In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip

[meganbmoore]

After the deaths of his wife and stillborn child, Prince Ronan of Serre ran off to war to try to get himself killed. That didn’t work out well for him, though, and now his father, a very hard and cruel man, has summoned him home. Along the way, he accidentally tramples a white hen with his horse, earning the wrath of Brume, the oldest witch in Serre, who declares that he will spend one night under his father’s roof, and then run mad through the forests until he brings her a firebird in a golden cage. When he reaches his father’s castle, Ronan learns he has been summoned home to be married off to a princess he’s never met. Obviously, not a good day.

His betrothed, Princess Sidonie of Davia, isn’t any more thrilled about things than Ronan, having been told that she was being married off to a man she didn’t know so that his father won’t invade the kingdom, and made to travel for months with Gyre, a strange magician sent along to protect her by her father’s ill magician, Unciel. Soon, she’s dealing with madmen in the forests, fake fiances, evil witches, heartless fiances, a cruel kings, and monsters. Personally, I can’t help but think that at some point, she just got tired of being yanked around and decided to just get things done and the men in order already by herself.  

Like the other McKillip books I’ve read, it has a lovely world and mythology(I loved all the nods to various talking/transformed animal legends) and wonderful prose, but feels more like a comfort read than anything else.  They thrill me, but don't quite move me once I close the book.  I’d probably put it at my second favorite so far, after Ombria in Shadow. 

Comments

[estara.livejournal.com]

Just don't forget The Riddlemaster of Hed!
*hasn't read this yet*

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I'll work my way there eventually.

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

I'm hard put to remember much about this one myself, and yet there it is on my bookshelf, looking as pretty as all the other ones (they do have such magnificent covers, don't they?). I take this as a sign that when this degree is finished and I recover the capacity for reading novels again (it's horrifying; I've totally petered out and have only read about three or four actual books this year, as opposed to heaps of manga!!!) I should have a good re-read of all of McKillip's stuff.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

When I was in college, I'd do well to get one or two novels read a month...most of the rest was comics and manga, because I could get something read quickly.

I think I'm overcompensating for that now.

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

You certainly do get through an impressive amount of books, that's for sure! I seem to recall managing to read heaps of novels the first time round at university, but this degree has been done while I've been working full-time. Farewell life and free time, it was nice knowing you! So once it's all done in October, I shall get stuck into my backlog. I've got at least 50 books sitting around that have been purchased at various points over the last 10 years that I still haven't managed to get to. Which is both nice and scary *grin*.