Kingfisher

Patricia A. McKillip

2016 • 346 pages

Ratings7

Average rating3

Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. "Look for us," they tell Pierce, "if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden's court." Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth: about his father, a knight in King Arden's court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father's destructive love for King Arden's queen, and Heloise's decision to raise her younger son alone. As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries: an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce's heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce's; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father's kingdom. Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory—or destroy it...From the Hardcover edition.

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Kristen

Though enjoyable, this is my least favorite book I've read by Patricia A. McKillip. As is usual with her books, there is some beautiful writing, but it follows a LOT of characters and some of their stories and more interesting than others.

3 1/2 stars

Full (But Still Brief) Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/07/mini-reviews-monstress-1-kingfisher-and-golden-son/

February 13, 2016

Metaphorosis Reviews

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

A network of families explore their common past, and search for a powerful historical object in an invented but modern fantasy landscape.

Patricia McKillip's greatest strength is her ability to produce dreamy but compelling language - almost invariably about characters searching for a vague but romantic sense of place or self. Usually, the search takes place in a traditional fantasy landscape, where magic is often mentioned but seldom seen. In Kingfisher, she steps away from that with a faux-modern setting, complete with cars, and dishwashers, but also mysterious powers, similar to what we've seen in some of her recent short stories. The magic remains mostly allusive and mysterious.

The setting worked very nicely, though it took a while to realize exactly what world McKillip was using. Where the novel has less success is in its deeply allegorical theme, replete with references to Arthurian legend, and all set against a backdrop of Christian religion.

In my view, McKillip does best when she's focused on one character, trying to make sense of the world based only on scraps and fog. Here, there are simply too many characters, all connected, and not enough actual plot. The Christian elements only weakened the story for me. While they're not directly alluded to, they're hard to miss, including in the book's title, Kingfisher. While the book plays with religion in general, it's hard to escape the implication that Christianity is what really matters.

McKillip hasn't lost any of her writing skill, but I found this novel unsatisfying. While the prose is as good as always, the plot is murky rather than mystical, and the allegory heavy-handed rather than delicate. A passable book, but not up to the usual McKillip standard.