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Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Cygnet and the Firebird
Title: The Cygnet and the Firebird
Series:
Cygnet #2
Author:
Patricia McKillip
Rating:
4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Fantasy
Pages:
315
Format:
Digital Edition
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Synopsis: |
Taking place 2 weeks after the Sorceress and the Cygnet, we follow the continued adventures of Nyx Ro and Meguet Mervaine.
A
magician invades Ro Holding looking for a hidden key of Chrisom's.
Nyx and Meguet foil him. At the same time a magical firebird that
turns everything to jewels and gold with its cry comes to Ro Hold.
Nyx figures out it is an ensorcelled young man and in her studies he,
she and Meguet all go to the land of Saphier. Where the first
magician lives as well.
Saphier
is ruled by the son of a magician and a dragon and he, Draken, wants
ALL THE POWER. And he wants Ro Hold. It is up to Brand (the
ensorcelled young man, who happens to be Draken's son), Nyx, Meguet
and Rad (the first magician) to put a stop to Draken's quest to
conquer all of time and space.
The
dragons solve it all because the humans are annoying them.
The
End.
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My Thoughts:
|
SO MUCH BETTER THAN
The Sorceress and the Cygnet. There is no Corleu. In fact,
there are no stupid characters; confused, unsure and discombobulated
characters, but not an idiot in sight! And that pushed this book
right into traditional McKillip territory. Beautifully worded
phrases, symbols and pictures with much deeper meanings, lyrical
prose that you have to follow like a song. It was everything that I
like about McKillip.
I found this more
polished, more lyrical and more fantastical than Sorceress.
Sorceress was a rough fairytale told by farmers after a tough
season of haying. Firebird felt more like a courtly bard
singing a story before the entire court. Obviously, with me being
King Bookstooge, I prefer the latter.
I was glad to have
read the duology so close together. I'm not sure I would have
enjoyed Firebird so much if I didn't have the immediate taste
of Sorceress still on my mental tongue.
This, along with
Austen, is the kind of romance that not only can I stand but actively
enjoy. It is understated but powerful, much like a current in a
river. Too many authors rely on the rapids of the river for their
romances and it always upsets my literary canoe and tosses me into
the drink. I don't like that. But this, this is like gliding down the
Mississippi on a shady day. You can't ask for much better.
★★★★ ½
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