The Riddle-Master of Hed: Riddle-Master Trilogy, Book 1

I was delighted to find one of my favorite fantasy books available for download. Simon Prebble's reading is well paced, beautifully pronounced and absorbing. Well done and recommended.

I own this book in paper and I still bought this to listen to. I am happy that I did this, even in spite of the fact that I have read this in paper multiple times.
This is the first book in a three part trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip. This is her 'amazingly epic' trilogy, inspired by the Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, where the LOTR trilogy tends to focus more on the action sequences between Orcs/goblins and heroes, this book focuses instead on the interpersonal relationships between the main characters, only using the villainous shapeshifters out of the sea rarely and to great effect in advancement of the plot. This is defiantly a distinct trilogy and one of my favorites.
Also the narrator did a pretty good job. I would recommend this.

McKillip is a story teller at heart with excellent character development. Although I read the book several years ago it was a joy to listen to. Many aspects of the trilogy really come out after the first reading. Love the depth of the story.

Lord of the Rings, Watership Down, Lord Foul's Bane

no

yes!

In Short: Great book! Great narrator!

This is my most favorite series. The character and their development are excellent along with the world of the stories.

Simon Prebble is an excellent narrator who is easy to listen to.

Love all of her work, this series has always been one of my favorites

Very expressive

I love this series. About a quarter of the way through this first audio book, I bought the rest of the trilogy, knowing that I wouldn't be able to stand any waiting between them.

What I loved about this series:
There is a lot of back story and history to this world. Past events are constantly referred to, but don't mean anything to you, until later in the series. It creates a rich environment the encourages re-reads.
The magic is awesome. In this world, magic is common, but not possessed by all. It has many variations that tend to follow bloodlines, or is restricted by rules. The major element of magic here is a thing called land rule, which is sort of akin to kings passing on their crown to the next heir, only that depending on the region, that 'crown' embodies a multitude of magics and powers specific to that kingdom. It turns out to be a rather clever device, and without giving anything away, I found my self more pleased then I could have imagined with the ending.

To stray down a side path, the series has interesting combination of ephemeral (where magic and events happen in vague terms that purposely give the reader strange dual imagery that does and doesn't contradict itself, but instead tells the reader to accept it peacefully) and very specific concrete information. This duality was unexpected, but I must admit that McKillip pulled through in every way.

In short, this was well weaved, and the journey to the conclusion was just as wonderful as the final delight of everything coming together. Listen to this series! I already have over and over again!

Great writing and terrific characters. You can see the influence of other fantasies, but McKillip goes her own way in a really engaging manner. The narrator was wonderful.

Mystical, magical, practical

The opening scene when the girl tells off her brother.

Vocal quality, and delivery.

Not yet...but I loved reading it in print.

This is a book I loved in print, and I'm sure I will like as an audio book. I keep falling asleep before I get very far, which is indicative of good reader quality. :)

This story just didn't grab my interest. I love this genre, but I need some more plot and character development in the beginning to pique my interest. It felt like a novel being stretched into a trilogy.

no, this is still my favorite genre.

no.

Blah, blah, blah, riddle. Bllllaaaahhh, Blllaaaaahhhh, BBBBBlllllllaaaaaahhhh, prince.
Blah, etc.

If the first paragraph grabs you then by all means get the book. This book is nothing but talk, talk, talk. I can sometime handle that from King, Card, or Asimov, but McKillip makes my mind wonder to grass growing.