The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia McKillip

[meganbmoore]

 The hero is the bookish, scatterbrained prince. The heroine is the fae queen’s mute, amnesiac daughter who is a scullery maid in the palace. The powerful mage wants humanity to leave him alone and has gone to the wolves. Literally. The fae queen just wants her husband and daughter back. The very sensible king spends half the book trying to pull his brother’s bacon out of the fire. Half the action takes place in the palace kitchen, and cooking pots are used as scrying bowls. There’s a book that, not only can no one figure out how to read, but also has entire worlds inside it.

The Book of Atrix Wolfe has everything needed to make me love it, and was a very, very nice read. The problem is that I didn’t really retain it. Words went in one ear and out the other, and left a very nice feeling behind, but not a lot of detail. I liked it, and I liked reading it, and if I reread it, I’m sure I’ll like it again, but I feel like it would almost feel like reading it for the first time if I did. A good read that leaves a pleasant feeling, but not a lot of impact.

Comments

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

That pretty much sums up my feelings about the book--I've read it twice over the years, liked it while reading it both times, and all I really remember is scrubbing pots...

[the_rck]

I sadly find myself feeling that way about all McKillip. I know I'll like the books if I read them, but I also know that I won't remember much more than the general liking later. It saddens me because I know that there are depths to some of her books. I just can't reach them or retain them.

[anime-heart.livejournal.com]

yes, this one's nice but rather talky and the best part is the kitchen stuff.

[chomiji]

I agree with everything you said. As I think I mentioned, all of McKillip's more recent books appeal to my brain, but not my heart. If you want the McKillip that will upset me if you don't like it, it's the "Riddlemaster" trilogy. That's got characters and world-shaking situations (world-shaking on the SDK level) that can grab you by your heart and stomp that sucker flat. I'm not sure why she seems to have lost that power even as her technical skill with writing has increased.

[smillaraaq.livejournal.com]

Just got my copy from Bookmooch, conveniently enough. Hopefully it will help wash out the taste of that last Cassie Edwards I'm slogging through...