The Spellkey

Spellkey #1

by Ann Downer-Hazell

During a dangerous journey through the Thirteen Kingdoms, a witch girl and an outcast stableboy find their fortunes intertwined with nefarious agents seeking a powerful Spellkey.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Romance, High Fantasy, Witches

217 pages, Library Binding

First published October 1, 1987

Reviews

[Phobean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterfully written tale that is not done justice by the murky, boring cover illustration. This is a book that a.) respects the intelligence of it's reader and also that of it's characters b.) employs a sense of mystery without being unnecessarily pedantic or coy c.) is honest but not precious d.) could give Hayao Miyazaki's films a run for their money in terms of surprising, organic plot twists, feminist and humanist underpinnings, and a slow, natural "love" story element that won't induce gagging. To boot, this book has a beauty and wryness of language just begging to be read-aloud. Three cheers!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not particularly engaging, though something drove me onward, up to page 153, even. The two main characters inexplicably fall in love, and everyone's after them, but they don't seem to question this and continue on to their strange goal of giving Caitlyn up to a convent. Meanwhile, for 3/4 of the book, Elric is following them and causing random events to happen, with no explanation to the reader.
Plus, random sexual content, though it was very inexplicit.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This odd, episodic fantasy feels more like an allegory than a story. While it had some interesting and original elements, I was ultimately unconvinced and dissatisfied by its treatment of human beings as objects in a pattern rather than as individuals with unique moral value. This typifies what I often dislike about prophecy-themed fantasy.

[AE Michels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy as It SHOULD Be

Here is a story that eschews the usual cliches and spins a complex tale of enchantment, destiny, and the human heart. Yes, the quest motif runs throughout the book, but the author gives it a unique spin and adds an underlying feel of mystery, so one senses the history and detail outside the focus of the story--a background that so many fantasies lack. It's not a book for the quick or casual read; it deserves attention and appreciation. The sequel, "The Glass Salamander", resolves the questions at the end of this one in an equally satisfying manner.

[hh · Rating 5 out of 5]

the story of caitlin and badger has stuck with me for more than half my life. it's haunting and simply told and incredibly lovely.
---

reread of an old favorite. (sense a pattern in the early part of this year?) i never grow tired of this story. a beautiful fantasy. definitely an underrated series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. The background machinations were confusing, but the writing style and characters reminded me a lot of Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain. Loved the magic and fairytale references.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've enjoyed reading an fantasy novel written in the 80s, as an adult. This one kinda blows, but I at least managed to get through it, which is more than I can say about Dragonlance.

The Spellkey is perhaps the most confusing, and convoluted story I've ever read. The characters seem to act without motivation or desire, just moving from plot point to plot point as the book necessitates, without any real rhyme or reason. Throughout, they are harried by a man, who inexplicably knows everything about them, and their journey. Who he is gets revealed in the last 10 pages, but I had lost all ability to care by that point.

But that's the last 5-10 pages entirely. It's just a series of big plot reveals about how these seemingly disparate characters and events from the past 200 pages are actually all one continously linked narrative. It's it so genius and intricately designed? Maybe, but if I knew that guy from chapter 5 and the dude in chapter 12 were the villain at the end, and that the protagonists had a relationship, connection, and feelings about him then maybe I would've cared.

There's a moment in the last few pages where one protagonist goes "hey, it's fucked up that you did all these things too/around me, but never told me or explained anything or did anything to make my world make sense" and the response he gets is something akin to "ah, but you see the prophecy says you can't know," and the protagonist is like "oh, okay. That's fine then." But, like, fuck that. At least tell me, the reader, why I should care? Why are any of these people doing anything? It's fucked up.

[Sula]

A little convoluted and unclear in the underlying world-building. However, its slight episodic nature felt like it was setting up decent, but different world-building for each setting, and while they were interesting ideas but they felt too much like settings for different stories than stops on the journey through one. The underlying world-building beyond some of these episodic locations felt a little murky and undefined. I would rather have had the exploration of different ideas and places woven a little more together, which would also have helped strengthen the world-building as a whole. I still don't really understand various aspects of the world. I think that makes it 3.5 stars for me.

The love interest isn't insta-love and did slowly grow over time, but didn't seem to be built on much and I didn't find that believable.

[Reaaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is pretty much a standard quest, but the mood and imagery were so alluring and otherworldly that it felt like a strange dream. The first 60 pages I felt it to be a bit impersonal, but the further I got into it the more it began to click. The soft world building paired with the episodic storylines made for such a satisfying ending. It's four stars now, but upon reread I feel it could be a five

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very good.

[Shaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm probably biased as it was the very first Fantasy book I read but I loved it!!!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite novels ever since the first time I picked it up over twenty years ago. I've reread it countless times and often find myself thinking of these characters.