my thought on the "Riddle-Master" series

[RudeDawg]

I posted this in an other thread, but I don't want it to get buried...

The "Riddle-Master of Hed", by Patricia McKillip

Unlike most fantasy, it doesn't concern the usual races, elves, dwarves, etc. It is sweeping in an epic fashion, but without the cliches of the genre.

Morgan of Hed is a prince of a small farming island. His homeland is populated by a simple people, who know that there is a world off their coast, they just don't seem interested in it. Morgan is different. He is curious, so much that his father sent him to the College of the Riddle Masters. Here, he and others study and learn history of the land and races that came before them. They pass knowledge on by the use of riddle and strictures behind them. Morgan had progressed faster than anyone before him, then left to go back home. He had searched for an answer that the Riddle-Masters couldn't find. He was born with three stars on his forhead, branded since birth.
He is forced into a search for their meaning, and linked to a destiny that won't let him go.
The trilogy introduces beautiful, well-rounded characters. The land is filled with history and culture, all very familiar seeming, yet so different that what we know or have seen in other books.
Reviewers tend to call these books "poetic". I'd agree. But the stories, settings, and characters are unforgettable.
The books are out of print now, but the major chains sell an omnibus edition in paperback. I know B&N, Waldenbooks carry it ... Mom & pop stores may have the single editions...

If you enjoy the sweeping backgrounds of BG games, or Tolkien's works, you'll LOVE these books...




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The RudeDawg
Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes