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juushikaTitle: Ombria in Shadow
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Published: New York: Ace, 2002
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 289
Total Page Count: 137,593
Text Number: 404
Read Because: recommended and reviewed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
phoenixfalls, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Ombria teeters on the brink of destruction: a child ruler sits on the throne while a dangerous regent vies for power. But Ombria is a city of magic, of hidden doorways and underground sorceresses, and what seems to be her end may only be a transformation. McKillip's illustrative voice creates a fantastic sense of place intertwined with a deep, organic magic: an absorbing, unusual, superbly realized city, Ombria is the book's true protagonist. The characters which people it have melancholy depth and sympathetic troubled relationships; the plot which moves it is both finely knit and inevitable—the strange but natural outcome of the city's identity. But the climax has flaws: the city's fate knits up nicely but some character threads feel hastily knotted in, and the ending uses a trope I dislike: characters lose their memories of the book's climax, which I feel undercuts all that's gone before. But, while the characters have moments of crystalline resonance, while the plot has a beautiful denouement, don't read it for that. Read Ombria in Shadows for McKillip's lyrical writing and the shadowed, mournful, magical world which it evokes. It's not a flawless book but it is a remarkable one, and it was exactly what I wanted. I recommend it with enthusiasm.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Patricia A. McKillip
Published: New York: Ace, 2002
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 289
Total Page Count: 137,593
Text Number: 404
Read Because: recommended and reviewed by
phoenixfalls, e-book borrowed from the Multnomah County LibraryReview: Ombria teeters on the brink of destruction: a child ruler sits on the throne while a dangerous regent vies for power. But Ombria is a city of magic, of hidden doorways and underground sorceresses, and what seems to be her end may only be a transformation. McKillip's illustrative voice creates a fantastic sense of place intertwined with a deep, organic magic: an absorbing, unusual, superbly realized city, Ombria is the book's true protagonist. The characters which people it have melancholy depth and sympathetic troubled relationships; the plot which moves it is both finely knit and inevitable—the strange but natural outcome of the city's identity. But the climax has flaws: the city's fate knits up nicely but some character threads feel hastily knotted in, and the ending uses a trope I dislike: characters lose their memories of the book's climax, which I feel undercuts all that's gone before. But, while the characters have moments of crystalline resonance, while the plot has a beautiful denouement, don't read it for that. Read Ombria in Shadows for McKillip's lyrical writing and the shadowed, mournful, magical world which it evokes. It's not a flawless book but it is a remarkable one, and it was exactly what I wanted. I recommend it with enthusiasm.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
