Customer Reviews

If Wishes Were Horses

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When war breaks out, and her father is mobilized, young Tirza Eircelly watches as her mother must prepare the demesne for the tribulations that war will surely bring to it. Her mother is a bastion of calm and wisdom in the dark days, keeping everyone moving forward while others lose their heads. Tirza learns to help her mother, and be the woman that her times require.

Although there are no wizards or exploding fireballs, this is a magical tale, a tale of a gentle magic, the sort that comes from within. This is a very touching story. Lady Talarrie is drawn as a formidable woman, a woman of courage and compassion, of action and wisdom. Though it might sound cliche, I don't believe that you can read this story without falling in love with it. This is a great book, one that I recommend to everyone!

I borrowed this book from the library and read it in a single day! It is well written and enchanting. The characters are charming and you will enjoy reading about their lives. It also gives a good picture of everyday life in the medieval time period. My daughter (11) is now reading it.

This book is worth it's weight in gold! It's a charming and whimsical tale of yesteryear that leaves the reader smiling and pleasantly happy.

This is a simple short story set in a world where minor magic is possible. The story centers around a manor house when most of the men have gone off to war. The lady of the manor is quite adept at planning and making do. As the war progresses she has to face a number or challenges for her family and the people from the local town. Her son and daughter have their own crosses to bear as the deprivations of war are manifested. The son has been promised a new horse on his sixteenth birthday but with every eligible steed off in the war effort it looks like he will not get his present. His sister agonizes about her brother's coming disappointment.

This is the first time I have seen a book where an excerpt from another book, included at the end, might have a higher word count that the book. Large print and large margins are used to stretch the page count of this short story. The excerpted book is the same as the one in McCaffrey's NO ONE NOTICED THE CAT although more chapters are included this time. The number of words per dollar make this a rather expensive book. While the writing was well-crafted I did have to wonder at why the story was written (there is no author's note or forward). Enjoyable, short, and pricey you may want to check it out without purchasing it.

So far, she has done three of these little books and I have loved all of them. I think that she should compile a book of all these stories when she's gotten a few more. I know that I'd definetely buy it.

Great story line, great characters! The only complaint that I have is that it was too short. It's a wonderful book to add to your collection.

Tirza Eircelly has a truly wonderful home life. Her extra-wise mother Lady Talarrie is slightly magical, complete with healing abilities and a sixth sense for knowing when people are telling the truth. Her father is the Lord of the Mallafret Hall, and he sees to it that his family is well-protected and provided for, and that justice is served to everyone who lives nearby. Tirza also has six siblings who somehow manage not to get on each other's nerves, so the world is absolutely ideal until the War begins. Then Lord Eircelly and all the men go off to fight, leaving Lady Talarrie, fourteen-year-old Tirza and her twin brother Tracell to take care of everyone who's left behind.

During the war, Tirza becomes her mother's right-hand girl, learning how to be a great lady who meets the needs of others. She really couldn't have a better example because her mother is good-humored, adores her children, and is a great advocate for hospitality, offering refreshments and a sympathetic ear to anyone who needs assistance. Lady Talarrie's not afraid of the gritty side of life, either, and can reset broken bones when necessary. Tirza labors alongside her mother as they plant and harvest crops, both for their own supplies and to send to the men in battle, and later as they board up the doors and windows of Mallafret Hall and prepare weapons in case they are attacked. But after two years of dreary wartime living, Lady Talarrie still manages to throw together a makeshift celebration for Tirza and Tray's sixteenth birthday. During these scenes, she's like Scarlet O'Hara, turning old curtains into costumes and finery so her kids will have a happy memory.

Tirza's a quiet one, and would rather act and observe than talk. She's the POV character, but it almost seems like she takes a backseat to her mother, who is the real heroine of the novel. The book technically counts as YA, but it's probably aimed just as much at adults. It's more of a practical high fantasy (a low-high fantasy?) because the swordplay is restricted to battle, and though the ladies have intuition and magic crystals at their disposal, there's no big bombastic magic, and definitely no dragons or talking animals.

The title comes from the phrase "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride," and relates to the subplot with Tirza's brother Tracell longing for a real horse for his sixteenth birthday. All the horses on his father's estate were taken into battle, so his dream looks unlikely to come true, and in the meantime he's stuck riding a pony so short that when he puts his feet down, it walks out from under him. His mother says she'll get him a horse somehow, but Tray doubts that even she can produce a horse out of thin air during wartime. Of course, he's proven wrong.

Downsides: There are a lot of italics used in conversation, and almost every page has a character really trying to emphasize a particular word, when the reader could probably figure out the inflection from the context. There are also some fantasy-world conventions like Lady Talarrie having multiple sets of twins with no ill effects (the kids also seem to be easy to raise and require a minimum amount of attention), and all the daughters in the family having magical crystals set aside for them, crystals that in some way reflect their personalities.

If Wishes Were Horses provides a good example of high fantasy language, because the dialogue has an older cadence to it, but never becomes archaic or burdened with flowery description. At 87 pages, it's more of a novella than a full book, but it's a nice, quick treat nonetheless. A good winter read if you want some fantasy that's on the uplifting side.

This short fantasy novel explores the power of hope and love, and that dreams really can come true.

Lady Talarrie Eircelly has a well-known gift for healing in their small country village. Whether the malady is physical or emotional, she is The Person To See. Her husband, Lord Emkay Eircelly, is known as a fair ruler of the village. They have several children, including teenage twins, Tirza and Tracell. Life is pretty good in the village, until a messenger arrives from the king with news of war.

Lord Emkay rides off to war, along with every able-bodied man in the village, leaving Lady Talarrie in charge. The entire village goes into crisis mode. Flowers are pulled up, and vegetables are planted. Hunters scour the forest for any old or lame animals that would have died during the upcoming winter, and cull them earlier than expected. Nothing is more important than getting ready for the upcoming winter.

The war comes to the village, destroying most of the houses. This forces the whole village to move into the manor house for the winter. It's tight, but with lots of improvising, they survive the winter. When spring comes, the first priority is to start rebuilding the village. After a winter crammed into close quarters, people's tempers are almost gone.

An important part of growing up is receiving a present from your parents on your 16th birthday. Tirza's gift is all set, a special crystal from her mother to wear around her neck. Tracell, her brother, has always wanted a horse of his own; not just any horse, but a Cirgassian war horse. The war has not only taken all the able-bodied men, it has also taken all the able-bodied horses. Tracell's gift is hardly a sure thing.

This story is less than 100 pages, but it's pretty good. It's a very quick read, and it's worth the reader's time.

I LOVE Anne McCaffrey.. I've read nearly all her books and been a big fan for many years.. I think her Dragonrider series would made a great movie! I wish Peter Jackson would get his head around them and direct them to the same success he did with the 'Lord of the Rings' Trilogy..
Unfortunately, I was not nearly as happy with her last 3 books that I bought on Amazon and just finished reading.. The reason is simple, the storytelling was not up to Anne's usual engrossing style and they were far too short.. So what's going on here? Why are writers producing and selling stories in one volume that should be put in an anthology? These WERE short stories, NOT novels, and I don't appreciate spending my hard earned dollars on what are, essentially, tiny stories.. The big print is nice, but it just goes to emphasize how small the book really is.. Come on, Anne! You and your family can't be so hard up for money that you can justify ripping your fans off with these itsy-bitsy books, can you? Put these stories where they belong, in a full-sized anthology, which I would be happy to go out and buy.. From now on, I'm going to be reviewing all Anne's books to make sure it's a 'real' book I'm paying for and not a novella.. C-

Wishing for a horse for her son in time of war, when none can be bought, a mothers love opens her manor house to the people of her village, when most of the village has been shelled into rubble, even the pub!

Cheers...............