Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Holly Lisle was worth the wait., April 20, 2008
To my great joy I returned home from Texas with 2 boxes of books waiting for me from Amazon.com. I love to preorder! One of the books I received was The Ruby Key by Holly Lisle. I followed the creation of The Ruby Key on Holly's blog - Pocket Full of Words and have waited impatiently for almost a year since her last book Night Echoes was published.
This is Lisle's first foray into the world of youth fantasy fiction and she jumps in with both feet and splashed me from head to toe! Page one hooked me and Saturday was completely lost as I read the entire 368 pages in one sitting. Food? Who needs food? Certainly not me or my kids. Mom hung the do not disturb sign around her neck and parked it on the couch with the dogs curled up at her feet and totally submerged herself in the Night Worlds.
14-year old Genna is spunky and likable, her 12-year old brother Dan so reflects my 13-year old son that I laughed out loud and the Nightling Yarri was easy to love as she fought for her people's freedom. While written and marketed as youth fiction (ages 9-12) it easily kept this 35 year old mother captivated from beginning to end. I happily recognized some of the snippets Lisle posted on her blog during the writing process which is kind of neat too.
As always her world is superbly created and well fleshed out. Her villains range from hard to hate to tough to love and this adds to the overall realness of her world. Even side characters are given enough personality that they are integral to the story and not simply fillers helping to increase word count. The talking cat has such a huge personality I wonder if he could carry his own story in this series.
Speaking of series, it's my understanding this is part of a trilogy but the story was wrapped up in such a way that you felt like you were finished and not left hanging. But there were enough doors left open so that you were left looking forward to the next book in the series (The Silver Door).
All in all a fantastic read by an amazing author. My only regret? I finished it in one day and now have to wait until June for Hawkspar. Thank goodness I already have it on preorder.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For readers from 9 to 90..., May 6, 2008
The "Harry Potter" series created a new market for young adult books that have inspired the best authors from fantasy, mystery, and other genres to write for the 9-12 market. Now, Holly Lisle has entered this auspicious group with a trilogy beginning with "The Ruby Key."
Her premise is that humankind only ventures forth by day. Should any go about by night, they are subject to the nightlings, elven creatures with magic who would enslave or kill them:
Mankind is Sunkind
And rules by the light;
Sunrise to sunset,
No less, and no more.
Nightlings are moonkind
And rule in the night;
Sun's set to sunrise,
Or there will be war.
But, young Genna, (14), and Dan, (12) of the village Highrush are out after dark the only night they can be. This is the night that the humans give their offerings to the nightlings. They give their best and in return, the nightlings give them trinkets and baubles.
The sibs have risked being taken as slaves by the nightlings to save their mother. They've made their offerings quickly and are sneaking out to secure some sap from the magical taandu tree, which they hope will cure their Mama, who has fallen ill. They have already lost their father, the former caer of the village, and fear that he is dead.
As they are attempting to gather the life-giving sap, they encounter a nightling girl who tells them a tale of treachery. It seems, their "Uncle Banris" who's taken over the job as Highrush's Caer since their father disappeared has made a deal with the Nightling leader, Kai Letrin.
Banris wants to be immortal and he doesn't care who he kills to get there. The sickness, or saku, that is effecting their village and their mother, is a result of this deal. Banris isn't quite immortal yet--he must wed their mother and kill their whole family to achieve his life.
It's up to young Genna and Dan to make a new deal with the Kai to save their family and their village. They are told by their nightling ally that Letrin will ask for something impossible, but not to worry--the rebel nightlings will give them aid. All the nightlings ask of Dan and Genna in exchange for this help is to ask for the Ruby Key.
Genna manages to secure the deal she sought. All she has to do is find one person, the child Doyati, and return him to the Kai by the dark of the moon.
What the Kai didn't tell them was that they'd have to learn to travel on the moonroads, magical roads that can take you anywhere, if you know how to manage them, face a warrior bard, the blind hunt, a dire worm, and other adversaries....
But, they will have help. The young nightling girl will aid them as much as she can--and a talking cat will come to guide them.
As always, Holly Lisle crafts a story with gem-like beauty and precision of phrase that will keep anyone from 9 to 90 reading late into the the night.
Rebecca Kyle, May 2008
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating!, April 24, 2008
Though at first glance this book seems like a YA book, it is easily so much more than that. The themes Holly has woven into her magical tale, themes of love of family and community, duty, honor, and compassion know no age limits. You're compelled to read on and on, to find out how three children with the weights of two opposing societies rest on their young shoulders will succeed. Danger lurks around every corner and on every moonroad, but with the help of a snarky cat they keep trudging forward, hoping against hope that their quest is not impossible.
To me its part fairy tale, part Spirited Away told in such a way that only Holly Lisle could have written it. You have nightlings, which as Holly describes, sound very much like elegant and mysterious fairies. Then you have audiomaerist or fortune tellers. You have wizards and monsters. You have a quest element, but one that though it does not encompass a whole world, it directly affects two very different societies. You have the mystical object, the Ruby Key, and the prince in hiding.
I look forward to reading more about Genna, Danrith, Yarri and the cat in the next books. This world of Moon and Sun is one I'd like to visit again and again.
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