Riddle-Master [Paperback]

Patricia A. McKillip (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 1999

For over twenty years, Patricia A. McKillip has captured the hearts and imaginations of thousands of readers. And although her renowned Riddle-Master trilogy--The Riddle-Master of Hed, Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind--has been long out of print, it is considered her most enduring and beloved work. Now it is collected in one volume for the first time--the epic journeys of a young prince in a strange land, where wizards have long since vanished...but where magic is waiting to be reborn.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patricia A. McKillip is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, and the author of many fantasy novels, including The Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy, Stepping from the Shadows, and The Cygnet and the Firebird. She lives in Oregon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade; Ace One-vol ed edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441005969
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005963
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (135 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Fantasy Trilogy August 13, 2001

By "danielb_com"

Format:Paperback

It had been a while since I had read The Riddle Master of Hed when I came across this edition. I bought it since I didn't own any of the books, and I thought it would make a nice addition to my library. The book arrived, and it sat for a bit on the shelf. Then one day I picked it up and began to read...

From the first chapter of the first book it sucked me into the world of Morgon, land-ruler of Hed. I couldn't stop reading. I couldn't stop turning pages. When I finished Riddle-Master of Hed I HAD to start immediately on Heir of Sea and Fire. I was then drawn into the world of Raederle and her search for Morgon. When I finished that book I HAD to start on Harpist in the Wind. Like the previous two, I couldn't stop reading.... Four days after starting The Riddle Master of Hed, I finished the last paragraph of Harpist in the Wind. Finally I could rest. I had been reading the collection every spare minute, sneaking breaks to read more while at work, avoiding people so I could read without interruption, and reading long into the night. I was exhausted, and throughly satisfied.

Morgon, land-ruler of Hed has a destiny to fulfil. A destiny and an inheritance that he knows nothing about. All he has to work from are clues. Three stars on his forehead, a harp, a sword, and several riddles with no solutions. Raederle is in a similar situation. She is the daughter of a land-ruler, heir of a mysterious people with no name, and in possession of powers she is afraid to use. Both Morgon and Raederle are involved, in ways they don't understand, and often do not want to be, in the ending of an age.

This book presents one of the great trilogies of modern fantasy in its complete form. The complete story arc is here, in one volume, for your time-draining, work-interrupting pleasure.... You might want to take a vacation prior to opening it, the book is that hard to put down. Read more ›

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book and author to stumble upon! September 6, 2000

By Maryann C.

Format:Paperback

On a recent trip to Boston, I live in the wild west, I was trudging through a bookstore looking for something to read and a copy of this book (the only one on the shelf---slightly dog-eared and full-priced!) called out to me. I picked it up and saw that on the back cover a reviewer compared this trilogy and the author to Tolkein. I had to buy it and make the decision myself. From page one, I was unable to put the RIDDLE-MASTER down for three complete back to back readings! Patricia McKillip deftly weaves a believable tale of Morgan and his friends and their journey from innocence to nearly immortal power. McKillip has a command of language that rivals any fine author and she has the ability to spin a story that is intriguing as well as compelling. Her heroes, Morgan and Raerjle, are characters that follow the hero formula that is as old as the epic and are as human as we all are. This complete trilogy is satisfying because it is all collected in one volume and there is no wait for each of the sequels (seemingly, the original books are out of print and I had never heard of this author). Considering that these tales were written some 25 years ago, there are delightfully fresh and as I stated above, compelling. Oh, by the way, Tolkein has nothing to fear---he is still the master but I would have no problem placing this volume on a shelf along side the copies of his work!

104 of 122 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Reissue of a Classic October 26, 2000

By Elyon

Format:Paperback

It had been years--or should I say decades--since I read this trilogy, so when I found it reissued in a single volume, I had to buy up. My fond memories of the book were not disappointed, and it still reads as freshly now as it did during the late seventies. Then, when fantasy still remained dominated by Tolkien, or in the hands of overly prolific imitators, two authors stood out, both for the freshness of their approach and their skill of writing: Stephen Donaldson and Patricia McKillip. It's fitting, in the author's acknowledgements, to see their names still linked.

As the author hints in her introduction, this trilogy lacks the maturity of her later works, such as "The Book of Atrix Wolfe," "Winter Rose," or the recent "Song for the Basilisk." Yet all the elements are evident that have contributed to making Patricia McKillip one of the finest authors writing fantasy fiction today: beautiful, at times lyrical, prose, imaginative and original themes and characters, and a wondrous sense of the magical that infuses both her world and story throughout. Each world she creates is unique and thoughtfully rendered, with elements designed to provoke both thought and wonder, and her characters are some of the most striking found in fantasy fiction--no small accomplishment indeed!

While I understand the exuberance behind some earlier reviewers' comments--this work is special and deserving of wide readership--some of the praise here goes overboard. Compared to the second two books, "The Riddle-Master of Hed" is a rough cut, both in conception and in terms of its writing.... It lacks the assurance of the later two books, and, despite some marvelous passages, such as the book's opening and the story of Peven, at times rambles and exhibits writing in need of further polish and greater concision. Essential for establishing much of the basis for the rest of the trilogy, and containing many marvelous episodes and characters, it nonetheless displays the lack of focus and more assured writing skills evident in the following two books, and for this reason prevents me from according it full marks. And, this early trilogy is certainly not up to the standard of the author's later and more mature work.

That said, I nonetheless consider this a classic of the genre, far more imaginatively written than scores of other work currently lining retailer's shelves. Further, it is written with a style that sets the author apart from almost all other wordsmiths presently practicing the genre, a beauty of voice that makes her tales compelling and unique. And while I am dubious of the many comparisons to Tolkien, there is a sense and tone of wonder echoing throughout this story that I have never found elsewhere except in Tolkien's work. I cannot recommend this book more highly. Read more ›

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be a fantasy classic January 23, 2005

By swimming rabbit

Format:Paperback

I just want to add the perspective of a not-hard-core fantasy reader-- I just like good stories, be it an oldie like The Brothers Karamazov or a new great like The Life of Pi. And this is one of my all-time favorite stories. It really is worthy of the "classic" label-- it is masterful storytelling, utterly creative, and seems more real than 'real-life' fiction. What matters most to me are characters who are real and story that speaks into my own life-- Riddle Master has both. It has none of the cheesiness or worn-out qualities of some of those fat, best-selling fantasies with 39 sequels that you can buy at airports. This story is deep, and stays with you for life. If you can make it through the second chapter, I don't think you'll find this story hard to get into at all.

Regardless of what many others have said, without a doubt I can say this is McKillip's strongest work. While her writing is always compelling, many of her 'more mature works' lack the depth and complexity of this one. I definitely enjoyed The Book of Atrix Wolfe, Song for the Basilisk, and Winter Rose, but they all left me feeling somewhat dissatisfied, due to the somewhat tidy endings and incomplete characters. They are enjoyable, well-written stories that you forget in a year. Not so with Riddle Master.

It definitely IS high time that those cheesy 70s mass-market paperback covers (that probably kept would-be appreciative readers away) were replaced with this one-volume reprint. I'm not the only one to initially judge a book by its cover. Take the opportunity to experience this beautiful story without having to brave the 3 annoying comic-book paintings, produced by those cover-artists who never read the books. I'm buying a new volume and giving the old ones to someone who doesn't care about aesthetics!