Dragons and Halflings

Night's Daughter
by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Genre; Fiction/Fantasy/Gothic
Publisher; Orbit/London/1985
Pages; 204
ISBN; 0-7221-1958-5

Plot; Pamina is the daughter of the all powerful sorceress, the Starqueen, ruler of all lands of the night. She has lead a sheltered and protected life of luxury, never wanting for anything, never in harms way. Or so she thought.

Soon to come in to Pamina's life is her long lost and unknown father Sarastro, King of the Royal House of the Sun. Sarastro has been at war with the Starqueen since the birth of their daughter and has been kept from his daughter. The Starqueen has long spoken ill of the king to Pamina, brainwashing her with tales of sacrifices and evil priests.

As Pamina is kidnapped from her mother's palace and taken to the lands of her Father, is it such a bad thing to be taken from the treacherous talons of her mother?

With her lover, Prince Tamino, by her side, Pamina must not only face the Court of Wisdom and the Ordeals of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, she must also face the decision of which parent she will follow. Which parent is of truth and honour.

My Thoughts; This story is marketed as "a shimmering fantasy of music and magic", and this is exactly what you get. A Gothic story of chivalrous men, mystical women and magic flute music.

I cannot say I didn't like this story, but I cannot say I liked it either. While I enjoyed some aspects of the story, I was totally confused by others.

The general feel of the tale is enjoyable, don't get me wrong, and it would make a good weekend read. But if you are looking for something more in depth and intense, move along.

The characters are well shaped, if not typical for this kind of story; Prince Tamino is the pampered prince who finds his own strength, Pamina is the damsel in distress who discovers she is not so helpless after all, the Starqueen is the evil sorceress and King Sarastro is the kind and worldly king.

The character, for me, who really made this story is Papageno, the bird halfling. Half man, half bird and all over comedic relief. At times this story became too dark and depressing (and repetitive) and at all those times Papageno would appear with a funny commentary. Why fight a dragon when you can sit and eat cake?

I am not going to say this story is anywhere in the league of Marion Zimmer Bradley's other books, such as The Mists of Avalon or Witchlight, but if you are a Bradley fan it is a good, quick read to add to your collection. On the other hand, if you are not a Bradley fan or are unfamiliar with Bradley's books, this is not the book for you. Either grab one of her other, riveting, reads or head for another author.

Stay tuned for Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love which is coming up soon!

Also make sure to go on over and check out my YouTube channel!
http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautyBeadsBooks

Happy Reading!

A Sad Tale's Best for Winter

Witchlight
by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Genre; Sci-Fi/Drama
Publisher; Tor Books/New York/1996
Pages; 303
ISBN; 0-312-86104-4

Plot; Winter Musgrave is a Wall Street whiz who has a good job, a fantastic apartment and was brought up by a well-to-do family. So, why does she now find herself escaping a sanatorium?

All of Winter's life has vanished. Apart from a few memories here and there, Winter has lost years worth of her life. Has she gone mad or has something happened to her, something inconceivable? Winter believes she has gone mad, for nothing else can explain the shattered glass and bloodless animal corpses she leaves in her wake, without explanation.

With the help of Truth Jourdemayne, the daughter of a well known "warlock", and her partner Dr. Dylan Palmer, Winter must now piece together her past, reconstructing the memories that can save her from the danger which looms closer and closer.

My Thoughts; Brilliant! Intoxicating! Enthralling! Why read the classics when there are so many wonderful contemporary books like this one.

As you may have heard me mention before, Marion Zimmer Bradley's book The Mists of Avalon is the book which acted as a catalyst for my life. I had never been much of a reader, to put it lightly, until my first semester of University when I did a unit of study on Gothic Literature and The Mists of Avalon was the little gem we were given to read. Since that moment you will almost always find me book in hand. So you can understand why I had to pick up Witchlight when I saw it poking out at me from the library shelf.

I will not go so far as to say it has left as lasting impression as The Mists of Avalon, but Witchlight is definitely a journey I would suggest everyone takes.

Again, Bradley is at her best. The way she builds and developes the characters and plot is, well, exciting. I was intrigued and dumbfounded until the very end, which is always a good sign.

Bradley has a wonderful knack for taking her readers on an exciting adventure. Not one moment of this story dissappointed me, or left me wanting more.

If I had to make one negative comment it would be the use of "witchy" jargon. At times I felt a little behind the eight-ball when the characters used chunks of terminology I was unsure of. However, having said this, those moments are few and far between making them a mere blimp on an otherwise entrancing tale.

To any reader who hasn't read a Marion Zimmer Bradley book, you are missing out! Go out right now and buy one! You will not regret it.

Happy Reading!

Here Ye, Here Ye, Readers of the World!

As I have said in "Little Bit About Me.." my name is Nicole and I am a 23 year old single Mother and full-time University student.
I was never much of a reader when I was younger, tending to use every excuse I could to get out of reading the prescribed school texts, but since starting university study I don't seem to be able to leave the house without a book in my handbag.


It all started with The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. It was the first novel I had to read for university and it set me on the reading highway. We were given three weeks to read the book which I thought was ridiculous as it is quite a hefty book, but once I started I was totally engrossed by the gothic work.

At high school when we were to study a book we would read the book, write down the basic plot themes and discuss our thoughts about the different characters and their experiences, which I always found boring (to be honest). I never understood how the teachers were able to stretch such bland discussion over a whole term. So, during my first study period at university, when I read that we were going to be studying The Mists of Avalon over six weeks I thought to myself, "What have I signed myself up for!?" What I didn't realise was how enthralling university level analysis of a book could be. Reading a book chapter by chapter, critically analysing the charaters and their relationships (and voicing our opinions of the characters, whether we liked them or not), breaking down the themes to compare and contrast them to issues relating to the time the book is set and when it was written, as well as dissecting the writing itself.

Ever since that first introduction to university level analysis I now find myself at the point of devouring a book a day (or two). Which is the reason I am starting this blog. I used to read a book and post my thoughts an Facebook for my friends to see, which would only ever return a comment or two, but now I realise that posting these thoughts on a blog allows for wider discussion with people of varying backgrounds.

So most days I will will post my thoughts on a variety of books and I welcome all discussion, thoughts and comments. I also welcome suggestions of books you feel are worth the read, whether that be because they changed your life or are just good for a laugh.

Thank you!