Spending Time With The Best of Book Friends – I Revisit “The Riddlemaster of Hed”
Last Monday, I mentioned “Loving the way the poems and books I heart always stay with me.”
And I know I’ve spoken in the past about the way books can be like old friends. You know, the sort where you can just be yourself, put your feet up, and relax into being companionable… (Yep, I am talking about books, but ’tis just as true of people. 😉 )
Another circumstance that directs me back to tried-and-true book friends is because, being in the endgame of WALL #4 (working title: The Chaos Gate), I am currently eschewing exploring new epic fantasies. I definitely want to keep the epic focus on the work-in-progress!
When it comes to the tried-and-true, I know I’ve mentioned Patrica McKillip’s The Riddlemaster of Hed in very positive terms on more than one occasion. A more recent “very good friend” is Martha Wells’ Murderbot series, which I’m happy to reread pretty much at any time. (And if you haven’t read either of these series, hie thee and read — how’s that for a recommendation?!) 😀 )
It was, however, The Riddlemaster of Hed that I picked up last week and began enjoying all over again. Knowing the entire three books very well by now, I felt a deep appreciation for the way Patricia McKillip sets up the story arc from the very beginning — although when reading for the first time, it may appear one is just getting worldbuilding and character ‘texture.’
(No, I’m not going to give detail or explain further, because that would definitely be MAJOR spoiler territory.)
There are plenty of gorgeous words, too. I particularly noted the following passage early on in my rereading:
“The sky darkened slowly as he and the harpist took the long road back to the city; on the rough horns of the bay the warning fires had been lit; tiny lights from homes and taverns made random stars against the well of darkness. The tide boomed and slapped against the cliffs, and an evening wind stirred, strengthened, blowing the scent of salt and night. The trade-ship stirred restlessly in the deep water as they boarded; a loosed sail cupped the wind, taut and ghostly under the moon. Morgon, standing at the stern, watched the lights of the harbor ripple across the water and vanish.”
It’s amazingly evocative and atmospheric writing. It’s also setting up the next action sequence at one level, while simultaneously “lulling” the reader at another. Do I appreciate the author’s craft? Yes, I do. 😉
Yet even with the most enduring of best friends, there can be the occasional wry moment. Part of the initial setup is the close family relationship between the protagonist, Morgon, and his brother (Eliard) and young sister (Tristan.) The book was also first published in 1976, forty five years ago now — and I did smile a little over the passage where, with visiting traders coming, Morgon tells Tristan that:
“…I simply want you to clear the tables, lay the cloths, reset them, fill pitchers of milk and wine, have them fix platters of meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables in the kitchen, braid your hair, put your shoes on, and get the mud off the floor. The traders are coming.”
Even in the mid ‘70s, known now as the decade the women’s movement really took hold, I suspect some authorial irony in writing that passage, with all the domestic work falling to Tristan’s lot. I also suspect that it would struggle to withstand beta reader and editorial review these days. Nonetheless, despite the gendered division of labour in Hed, the author also does a great job of establishing a close and believable family relationship between the siblings that is (also) integral to the rest of the story.
And as I’ve mentioned in other posts, when it comes to the second book in particular (Heir of Sea and Fire), and the character of Raederle of An, the Riddlemaster storyline doesn’t stay in that traditional space. In fact it was one of the first epic fantasies I encountered that not only introduced empowered and engaging female characters, but also included a major female point-of-view character in the series.
Besides, we are none of us without character flaws, so when it comes to friends, whether old or new, book or human, a little give and take over is probably what ensures the friendship endures. 🙂
Oh, Murderbot is so good. And I loved another of hers a fantasy. Nothing better than an old friend.
I am so looking forward to the 5th Murderbot novella, which should be here very soon!
The Riddlemaster of Hed is one of my favourite books (with its sequels). I have loved it for years, especially as it doesn’t go at all where you think it will. I rarely see it mentioned so it was nice to see your appreciation of it.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Anne. 🙂 I *think* Gollancz republished the trilogy as part of their Masterworks series “a few” years ago now; deservedly since it is a “masterwork” (imho.)