In the first book of this series, Gifts, Orrec and Gry live in the Uplands where powerful families keep control of their lands and feifs by wielding magical gifts that are inherited father to son and mother to daughter. Orrec's gift is slow to come, but when it shows itself, it is so powerful and uncontrollable that his family ends up blindfolding him to make sure that he does not accidentally kill in anger. His friend, Gry, has the power to call animals but refuses to call them for the hunt. Together, they must find a way to deal with the way that their birthrights conflict with their beliefs.
The second book, Voices, takes place about 20 years later, after Orrec and Gry have become travelers. This book takes place in Ansul - a city that used to be a mecca for learning before the Alds invaded. The desert dwellers have taken over the city and hold the city hostage, destroying all books which they claim are evil. Memer is a 'siege brat' - half Ald and half native of the city. When she learns to read, a new world opens to her and she realizes that her destiny lies in learning about her mother's heritage and the secrets of Ansul. But will she learn enough to save herself and her people?
The third book, Powers, tells the story of Gavir, a slave in Etra. He and his sister were taken from the Marsh people to be house slaves of the Arca family. Gavir has the power of foresight from his ancestors, but his sister, Sallo, tells him that he mustn't ever tell anyone about his visions. Gav lives a happy life - the Arca family treats their slaves well and has all of them educated, Gavir most of all since he will replace the current teacher. His life changes forever when their city comes under seige and he first reads Caspro's poetry. Later events cause him to leave his home and his travels take hime many places, forcing him to reevaluate what it means to be educated, skilled, or free - only he can figure out what he seeks, and then, perhaps, find it once and for all.
This is certainly an interesting series; each of the books is stand-alone, although they are connected. The characters and places are all unique and so well developed that readers can clearly imagine the world and events. Personally, I tend to find Le Guin's style to be a little tedious - I enjoyed these stories, but they did seem rather slow. The third one was the best of the bunch except that the second half of the book or so felt repetetive and a bit longer than it needed to be. All in all, I would still recommend these books to fantasy fans, but just keep in mind that these books aren't for you if you prefer less descriptive, or more fast-paced writing styles.
- If this book sounds interesting, consider these: The Keys to the Kingdom, Spindle's End, or Princess Academy
No comments:
Post a Comment