Gorgeous Words: Barbara Hambly & “The Ladies Of Mandrigyn”
On Thursday (Wednesday, US time), my Fantasy Heroines That Rock My World series on SF Signal featured Sheera Galernas and The Ladies of Mandrigyn, from the book of the same name.
But this is more than just “a strong and exciting Fantasy story” with a cast of interesting characters (a significant number of whom happen to be feisty, determined heroines)—although those are vital qualities in any top read.
The Ladies of Mandrigyn comprises another essential ingredient as well: it has its fair share of gorgeous words, strung together into powerful sentences. Like this, for example:
“They left the magical silence of the foothills to climb the Stren Water valley.
Fed by the drowning rains on the uplands above, the Stren Water roared in full spate, spreading its channels throughout the narrow, marshy country that lay between the higher cliffs, cutting off hilltops into islands … Starhawk and Anyog made their way along the rocky foothills that bordered the flooded lands, always wet, always cold. Anyog told tales and sang songs; of wizardry and Altiokis they did not speak.”
It’s not exactly comforting, but it’s wonderfully atmospheric, creating a clear sense of the physical landscape, the winter journey, and the mood and preoccupations of the travellers, in just a few short sentences.
In Fantasy and Science Fiction, this is what we mean by “worldbuilding.”
One of my favourite fantasy novels EVER. I agree about the writing. I think she achieves even more in the early scenes of “Dragonsbane” (and it has a great heroine too ….
“Snap”, as in, Dragonsbane is also one of my longstanding favourites–but in the sense that this post was sparked by my Heroines series on SF Signal, it’s hard to go past The Ladies of Mandrigyn for so many wonderful female characters in one book, hence the planned, two-part Heroines post. 😉