Many years ago, while I was but a lad...

RudeDawg · 04-10-2001, 02:03 AM

I was looking in my school library for a good read for the weekend...
I found a book that has stuck with me for 17 years now (not the library book, I returned it a week later, and grabbed second part of the trilogy.)
I forget about it, as one of those "kid books" I read when I was young...
But, every winter, I look for it at Waldenbooks, or Barnes and Noble, and buy the set anew...
It struck a chord in me, for some reason, and I love it...
"The Riddle Master" series, by Patricia A. McKillip made up of "The Riddle-Master of Hed", "Heir of Sea and Fire", and "Harpist in the Wind".
It's the only series besides Tolkien's LOTR that I read EVERY year. (I did my thesis on Tolkien's works, many years ago, back when the buffalo roamed...)
Has anyone else ever read it?

------------------
The RudeDawg
Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes

Memnoch · 04-10-2001, 07:04 AM

No, I haven't unfortunately. Care to tell us a bit more about it?

------------------

RudeDawg · 04-10-2001, 02:02 PM

OK...
I'm at work now, office door shut, a cup of coffee on my desk and a couple of hours to kill...
Winamp playing the "Gladiator" soundtrack...

Let me tell you about a GREAT trilogy...

First, some background...
Due to an extended illness as a child, I was forced to a bed for several years in my childhood, starting at 5 yrs old... Since I couldn't play outside with my brother and friends, my mother started me reading... One of my first memories of that trying time was reading a children's version of the Arthurian legends... In my mind I was transported to the lands of knights and legends... Years later, I went on to read the Hobbit, and greedily grabbed the LOTR... I wasn't yet a teenager, but I knew that this trilogy was different... Later, I studied Tolkien and the effects he had on literature, and culture around the world... Personally, it opened up a new world to me...

Junior High school... I found the "Riddle-Master of Hed". 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.
The books are out of print now, but the major chains sell an omnibus edition in paperback. I know B&N, Waldenbooks carry it 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...

------------------
The RudeDawg
Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes

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04-10-2001, 02:03 AM	#1
RudeDawg 20th Level Warrior Join Date: April 9, 2001 Location: Dallas, Tx, USA Age: 55 Posts: 2,830	I was looking in my school library for a good read for the weekend... I found a book that has stuck with me for 17 years now (not the library book, I returned it a week later, and grabbed second part of the trilogy.) I forget about it, as one of those "kid books" I read when I was young... But, every winter, I look for it at Waldenbooks, or Barnes and Noble, and buy the set anew... It struck a chord in me, for some reason, and I love it... "The Riddle Master" series, by Patricia A. McKillip made up of "The Riddle-Master of Hed", "Heir of Sea and Fire", and "Harpist in the Wind". It's the only series besides Tolkien's LOTR that I read EVERY year. (I did my thesis on Tolkien's works, many years ago, back when the buffalo roamed...) Has anyone else ever read it? ------------------ The RudeDawg Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes

04-10-2001, 07:04 AM	#2
Memnoch Ironworks Moderator Join Date: February 28, 2001 Location: Boston/Sydney Posts: 11,771	No, I haven't unfortunately. Care to tell us a bit more about it? ------------------

04-10-2001, 02:02 PM	#3
RudeDawg 20th Level Warrior Join Date: April 9, 2001 Location: Dallas, Tx, USA Age: 55 Posts: 2,830	OK... I'm at work now, office door shut, a cup of coffee on my desk and a couple of hours to kill... Winamp playing the "Gladiator" soundtrack... Let me tell you about a GREAT trilogy... First, some background... Due to an extended illness as a child, I was forced to a bed for several years in my childhood, starting at 5 yrs old... Since I couldn't play outside with my brother and friends, my mother started me reading... One of my first memories of that trying time was reading a children's version of the Arthurian legends... In my mind I was transported to the lands of knights and legends... Years later, I went on to read the Hobbit, and greedily grabbed the LOTR... I wasn't yet a teenager, but I knew that this trilogy was different... Later, I studied Tolkien and the effects he had on literature, and culture around the world... Personally, it opened up a new world to me... Junior High school... I found the "Riddle-Master of Hed". 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. The books are out of print now, but the major chains sell an omnibus edition in paperback. I know B&N, Waldenbooks carry it 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... ------------------ The RudeDawg Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes

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