![]() ![]() The language is simple yet subtly poetic, with inner rhythm reminiscent of oral histories. It’s a slim book, clocking just under 200 pages, and easy to read in one sitting. Hell hath no fury like a woman disrespected and abused. And then she just flips out and embroils several kindoms in an all-out war in her quest for revenge. ![]() Only when she herself becomes an object of such magic does she begin to realize how harmful that control can be. ![]() She controls fantastical beasts from myth and legend, and while they retain their individuality, they are tightly leashed indeed. Oh, she’s a benevolent master, but a slave master all the same. Sybel doesn’t conjure fireballs or ice towers, and yet is extremely powerful: gaining knowledge gives her total control over others who, bereft of free will, become her slaves. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld tell the story of Sybel, the heir to the wizarding family tradition of acquiring power over sentient creatures through the subtle yet ruthless art of name-calling. The prose of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld echoes the mythopoeic style of A Wizard of Earthsea, and McKillip’s novel seems to have been inspired by Le Guin’s masterpiece in more ways than one. And let’s be frank: her writing skill by that time was already masterful. McKillip won the first World Fantasy Award for this novel, third she had ever written. ![]()
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