Classic high fantasy read! If you're a fan of The Sword of Truth and Wheel of Time series, love wizards, legendary beasts and magical tales, then this is definitely a must read!

In the white mountain palace of Endelweld lives a woman raised by her father alone to speak the silent language of great animals who, to most, are only legend. Her menagerie is incomplete without the mighty bird Liralen, for which she has called many times. What appeared on her doorstep instead was a warrior carrying a small baby boy, heir to the throne, he said, and in danger. The queen of the beasts, Sybel, cares for the boy until he is twelve, when the messenger returns and asks to make the child known to his father. But how can Sybel release one whom she has grown to love, or even leave with the boy and king, to serve a man whose heart is filled with hate and war? The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is an enchanting foray into magic, riddles, and the ambitions of war.

This was a well written and beautiful book. The words in this book is so well thought, and let’s you to sunk in to the story. And you can almost se and believe you are right there. If you want to read a fantastic fantasy story that is so well described and with beautiful words. The this is a book for you.

Love Patricia McKillip! This story doesn't disappoint, I loved the relationship between Sybel and her beasts. I thought the story was superb - learning to love, and forgive, and recover from tragedy are things that hold true to everyone regardless of whether you live in a fantasy world or not.

This isn't the kind of book you skim lightly. It reminds me a little bit of Ursula K. LeGuin, whose work also often seems a bit short and has a poetic simplicity to it but turns out to be dense with meaning. You have to pay more attention in those kinds of books. I don't recommend this as a beach read.

At first glance, the characters seem a bit stiff and cold. If you skim books, it may continue to feel that way all the way through. If you take the time to savor the prose, you'll find it is simply magical.

The book is a bit light on action, but heavy on character development as it wrestles with the meaning of love, betrayal, vengeance, and loss. I imagine this is the kind of book I will reread many times and pick out something new each time to contemplate and savor.

I am so glad and thankful I got the chance to read this marvel. The main character, Sybel, is one that will stay with me as she is both kind and cruel and goes through a process that is known to most women. Though already published in 1974, it hasn't lost any of its beauty and is a must in every library of fans of Tolkien, Beagle, Lewis etc.

Wow, I have never related more to a character than the main character of this story. The character progression is amazing, and you come to love the unique personality and confidence of the main character.

This is actually the first time that I have read anything from this author and it was such an amazing experience. I am definitely going to get a copy of this book and check out the authors read. I wasn't aware that this book was actually already written and for fantasy to have aged so well (when many don't) and I am just still in awe.

If you have never read anything by this author, this is a great book to start out with. Lovers of fantasy, animals, and just a great tale of love, betrayal, and life itself will find this a gem hidden between its two covers. You will find a dragon, a lion, a falcon, and several other beastly creatures that tend the mysterious woman who lives only in the lives of her animal companions and who doesn't want anything to do with man, yet a child and a soldier might change her way of thinking. I loved this amazing tale!!!

The preface, written by Gail Carriger, a writer of steampunk paranormal romances, tells us that "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" is her perfect desert island book.

My stomach is not strong enough for this much treacle.

I received a review copy of "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld" by Patricia A. McKillip (Tachyon) through NetGalley.com. It was first published in 1974 by Atheneum.

Even if, as I understand, it is targeted at young adults (?), I think adults are the ones that will truly understand and glean from it, as much is hidden between the lines. It is a story about love, in its basic and simplest form, and loss, about the desire for power, the cost of revenge, foregivness, written in magical and lyrical words. A meaningful work of imense stylistic beauty!

Sybel has grown up with only her father's teachings and the forgotten beasts of eld. When one day a baby is given into her care, she must learn to love and care for him. When Coren returns years later for the boy, Sybel's world is turned around all over again. 

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld has a multitude of wonderful characters. Sybel has her flaws, but these make her seem more human rather than a bad person. I love the love between Tam and Sybel and how Sybel let's him go to be with his father. Coren is a wonderful character although I'm still unsure of the love story aspect of the book. I loved the histories we get of each of the forgotten beasts as it brings a bit more to who they are.

McKillip is wonderful at world building. The mountain of Eld, Sirle and Mondor are all written so differently yet beautifully. Especially the white house on the mountain that, although it doesn't change itself, feels differently as people come and go. The differences between the house and the house in Sirle are also drastically written. I loved how by the end of the book there's a very clear notion of where feels like 'home' for Sybel. 

McKillip's writing style is almost poetical in places. Because of this, in even the longest of sentences you're still hooked. It also resonates a lot with the songs about the beasts within the world. These beasts are ferocious, beautiful, and magical. I loved how they were described throughout the book. The way magic was talked about and how it was explained kept my imagination open. 

I received The Forgotten Beasts of Eld* by Patricia A. McKillip as an e-book from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.

“I need you to forgive me. And then perhaps I can begin to forgive myself. There is no one but you who can do that either.”

A book like this is intimidating to pick up. Not because it is mundane, nor because it is necessarily daunting (although it is, in a way). No, my friends. This book entails every aspect that fantasy writing is about, and it is truly breathtaking. Being disappointed with other fantasy reads after this book is why it is intimidating.

Compared to the writing of today's YA novels, this book automatically takes the lead in its overall quality. Its writing style, detail to plot and meaningfulness are (in my opinion) so much more when compared to what is out there today.

We are dropped into a new world, that isn't ever fully explained. Because of this, the reader is allowed to be left with a sense of yearning and wonderment to know more. To me, this is the key element to draw in the reader, and to make them thirst for more. Over-explanation of detail only "dumbs down" the writing to be taken at face-value, rather than allowing the readers' imagination to run wild. The tidbits that we are privy to are delicious, whimsical, and truly meaningful.

Now, to the story...

Our main character Sybel, is the daughter of Ogam, a man born from a line of wizards. His special powers allowed him to "call" many spectacular creatures to live among his castle walls, safely nestled in the mountains of Eld. Sybel, growing up in a world separate from the one she lives in, knows little of the outside world. She cares little for the dealings of men, and spends her time tending her beloved creatures, and calling the fabled Lorien, a mythical white bird, to join her.

Her solitude is interrupted when an unbidden man brings a baby to her doorsteps, insisting that she takes the child in and raises him in a place far away from the warring nations outside her walls. She consents, and realizes that she must learn what it means to love another human--something she is not used to doing.

As the child grows into a young man, Sybel develops a strong, motherly connection to him. But as he comes of age, Tamlorn is sought out, and called to rejoin the world of men, and take his rightful place as prince. Sybel calls Tamlorn's father, the king Drede to her to discuss terms for Tamlorn. When Drede meets Sybel, he immediately falls in love with her, and extends the offer for her to join him and Tamlorn.

Because of Sybel's odd upbringing and talents, she has developed a rather cold character. She doesn't know, or care much for the toils of men. That is, until she discovers that she is used by one who desires her for her power.

“It is not a bad thing, itself, but it is a bad thing to be used by men, to have them choose what you must be, and what you must not be, to have little choice in your life.”

Sybel's outlook on mankind transforms into a dark and corrupting thing, causing her to unabashedly use others to cast her revenge. But her desires for revenge do not come without their consequences.

“The giant Grof was hit in one eye by a stone, and that eye turned inward so that it looked into his mind and he died of what he saw there.”

As Sybel experiences life, love, loss, and joy, she must either grow, or forever be locked in the dark shackles of revenge, hurt, and mistrust. Because her character basically starts from zero, the reader gets to watch her "transform" as she learns more about human nature.

There are two different points in this book that I didn't necessarily like, and made me take a half-star off:

#1 Because this is a shorter novel, changes aren't always allowed enough time to happen without feeling a bit forced. An example of this is Sybel's character. She changes so much in such a short amount of time, that it isn't always believable.

#2 I felt that the imaginative expression could be slightly overwhelming at times, and could have used a bit more explanation.

Despite these two things, it is without a doubt that this is a beautiful story of growth, hardship, healing, and forgiveness. I would highly recommend this read to any lover of young adult fantasy.

Random side note: I think that Sybel is the original white-haired, dragon wielding heroine. Not Khaleesi.

Vulgarity: None that I recall.
Sexual content: Some advances are made towards Sybel, but they are stopped before anything happens.
Violence: Minimal.

4.5 stars.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

What an odd book. In all the best ways.
That's my knee-jerk reaction to it. It's apparently an older fantasy novel being re-released, which surprised me because I'd never read it before. Fantasy is my thing and this book must have originally come out when it was my ONLY thing.

But somehow I missed it, and my life was lacking because of it.

I really enjoyed this book. It hooked me by page three with the oddness of the voice, the story and the characters.

Odd in a good way, I can empathize AND imagine myself as the main character.

The writing is clean, crisp and evocative. The story captivating.

I highly recommend it if you like old-school fantasy. It gives you almost everything you could ask for.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is a wonderfully written, richly textured, high fantasy from Patricia A. McKillip. Even though it is quite limited in length, it is still filled with insightful moments and fascinating insights; all of it set in beautifully rendered fairy tale world.

Sybel is a young, powerful sorceress, who has spent her life in isolation, her interaction with humans nonexistent. She knows nothing outside of her mountain home, nor does she really wish to know. Her only companions the magical creatures of her home. So when a baby is brought to her she isn’t quite prepared for the emotions this innocent child will evoke — nor is she ready for the power struggle she will be brought into when someone returns for the child.

What always catches me unprepared whenever I read (or reread) a Patricia A. McKillip novel is her unbelievable prose. It isn’t elaborate or flowery, merely lyrical and purposeful. Every word has its place and its use in her narratives, yet she never feels a need to expound unnecessarily. Important events taking place in pages rather than chapters. Concise, meaningful, and lovely. That is how this author writes, and I only wish more fantasy offerings these days mimicked her style.

As for the story itself, it was poignant, quick, and emotional. Sybel’s life, her choices, and the ones she love caught up in the quagmire she has unknowingly been drawn into. Her words and response to both the child and that which comes later filled with a layer of meaning and depth which will truly touches a reader’s heart strings.

As for any criticisms or complaints, I have none. McKillip has always been a writer I was in awe of, especially her amazing ability to craft an exciting fantasy tale that still finds a place for both dignity and seriousness in its pages, and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld was no exception, making me wonder only why it took me so long to actually read it.

Lyrical, complex, concise, and emotional, this novel is one I will be readily espousing to lovers of high fantasy, fairy tales, and beautifully writing. Patricia A. McKillip isn’t an author spoken of very often these days, but she should be, because her works are treasures of the genre.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

Wow. Wow wow wow wow. I could just write 'wow' for this entire review.

Reasons I'm saying wow:
--badass lady wizard extraordinaire
--portrayal of trauma and the healing process that isn't sexist
--lovely lovely prose
--all around beautiful

When it started I thought I was in for something along the lines of Arthurian legend. And certainly I think McKillip is playing with that storyline trope. It's certainly engaging enough in the beginning that I wanted to keep reading even though I'd read similar enough fantasy before, but then about halfway through, something happens which I'm not going to spoil, and I fell in love with the novel. I started highlighting large portions of the text. I wanted to read late into the night.

I want and will read this again. I'll also buy a copy so my daughter can read it, so I can read it to her.

It has similar themes to A Wizard of Earthsea, but is also it's own lovely piece of art.

McKillip is one of those authors I discovered late in life, and I'm relishing the thought of reading her works slowly for the next decade, much like I plan to do with Ursula K. Le Guin.

Thanks to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Reviewed on Goodreads 09/16/2017]
[Will review on Amazon after pub date]
[Will review on blog early Oct.]

McKillip is a fantasy genre treasure. Forgotten Beasts of Eld holds up to everything she's done previously, and then some. Great read!

A dramatic, lyrical ballad locked into simple prose. Obscure, seemingly effortless, magical and breathtaking.

I don't think I have never come across a book like this before in the fantasy genre.

If I was to tell you what the story is about, it would not amount to too much and there is hardly any worldbuilding, but the writing is so compelling, so powerful, so seductive and beautiful that I just cannot shake the effect it has had on me.

The music I kept hearing in my head while reading was the musical suite, The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns, especially The Swan movement.

Also there is a strong medieval feel to the whole story and I was very much reminded of the Arthurian myth by the relationship between Sybel, Coren and Drede. There was a strong Guinever-Lancelot-Arthur resemblance, though most of the time Sybel appeared to me as the Lady of Shalott.

I'm a huge Patricia McKillip fan, having read most of her books and short stories (and those I haven't read, I'm saving for a rainy day), so I was over the moon when I learned that Tachyon will be reissuing her 1974 fantasy novel (and World Fantasy Award Winner), The Forgotten Beasts of Eld this fall.

Why? Because there simply aren't enough good books in the world, and the previous edition of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld is somewhat difficult to find. Win-win!

As is typical for Tachyon editions, this one features a gorgeous cover by acclaimed artist Thomas Canty, who also provided the cover for McKillip's recent Tachyon short story collection, Dreams of Distant Shores.

The new edition also features a forward by Gail Carriger, who rates The Forgotten Books of Eld as one of her favorite books of all time--and for a good reason. This book, along with McKillip's beloved Riddle-Master trilogy, is one of those fantasy classics that avid readers of the genre heartily recommend. These impressive accolades are probably why I avoided The Forgotten Beasts of Eld for a long time. Even though, like I said, I'm a big McKillip fan, I was always a little apprehensive about reading it: would it live up to my massive expectations? I didn't want it not to live up to them, so I avoiding reading it for a long time.

Of course, those fears were for naught. I'm pleased to say that The Forgotten Beasts of Eld surpassed all my expectations and reignited my love for fantasy fiction. I've been in something of a reading drought lately: moodily dipping in and out of books that don't seem to grab me. This one was the exception: this book didn't let go. Now, weeks later, I'm still thinking of Sybel, Coren, and the story's magnificent beasts.

I'll share why in a bit, but first I wanted to talk about why McKillip is my gold standard for fantasy.

First, McKillip is a prose sorceress. My best friend and I talk about this, and I'm absolutely convinced it's true. I'd argue that McKillip is the best prose stylist in the fantasy field (and she certainly has the chops to compete with non-genre literary writers), and I say that as a fan of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, a book that contains prose of unrivaled beauty. I'm drawn to McKillip's work because there's something incredibly poetic about her prose style: even her most complex sentences (those from Song for the Basilisk especially) slip through the mind as easily as water and tug the reader along as irrevocably as an ocean current. And like a true sorceress, McKillip casts a spell on her reader: you're compelled to keep reading by the force and beauty of the words on the page. Here's an example from The Forgotten Beasts of Eld:

The great wings unfurled, black against the stars. The huge bulk lifted slowly, incredibly, away from the cold earth, through the wind-torn, whispering trees. Above the winds struck full force, billowing their cloaks, pushing against them, and they felt the immense play of muscle beneath them and the strain of wing against wind. Then came the full, smooth, joyous soar, a drowning in wind and space, a spiraling descent into darkness that flung them both beyond fear, beyond hope, beyond anything but the sudden surge of laughter that the wind tore from Coren’s mouth. Then they rose again, level with the stars, the great wings pulsing, beating a path through the darkness. The full moon, ice-white, soared with them, round and wondering as the single waking eye of a starry beast of darkness. The ghost of Eld Mountain dwindled behind them; the great peak huddled, asleep and dreaming, behind its mists. The land was black beneath them, but for faint specks of light that here and there flamed in a second plane of stars. The winds dropped past Mondor, quieted, until they melted through a silence, a cool, blue-black night that was the motionless night of dreams, dimensionless, star-touched, eternal. And at last they saw in the heart of darkness beneath them the glittering torch-lit rooms of the house of the Lord of Sirle.

The visions McKillip conjures don't merely dissipate like a dream you can almost remember: they remain with you for a long time. I can still recall images from many of her books: the hand-puppet scene from Ombria in Shadow; Corbet Lynn melting out of sunlight in Winter Rose; the appearance of the dragon-sorcerer from The Cygnet and the Firebird. It's images like these that inspire future generations of writers; great stories don't appear out of thin air; they're built upon the foundations of other great stories. (Peter Beagle talks about this extensively in his essay collection Smeagol, Deagol, and Beagle: Essays from the Headwaters of My Voice.)

What I also appreciate about McKillip's stories are her people. She uses prose not only to paint the world, but to expose truths of the human heart. Good fantasy is driven not only by plot, but also by great characters. And the fantasy genre overall is populated by a slew of memorable characters, from Granny Weatherwax to Gandalf the Grey. What makes McKillip's characters stand out in a sea of iconic characters is their inherent humanity. McKillip's characters aren't simply bad or good; they make mistakes, are unreasonable, selfish, and rarely listen; they also make noble sacrifices, make jokes, make love; they are good and bad and all things in between. Nyx, of The Sorceress and the Cygnet torments birds in order to learn how to become a great sorceress and later learns a more important lesson: how to be human; Rois, from Winter Rose, is both jealous and selfless when it comes to love; Sybel, of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, is driven to revenge by trauma, even if her victory means losing the one thing that means the most of her. These characters are like us; they're all too human.

McKillip also writes uniquely personal stories within the realm of fantasy. When you think of fantasy, you think of epic quests: bloodshed, battles, war, famine, filth; these are the hallmarks of epic and high fantasy. You don't necessarily think of sorceresses who would rather be left alone to learn, thank you very much, or princes who would rather study than do battle. You think of books like The Lord of the Rings and A Game of Thrones, which are epic in size and scope. McKillip's books, in contrast, are deceptively slim (I say "deceptively" because they are quite meaty once you start reading) and deal with personal issues.

When you think of fantasy, you also won't think of domestic stories--low fantasy, a term I dislike because it seems so dismissive--which is chiefly what McKillip writes. And yet McKillip's stories feel both epic and intimate at the same time. They have the particular flavor of something delicious and wholesome. While her characters regularly encounter danger, I always feel comforted when I read her books, which is refreshing in a post-Red Wedding world. McKillip's books concern issues of hearth and home; of family bonds; of duty; of fealty; of grace. Her primary concern seems to be exploring the inner workings and motivations of her characters, rather than spinning a sprawling plot. The opening scene of Riddle-Master, where the family is squabbling over a domestic issue, wouldn't happen in any current fantasy books, and yet the book doesn't feel dated. You still relate to the characters, their situations, and want to know more about the beautiful, deadly world they live in.

Needless to stay, I had the bar set really high before I started reading this book. I wanted to be blown away. I wanted to feel all the feels. I wanted to marvel. And I was, and I did, and I did. Like many of McKillip's books, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld takes place in a secondary medieval-esque world; this one is called Eldwold.

This story concerns Sybel, the only female wizard in a line of powerful (and morally grey) male wizards. She's heir to a stone mountain and a menagerie of magnificent beasts, including a gold-hoarding dragon, a riddling boar, and a cat (who may very well be a panther, from what I could tell). In many ways, Sybel reminds me of an early version of Nyx, with her quick mind and impatience with her own humanity. Locked away in her stone house on Eld Mountain, Sybel sees very few people except the witch who lives down in the village, and she likes it that way. However, when a soldier named Coren interrupts Sybel's studies--her quest for the legendary and elusive Liralen--to foist upon her an infant boy related to Sybel's aunt and Coren's brother, he and Sybel both set in motion events that will transform their fates, and that of their two kingdoms.

The plot setup has Arthurian undertones: a baby conceived in secrecy by star-crossed lovers and is spirited away in order to guard him from shadowy forces until such time as he might seek his birthright or be used in revenge. Sybel initially wants nothing to do with Coren or the baby--she's just got too much to do and doesn't have much use for people--but she relents, and in turn learns to love as her forefathers never could.

After Sybel raises Prince Tamlorn and comes to know the soldier better, she finds herself embroiled in political tug-of-war between two warring kingdoms. What she soon learns as the book progresses is the price of love and the true nature of revenge and whether forgiveness is possible when you've done the unthinkable--this is the heart of the book's concern, which is limned by Sybel's quest for the Liralen. I raced through this book in two days because I was so distraught by the book's events and what Sybel might do--and whether any of my favorite characters would come out of it unscathed. The book's pace is brisk--there are no wasted moments--although McKillip skillfully paints the scene with her gorgeous, lyrical language. While I enjoyed the book's magic and fantasy setting, it's the characters and their plights that tightly held my attention.

The only thing I regret about this book is that I won't be able to read it for the first time twice--but that's always my regret when finishing a McKillip book. It doesn't stop me from coming back for more. If you're reading McKillip for the first time, start with this one.

Many thanks to Tachyon and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy of this book.


You can read my full review here: https://sabrinaslibrary.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/the-forgotten-beasts-of-eld-by-patricia-a-mckillip/

McKillip is one of my favorite authors, so I'm glad to see one of her earlier works get a new edition with lovely cover art. It's been at least a decade since I last read this book, so this made for a great re-read.

This was one of her earliest works, written when she was still experimenting with style and plots/sub-genres, etc. Unlike many of her other books published in this period, this feels a lot like a modern McKillip book. She's not quite there yet in terms of style, plot and characterization, but you can definitely see her distinctive style beginning to emerge.

I was glad to have a chance to re-read this, and I think it's stood the test of time very well.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications and Netgalley for the ARC.