Pegasus

By: Robin McKinley

Narrated by: Catherine Ho, Kristen Atherton

Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Because she was a princess, she had a Pegasus....

Princess Sylviianel has always known that on her 12th birthday she too would be bound to her own Pegasus. All members of the royal family have been thus bound since the Alliance was made almost a thousand years ago; the binding system was created to strengthen the Alliance, because humans and pegasi can only communicate formally, through specially trained Speaker magicians. Sylvi is accustomed to seeing pegasi every day at the palace, but she still finds the idea of her binding very daunting. The official phrase is that your pegasus is your “Excellent Friend”. But how can you be friends with someone you can’t talk to?

But everything is different for Sylvi and Ebon from the moment they meet at her binding - when they discover they can talk to each other. They form so close a bond that it becomes a threat to the status quo - and possibly to the future safety of their two nations. For some of the magicians believe there is a reason humans and pegasi should not fully understand each other....

©2010 Robin McKinley (P)2021 Recorded Books

Beautiful story but half a book!!

I got completely immersed in this story quickly and needed a day to think before starting a new one. So book 2 is in the works as of a note from the author in 2018 but haven’t heard a peep from her since!! Just be forewarned that it does end abruptly but our dear author has not had a stroke as Anne rice did in the middle of writing book 3 of her wolf gift series!!!!

Half a book

The story was great, until it ended just as the inevitable existential battle was about to begin. It’s clear there was meant to be a sequel and equally clear, after eleven years, that it will likely never be written. I wish I’d paid more attention to the reviews before purchasing it.

This story trots; could have flown

A cross-species love story; it used to be horse stories, but now with wings and the addition of gender awareness and the process of building social acceptance. Other than a social visit to Pegasus land, the most exciting thing seems to be that sneaking out at night to meet your guy for “risky” behavior is good for 12 year olds.

Volume variation forced constant adjustments. Male voices are annoying.

The story highlights the blindness of arbitrary cultural patterns. It also underscores why medieval settings are so popular in YA novels (the young protagonists can skip junior high school before assuming leading roles in society).

Pegawhat???????

I was completely enthralled with this story, biting my nails and then it just ENDED. I don’t think it would have been possible to leave more loose strings dangling! It’s like they just decided “ok, tired of it, done, we’ll stop here.” Such a disappointment. How about a part 2, please??????

Where is the sequel?

I thought the world created by Robin McKinley was magical and captivating. I think it unforgivable that she has not yet written a sequel. No author who cares about her devoted readers would leave a void where closure should have been.

Hated the ending

The story was easy to listen to and fun throughout. I loved the fantasy of living with Pegasi and just the idea of being around them. But the ending left the reader with no satisfaction of a rue ending. Too many things are left unresolved. It is too sad, and I would not listen again. I would not have listened had I known that the writer gave up on the characters and the story at the end of the book.

Cliff Hanger

The book is amazing. If you expect a sequel, frankly 11 years later don't. If you want a great narrator and good book with cliff hanger ending....well then it's a great listen. The narrator is amazing! Totally loved her reading. Amazing. But, the story starts, but the ending is left to your imagination. I doubt the sequels will ever happen.

One of Her Best

This book is AMAZING. In "Pegasus", McKinley returns to that realm where archetype meets myth meets the utter mesmerizing joy of story.
Like "The Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword", this is a title you will read or listen to over and over again. It is a little more complex and mature, I'd say, than the above two, but is not dark, like "Deerskin." And, like the first two, it resonates with the soul. It also echoes faintly back (or forward) to the first two, with allusions to a sword that sparks blue. It is also completely original. So often, Pegasus stories seem cardboard thin, but this one is REAL.
It is true that it stops at a cliff hanger, and that the sequel isn't yet out, due to the death of McKinley's husband. As a visual artist myself, having experienced the same loss, I understand how that can paralyze one's ability to create. But I hear she is working again, so hopefully we will soon have more of this wonderful saga.
And, by the way, the reader is fabulous. Her voice is just right--respectful, resonant, and never high or squeaky. The speed at which she reads is also perfect. She is one of the few readers who never intrudes on the story. Very gifted, and I hope I can find more books of which she is the narrator.

I think Im stopping at chapter 2

I love Robin McKinley's work but I am weirdly and incomprehensibly still bored out of my skull and im in the middle of chapter 2. what the heck?? Lore dump and research and name drops without much foundation made it a slog to listen to.

I came to check the other reviews to see if I was just being weird, and it sounds like its a huge disappointment at the end because of some sudden ending or cliffhanger. I guess Ill cut my losses. Sorry, Ms. McKinley.