Tag Archives: Juliet Marillier

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Daughter of the ForestTitle: Daughter of the Forest

Author: Juliet Marillier

Series: Sevenwaters #1

Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)

My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Celtic, Fae, Fantasy

Pace: Slow

Format: Novel

Publisher: TOR Fantasy

Year: 1999

5th sentence, 74th page: “You bruise too easily,” he said indistinctly.

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Synopsis

Lovely Sorcha is the seventh child and only duaghter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Bereft of a mother, she is comforted by her six brothers who love and protect her. Sorcha is the light in their lives: they are determined that she know only contentment.

But Sorcha’s joy is shattered when her father is bewitched by his new wife, an evil enchantress who binds her brothers with a terrible spell, a spell that only Sorcha can lift – by staying silent. If she speaks before she completes the quest set to her by the Fair Folk and their queen, the Lady of the Forest, she will lose her brothers forever.

When Sorcha is kidnapped by the enemies of Sevenwaters and taken to a foreign land, she is torn between the desire to save her beloved brothers and a love that comes only once. Sorcha despairs at ever being able to complete her task, but the magic of the Fair Folk knows no boundaries, and love is the strongest magic of them all…

Thoughts

I have stopped and started this book a number of times. The first time, I liked it, it was a little slow to begin with, but I just had too much going on to really settle into it. The second time, I got 100 pages in and then a similar thing happened. After two weeks, and a lot of other things going on in my life, I picked it up again. It turns out like 101 pages in the pace of this story changes dramatically. And then I couldn’t put it down…

I recently read a collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairytales. One of them was about a sister whose brothers were turned to swans and she had to stay silent until she could break the curse. Daughter of the Forest follows this storyline. And although I liked the original fairytale, this version with the Celtic folklore, Irish history and amazingly painful and beautiful storyline was ten thousand times better. There was something about the fleshing out of a tale that I already knew in a way that was so realistic, and heart felt. Something about the way that I actually had tears on my cheeks in some of the more horrifying moments, and also at the end when the happily ever after is finally reached. Marillier took a story that I thought I knew and built upon it in a way that took me on an insane roller coaster ride of emotion.

Although there is a love story spun in here somewhere, it is the secondary relationship right throughout. This story is about sibling love and integrity. Honesty and those strings that bind family together. It was nice to have such a change in pace to most stories I read where the romantic one is the primary tale, and it is the familial ties that tend to take a backseat.

 <- Flame of Sevenwaters Review Son of Shadows Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Legends of Australian Fantasy edited by Jack Dann and Jonathan Strahan

Book Review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Overview

Legends of Australian FantasyTitle: Legends of Australian Fantasy
Editors: Jack Dann & Jonathan Strahan
Authors: Garth Nix, Trudi Canavan, Juliet Marillier, Isobelle Carmody, Kim Wilkins, Sean Williams, D.M. Cornish, Ian Irvine, John Birmingham, Jennifer Fallon & Cecilia Dart-Thornton
In: Legends of Australian Fantasy (Jack Dann & Jonathan Strahan)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Fantasy, Short story collections
Pace: Fast
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘And… and from the Charter, milady.’

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Synopsis

From two of the best editors working today … These are the legends of Australian fantasy – eleven of Australia’s best-loved and most widely read writers … Gathered together by equally legendary editors Jack Dann and Jonathan Strahan to produce an entirely original compilation … Celebrate the legends of Australian fantasy. Extraordinary voices … extraordinary worlds. Come to Erith, to a faerie tale with a sting, or to Obernewtyn, long before the Seeker was born. Revisit a dark pocket of history for the Magician’s Guild or get caught up in the confusion of an endlessly repeating day in the Citadel. Cross the wall, where Charter magic is all that lies between you and death. A trip with a graverobber can be gruesome, and it’s hard to share the fear of a woman who must kill her husband if her child is to rule … A mysterious tale plays out in Sevenwaters. Catch up with Ros and Adi as they prepare for the greatest change of all. Other twists in these fabulous tales bring us to demonic destiny and an alternate WWII.

Thoughts

I love pursuing Australian authors – after all, I would love to be one one day, and they are my people. So, discovering that there is a book that features not one, not two, but nine of these phenomenal people made me break out in a huge grin. And I wasn’t disappointed. Actually, the main disappointment came when I finished the last novella and had to find a new anthology to go and read.

The pace of each of these nine novellas was entirely unique and, in most cases, quite unexpected. The only tie that they had to one another was that they are all fantasy stories, and they tied into a series or world created by the author. Which, ultimately means that I have another seven series to go out and buy (I already owned two). Sometimes, this kind of variety doesn’t really work. The stories don’t flow well and it is really just feels haphazard in how they’re collected. But, the short author introduction at the beginning of each story and the rationale behind the story worked brilliantly and made it a cohesive whole.

If you want a taste of the brilliance that some of Australia’s finest fantasy authors have to offer, I’d definitely recommend that you buy this book. Or borrow it, whatever tickles your fantasy. It was a fantastic welcome to a few new worlds and I’ve got a couple of new books to add to my shelves now.

 <- The Enchanted Review To Hold the Bridge Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Australia

‘Twixt Firelight and Water by Juliet Marillier

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

Twixt Firelight and WaterTitle: ‘Twixt Firelight and Water

Author: Juliet Marillier

Series: Sevenwaters #5.5

In: Legends of Australian Fantasy (Jack Dann & Jonathan Strahan)

Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)

My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Celtic, Fae, Fantasy

Pace: Fast

Format: Novella

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia

Year: 2010

5th sentence, 74th page: Likely the whole forest was ringed by them.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Long ago, the sorceress Lady Oonagh cast a curse over her own child. Now a druid, an ill-tempered raven and an adventurous young woman are drawn together as the time approaches for the evil magic to be undone. Fans of the Sevenwaters series will love this new episode, which fleshes out the history of druid Ciaran and his constant companion Fiacha.

Thoughts

I am madly in love with this novella. It combines Celtic and druidic knowledge, the dangers of the Fair Folk, an evil curse and a story of love. Honestly, it is impossible not to fall in love with this novella. After all, it is a tale of two brothers who support each other and understand the ties of family. The evil mother that bound them together just makes their love for one another all the more impressive and admirable. It is the sibling relationship that everyone dreams about – total acceptance and equality in everything they do.

Telling this tale from the two different points of view was a great tactic. After all, it allowed for Conri’s past to be told and his current feelings about the geis to be understood. Yet, the saviour of the day, Aisha, is also able to show her gumption and power throughout the story. This might be the first story that I have read in the Sevenwaters series, but it was definitely a great start and insight into a series that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into!

 <- The Mad Apprentice Review The Dark Road Review ->
Image source: Goodreads