The Riddle-Master of Hed

I recently read this book, "The Riddle-Master of Hed," the first novel in a fantasy trilogy published in 1976, written by Patricia McKillip.

I read this book a loooooong, long time ago. I read it in elementary school, because I found it on the bookshelves of the elementary library. That's the most I remember about it, actually. I hadn't even remembered the name, or the author. I was perusing the juvenile fiction in the BYU library when I found it.... again.

I was so excited to read this! I remembered liking it a lot, and asking the librarian to get the next book, but for some reason it never happened. I don't think we even found what the next one was called. So imagine my joy when I saw all three books sitting on that shelf.

Come to find, this book has some issues.

I think it might be an editing issue, to be honest. I don't think the story was very well thought-through, before printing. Sometimes the author just rambles on about a landscape, and then when there's dialogue, sometimes it's not clear what's happening.

However, it is very interesting. The author can create effects: like, near the end, when the Hero(Morgan) discovers a deep, creepy secret about his realm, it is gooooood. However, I also feel that she spends too much time creating a world, and not enough pulling the plot forward or making characters round.

I just wish this author had a better editor. Oh well.

Conclusion: Interesting read, but probably not going to bring it into any classrooms someday. I am reading the other two books just in case this changes. I don't think it will. I'll let you know.