought-provoking, because you don't REALLY understand what's going on sometimes, and I've had to read parts over because I just flew by readung it the first time. It's a VERY interesting book. It's definetly not just any fantasy. When I was reading it, and after I finished, this book feels very much like a dream. It has that dream-quality, where it just kind of floats by, and after you've woken up, you don't really remembered what happened.

It is a very good book, if you want something a little different, with intresting characters (for some reason, I particularly liked Ducon. I think it had something to do with the hair! He was just a cool character, in my opinion) I think no matter how many times you read this book, you'll still want more.

It's hard not to fall in love with Patricia McKillip's characters, who try to do right in the face of overwhelming evil. Especially since her characters are embedded like jewels in the cities of Ombria and Shadow Ombria (think of an ancient Italian city like Ravenna, saturated in sorcery, where every shadow may reflect a distant age, a different ruler).

Careful reading reveals the intricacies of the plot that twines around the characters of a bastard artist-prince, the former ruler's mistress, the young prince of Ombria, and his evil regent, Domina Pearl. There is also a young girl named Mag, who is not even sure she is human, and a powerful sorceress named Faey, who lives in the shadows and sends Mag on the oddest errands:

"She [Mag] bought a lamb's heart at the butcher's. She waited at a familiar doorway for goats' eyes and candles made of goat fat. At a small shop with dusty windows and an ancient apothecary sign, she picked up powdered bone and extractions from strange, fleshy plants that had been diverted from Domina Pearl's pirate ships. For the cook, she bought violets. At the brewer's, she traded silver for quicksilver, and a crock of Faey's favorite ale."

Mag ingratiates herself into the plot: small drops of quicksilver against the dark palette of two powerful magicians---Mag's mistress and Domina Pearl---who vie for control of the true Ombria. The story line may well remind readers of "Song for the Basilisk," where the Basilisk's daughter intrudes between her father's magic and that of a musician-sorcerer's. I think `Ombria' has the edge over `Basilisk' in that Domina Pearl's motives are easier to understand, and she is more briskly evil than was the Basilisk-prince.

As always, Kinuko Craft's cover art is a match for McKillip's intoxicating prose.

McKillip's books are always a treat to read but she has really outdone herself with her new book. The style remains her distinctive familiar flavor while further developing her own voice. As she has delved into the language of music, of color and of nature in her other books, here she explores the language of light and shadows. The book also covers deeply sypathetic themes of children growing up and parents letting go. The characters are colorful and diverse and she increases her range of character from a couple of main figures to several fully developed personalities. The ending, while surprisingly poignant, is different from all her other "ending types" and displays definite growth and increased comfort in taking risks with the reader's heart to end the story the way it truly should be. McKillip's knack for blending several unconnected threads into one magnificent tapestry really makes the book an immensely satisfying read. Overall, the book will be a delight to McKillip veterans as well as those who are drawn to the beauty of the cover to discover the rich rewards of her writing.

Like all of Patricia McKillip's books, "Ombria in Shadow" is a dreamy, intricate tale, made memorable by her distinctive poetic prose. Symbols, circumstances and meanings can be interpreted on any number of deeper levels, making her books ones to be savoured and re-read. If you are a lover of eloquent poetry and subtle imagery, then let "Ombria in Shadow" be the first of McKillip's range of stories to let you drift away on language that must have been meticulously chosen in order to create a sense of faery and dreaming.

The royal prince of Ombria is dead, leaving a child-heir, a grieving mistress and a confused bastard nephew at the mercy of Domina Pearl ('The Black Pearl'), the regent of the city, who is seemingly immortal and has her own dark plans for the ruling of the oldest city in the world. Casting the young mistress Lydea onto the streets and poisoning the young prince Kyel into a state of deep depression is just the beginning. The bastard-son Ducon is drawn almost against his will into the designs of the noble conspirators, when all he wishes to do is attempt to fulfil his passion for drawing doorways, windowsills and other openings - searching for something in his pictures that he doesn't understand.

Meanwhile, the mysterious sorceress Faey dwells in the shadows beneath the city, doing whatever magical task the highest bidder pays her for, along with her magical "waxling" Mag. A creature of magic is what Mag has been led to believe she is, but after accidentally swallowing a heart-spell of Faey's, she begins to feel rather human emotions that bring her tangled into the conspiracy of the crown, with her own part to play...

Perhaps the inclusion of all these characters without a clear protagonist is a slight fault of the novel, but in a way I think that is a technique that McKillip sought to take, in the way of puttin Ombria itself in the title role, with all her characters fitting together like a jig-saw puzzle in order to save it. Certainly out of everything, Ombria is her most fascinating creation. Below the sunny streets lies another Ombria, a shadow Ombria: the city's own past. Ghosts and magic dwell there, and the entrances are through abandoned doors and shadows. It is almost as if time itself runs differently in the city - it runs not horizontally, from left to right, but vertically, with the city's past gradually sinking downwards into the underworld (an idea helped along greatly by the imagery presented in the great underground river, lined with empty houses and its black surface lit by lamps). I was utterly intoxicated by such an idea, and the language with which it was used suited it perfectly.

As it is, I wasn't entirely satisfied by the conclusion; it was suitably ambiguous, but still didn't answer all my questions, especially concerning the relationship and the real nature of Faey and the Black Pearl. But nonetheless "Ombria in Shadow" is a wonderful read, and comes complete with another of K. Y. Craft's beautiful title covers, which is well worth the price of any book!

I loved this book for its poetic language, its characters and its atmosphere. I was surprised, however, that the ending revealed so little. There seemed to be such original ideas brewing beneath the surface of the politics and intrigue. Unless I missed something, it never explained what the Shadow city was, what its relationship to Ombria was, what the shift was, why it happened, or who the sorceresses were. I picked up some implications that Mag may have been half of the shadow city, but it never said, and it didn't say whether she was related to Ducon in some way. I suppose the characters' lives were fixed in the end, but I was still confused. I wanted a more in-depth revelation of the nature of this world.

Since "The Book of Atrix Wolfe" left me a little cold, I was leery of reading another McKillip book. I'm so glad I picked up this one, though! I've seldom enjoyed reading a book this much...and while it is a light read, the tale stays with you.

This story is *almost* a fairy tale, although which one, I can't put my finger on. There are elements of Cinderella and The Snow Queen, but nothing definate. "Ombria In Shadow" does have all thr makings of a real fairy tale in and of its own right, though--a beautiful damsel in distress, a handsome half-human hero, a plucky heroine, a shapeshifing sorceress, a shadow city, magic toads, shoes made out of sapphires, enchanted artwork, and an evil witch who, for whatever reason, reminded me of Yubaba in "Spirited Away."

I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves fairy tales and who's looking for a luxurious weekend read.

Ombria in Shadow is a great book. Patricia McKillip's true conquest is one of language. It took me two chapters to really find a groove with the reading, but once I did, the book wasn't long enough. I kept wanting the chapters to be longer, I kept wanting to spend more time with the characters. For me, that's a mark of great writing.

For anyone who reads fantasy, here's a chance for something different. For anyone who pointedly doesn't read fantasy, here's a chance for something different. I would definitely say that this is a reader's book.