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Night's Edge #1
Turn Of Light, A by Julie E Czerneda
The village of Marrowdell is an isolated pioneer community, but it is also the place where two worlds overlap, and at the turn of light--sunset--the world of magic known as the Verge can briefly be seen.Jenn Nalynn belongs to both Verge and Marrowdell, but even she doesn't know how special she is--or that her invisible friend Wisp is actually a dragon sent to guard her... and keep her from leaving the valley. But Jenn longs to see the world, and thinking that a husband will help her reach this goal, she decides to create one using spells. Of course, everything goes awry, and suddenly her "invisible friend" has been transformed into a man. But he is not the only newcomer to Marrowdell, and far from the most dangerous of those who are suddenly finding their way to the valley...
Unknown Binding
First published March 3, 2013
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About the author
Julie E. Czerneda
103 books754 followersHaving written 25 novels (and counting) published by DAW Books, as well as numerous short stories, and editing several anthologies, in 2022, Julie E. Czerneda was inducted in the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Her science fiction and fantasy combines her training and love of biology with a boundless curiosity and optimism, winning multiple awards. Julie's recent releases include the standalone novel To Each This World, her first collection Imaginings, and A Shift of Time, part of her Night's Edge fantasy series. For more visit czerneda.com Julie is represented by Sara Megibow of Megibow Literary Agency LLC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
January 14, 2013
When I first saw the cover art back in Spring of 2012 I thought to myself that this is a book worth reading. I waited patiently and when Julie showed me the ARC at Word Fantasy I KNEW I had to have it. Julie was kind enough to let me have a copy. I had to admit I hugged the tome and placed it on top of my To Be Read pile.
I tucked into it almost immediately and never regretted my decision. I love this book. It is unlike most any other fantasy novel I've encountered. You will find no princes, lords or kings. You will find no political intrigue or lofty characters dealing with convoluted plots. What you will find is a wonderful story about ordinary people living in an extraordinary place and one young woman's coming of age as she discovers the truth about the mystery surrounding her birth and her strange abilities.
This is one of the sweetest novels I've read. It pulled me in and did not let me go. All the characters jump out of the pages, full of life and rounded by experience. Marrowdell is stunning and Julie's description of this rural place makes you believe that if you follow the road north you will stumble upon it in truth, and once you get there you won't want to leave.
This novel comes out in March of this year. I seriously recommend this novel to anyone who loves fantasy with a down-to-earth feel to it.
I tucked into it almost immediately and never regretted my decision. I love this book. It is unlike most any other fantasy novel I've encountered. You will find no princes, lords or kings. You will find no political intrigue or lofty characters dealing with convoluted plots. What you will find is a wonderful story about ordinary people living in an extraordinary place and one young woman's coming of age as she discovers the truth about the mystery surrounding her birth and her strange abilities.
This is one of the sweetest novels I've read. It pulled me in and did not let me go. All the characters jump out of the pages, full of life and rounded by experience. Marrowdell is stunning and Julie's description of this rural place makes you believe that if you follow the road north you will stumble upon it in truth, and once you get there you won't want to leave.
This novel comes out in March of this year. I seriously recommend this novel to anyone who loves fantasy with a down-to-earth feel to it.
August 2, 2013
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS* I will start by saying if you enjoy sappy, fluffy, anticlimactic, angst-y teenage romance/fantasy that is far longer than it ought to be, by all means read this book. You won't be disappointed.
However, if you are looking for a good book that will keep your interest, has at least a little action, decent characters, decent world development, good grammar, good vocabulary, and isn't sappy, stop now and look for a different book. Honestly I don't think I'd have even finished the thing if I hadn't been stuck at home sick and a friend gave me the book (now I know why she didn't want it back). Where to even start...I suppose the heroine (I use this term loosely), Jenn Nalynn. Why not just name her Jennalyn and change her family's last name to something else? Especially since every time the author refers to her she uses first and last name, even though there's no other character named Jenn in the entire book. As a matter of fact, the author does this frequently with many of the characters and it gets old pretty quick.
Also I understand that Jenn's nineteen, but even so she's incredibly childish, selfish, annoying, and willful, something I would expect from a 14-15 year old at the most. She's certainly not the "Good Heart" everyone in the book calls her, which is also evidenced in how quickly she starts fooling around with one guy when she's betrothed to another. Oh yay, teenage love triangle. The one she's fooling around with at least somewhat has the same maturity she does and goes back and forth between a little boy carving initials on a tree and the chivalrous protector. There's even a chapter full of love letters written to each other. The rest of the people in the village (oh, yes, and all 800+ pages of this book take place in one tiny village) seem relatively normal and have proper maturity levels.
The story itself was uninteresting, exceedingly slow, and did little to keep one from asking "why am I still reading about a nineteen-year-old who wants to escape her little farming village and see the world, but oh, why won't anyone let me leave? Ok, then back to farm life and her silly interpersonal dramas." As soon as anything happened that might have led to some action, the author redirects the story to a different person's perspective. Now that I think about it, the book would (and should have been) a lot shorter had the author just written in first person. After all, its about a childish teenager crying "me me me I want I want" and "that's not fair!" so why not first person?
The ancestor worshiping religion the author had the villagers practicing would have been fine (there are many religions today that worship and/or revere ancestors) except that the exclamations of frustration, joy, or other in relation to ancestors got irritating and repetitive to the point of being laughable. In a moment of exasperation a character says "Ancestors patient and put upon," or when upset it's "Ancestors Distressed and Despairing." No one, in a moment of frustration, despair, happiness, or other ever comes up with two adjectives as an exclamation to convey to others their current feeling on a matter. It's preposterous and I had certainly had enough of "Ancestors this and that!" throughout the book. Horrible writing.
There was no action. In 840 pages, there was no action. No real conflict, not even the classic good versus evil. No real peril. No adventure. A few moments that looked like things might finally get interesting and then they don't. The most action that occurs is in the last 40 pages, as Jenn is running from oversized rats and her male protectors take all the battle damage. Then all of a sudden she remembers "oh, yes, I'm a magical girl who can wish anything to happen!" So she turns them into fluffy bunnies. No, I'm not kidding. The only creature to oppose her and they immediately get turned to fluffy bunnies. I almost laughed. Almost.
Useless added characters. The astronomers that show up in the village to witness an eclipse were entirely useless and added more unnecessary fluff to an already over-fluffy book. Probably could have cut out another hundred pages on them alone.
The grammar was lousy. I don't remember how many times I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs to decipher what the author was trying to get across.
There were enough misspellings for me to notice, didn't this book have an editor?
My final complaint is that the author missed her mark on the vocabulary. She would manage to use words that were close to what she meant, but still weren't the right ones to use in relation to the subject matter. For example, she had someone "notching their bow" or "notched another arrow." I am not an archer, but I know that you knock another arrow, or knock an arrow to your bow. Perhaps the author has a decent vocabulary, but apparently she didn't do her research. Close enough only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. I expect that if one is to write about something, they do their homework.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even put it in the lending library I have at work 1) for fear of someone seeing me with the book, and 2) because I don't think anyone should waste their time with it. I think this was intended as a young adult novel, the content, lack of conflict, and level of maturity being my indicator, but I can't see this book keeping the attention of a 13-18 year old. I am loathe to say it (I choke on the very words), but the Twilight series was a better read. Ugh.
However, if you are looking for a good book that will keep your interest, has at least a little action, decent characters, decent world development, good grammar, good vocabulary, and isn't sappy, stop now and look for a different book. Honestly I don't think I'd have even finished the thing if I hadn't been stuck at home sick and a friend gave me the book (now I know why she didn't want it back). Where to even start...I suppose the heroine (I use this term loosely), Jenn Nalynn. Why not just name her Jennalyn and change her family's last name to something else? Especially since every time the author refers to her she uses first and last name, even though there's no other character named Jenn in the entire book. As a matter of fact, the author does this frequently with many of the characters and it gets old pretty quick.
Also I understand that Jenn's nineteen, but even so she's incredibly childish, selfish, annoying, and willful, something I would expect from a 14-15 year old at the most. She's certainly not the "Good Heart" everyone in the book calls her, which is also evidenced in how quickly she starts fooling around with one guy when she's betrothed to another. Oh yay, teenage love triangle. The one she's fooling around with at least somewhat has the same maturity she does and goes back and forth between a little boy carving initials on a tree and the chivalrous protector. There's even a chapter full of love letters written to each other. The rest of the people in the village (oh, yes, and all 800+ pages of this book take place in one tiny village) seem relatively normal and have proper maturity levels.
The story itself was uninteresting, exceedingly slow, and did little to keep one from asking "why am I still reading about a nineteen-year-old who wants to escape her little farming village and see the world, but oh, why won't anyone let me leave? Ok, then back to farm life and her silly interpersonal dramas." As soon as anything happened that might have led to some action, the author redirects the story to a different person's perspective. Now that I think about it, the book would (and should have been) a lot shorter had the author just written in first person. After all, its about a childish teenager crying "me me me I want I want" and "that's not fair!" so why not first person?
The ancestor worshiping religion the author had the villagers practicing would have been fine (there are many religions today that worship and/or revere ancestors) except that the exclamations of frustration, joy, or other in relation to ancestors got irritating and repetitive to the point of being laughable. In a moment of exasperation a character says "Ancestors patient and put upon," or when upset it's "Ancestors Distressed and Despairing." No one, in a moment of frustration, despair, happiness, or other ever comes up with two adjectives as an exclamation to convey to others their current feeling on a matter. It's preposterous and I had certainly had enough of "Ancestors this and that!" throughout the book. Horrible writing.
There was no action. In 840 pages, there was no action. No real conflict, not even the classic good versus evil. No real peril. No adventure. A few moments that looked like things might finally get interesting and then they don't. The most action that occurs is in the last 40 pages, as Jenn is running from oversized rats and her male protectors take all the battle damage. Then all of a sudden she remembers "oh, yes, I'm a magical girl who can wish anything to happen!" So she turns them into fluffy bunnies. No, I'm not kidding. The only creature to oppose her and they immediately get turned to fluffy bunnies. I almost laughed. Almost.
Useless added characters. The astronomers that show up in the village to witness an eclipse were entirely useless and added more unnecessary fluff to an already over-fluffy book. Probably could have cut out another hundred pages on them alone.
The grammar was lousy. I don't remember how many times I had to re-read sentences or paragraphs to decipher what the author was trying to get across.
There were enough misspellings for me to notice, didn't this book have an editor?
My final complaint is that the author missed her mark on the vocabulary. She would manage to use words that were close to what she meant, but still weren't the right ones to use in relation to the subject matter. For example, she had someone "notching their bow" or "notched another arrow." I am not an archer, but I know that you knock another arrow, or knock an arrow to your bow. Perhaps the author has a decent vocabulary, but apparently she didn't do her research. Close enough only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades. I expect that if one is to write about something, they do their homework.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even put it in the lending library I have at work 1) for fear of someone seeing me with the book, and 2) because I don't think anyone should waste their time with it. I think this was intended as a young adult novel, the content, lack of conflict, and level of maturity being my indicator, but I can't see this book keeping the attention of a 13-18 year old. I am loathe to say it (I choke on the very words), but the Twilight series was a better read. Ugh.
April 1, 2013
I love Julie Czerneda's work, but in this case I just couldn't get past a near-instant dislike of the heroine. Jenn seemed much too childish, self-centered, and impulsive for her age, especially considering that none of the other characters near her age who had grown up under similar circumstances seemed so immature. Foolish decision after foolish decision (on her part) wore me down until reading the story became a chore.
November 12, 2012
Finished an advance reading copy - loved it! Will win the hearts of anyone who enjoys fantasy in the lyrical vein of Patricia McKillip.
November 9, 2012
I borrowed this book from a friend (Lyn McConchie)after she posted the review below on her site.
A TURN OF LIGHT by Julie Czerneda, DAW March 2013.
I first ‘met’ Julie when her book, A Thousand Words for Stranger came out in 1997. I read that in one mighty gulp, and LOVED it. She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and I voted for her. (Frankly I feel that her work was solidly superior but I guess all voters feel that way.) Since A Thousand Words, I’ve bought all of her books (new, many in hardcover – greater love hath no reader) and there’s never been one I thought less than well-written and great to read, although I love the Trade Pact Universe ones the best. So I was extremely happy to receive a proof copy of A Turn of Light to review. I suffered from trepidation because over the years I’ve seen some authors try to make the transition from Sf to fantasy or vice versa, and sometimes it comes off – and sometimes it doesn’t – but I hoped it would in this case. I can now report that it did. I read the book over two days, and after the first I put aside much of a stack of work I had to do so I could keep reading.
Julie has created a new world with the same meticulous detail that she has always brought to her SF books. There is a subtle poignancy of plot providing a depth and breadth that produces a powerful reality. Her characters are fully rounded, real people with recognizable traits. emotions, and a normal life. Except that in Marrowdell not all is as it seems. I was some pages in, racing along, and almost missed that until a sentence past the item my mind snagged on what had been said and I went back to re-read it. That was the first intimation that Marrowdell had its own character. Slowly, gradually, like the first fragile solo in a symphony, the theme began to clarify and that’s when I put aside my work and settled to read without interruption.
I’m not going to repeat the blurb or give away the plot and ending. You can go to Julie’s site on www.czerneda.com and see all that for yourself. (Buy her books, see her latest news, and even read some sections of this book.) Suffice it to say that the book has gone onto my shelf to be read – as are her other books – every few years so long as I live or until the book falls to bits and I have to buy a new copy. This book is a triumph, it contains everything that made me love her work in SF, and it’s wonderful to see that she’s carried that over into a fantasy blockbuster. Yes, it’s a big big book. Over 850 pages, and by my calculations some 300,000+ words. But, while I usually don’t like books that large, with this one I didn’t care. Jenn Nalynn’s story couldn’t be told in less because it’s the story of Marrowdell and everyone who lives there including new arrivals, house-toads, Wainn’s Old Pony, and some unwanted visitors. I heaved a satiated sigh when I finished. Because best of all, A Turn of Light had the right ending. The one that leaves a reader feeling content with the story, the characters, and the plot. I thought wistfully that it would be nice if there was more about them, but … and then I checked, YES! There will be. DAW (wonderful intelligent publishers that they are) have accepted A Play of Shadow, described as a “ sequel to Turn.” My only problem now is that Turn has taken Julie several years to write and I don’t want to wait that long for Play. (Oh, and I’d like another in the Trade Pact Universe while you’re about it.) Please write VERY fast. Because I’m out here waiting and so are a lot of others…
(Glenda: I too have read this in a couple of huge gulps, and agree. It's a terrific book. I must go back and read more of the author's work.)
A TURN OF LIGHT by Julie Czerneda, DAW March 2013.
I first ‘met’ Julie when her book, A Thousand Words for Stranger came out in 1997. I read that in one mighty gulp, and LOVED it. She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and I voted for her. (Frankly I feel that her work was solidly superior but I guess all voters feel that way.) Since A Thousand Words, I’ve bought all of her books (new, many in hardcover – greater love hath no reader) and there’s never been one I thought less than well-written and great to read, although I love the Trade Pact Universe ones the best. So I was extremely happy to receive a proof copy of A Turn of Light to review. I suffered from trepidation because over the years I’ve seen some authors try to make the transition from Sf to fantasy or vice versa, and sometimes it comes off – and sometimes it doesn’t – but I hoped it would in this case. I can now report that it did. I read the book over two days, and after the first I put aside much of a stack of work I had to do so I could keep reading.
Julie has created a new world with the same meticulous detail that she has always brought to her SF books. There is a subtle poignancy of plot providing a depth and breadth that produces a powerful reality. Her characters are fully rounded, real people with recognizable traits. emotions, and a normal life. Except that in Marrowdell not all is as it seems. I was some pages in, racing along, and almost missed that until a sentence past the item my mind snagged on what had been said and I went back to re-read it. That was the first intimation that Marrowdell had its own character. Slowly, gradually, like the first fragile solo in a symphony, the theme began to clarify and that’s when I put aside my work and settled to read without interruption.
I’m not going to repeat the blurb or give away the plot and ending. You can go to Julie’s site on www.czerneda.com and see all that for yourself. (Buy her books, see her latest news, and even read some sections of this book.) Suffice it to say that the book has gone onto my shelf to be read – as are her other books – every few years so long as I live or until the book falls to bits and I have to buy a new copy. This book is a triumph, it contains everything that made me love her work in SF, and it’s wonderful to see that she’s carried that over into a fantasy blockbuster. Yes, it’s a big big book. Over 850 pages, and by my calculations some 300,000+ words. But, while I usually don’t like books that large, with this one I didn’t care. Jenn Nalynn’s story couldn’t be told in less because it’s the story of Marrowdell and everyone who lives there including new arrivals, house-toads, Wainn’s Old Pony, and some unwanted visitors. I heaved a satiated sigh when I finished. Because best of all, A Turn of Light had the right ending. The one that leaves a reader feeling content with the story, the characters, and the plot. I thought wistfully that it would be nice if there was more about them, but … and then I checked, YES! There will be. DAW (wonderful intelligent publishers that they are) have accepted A Play of Shadow, described as a “ sequel to Turn.” My only problem now is that Turn has taken Julie several years to write and I don’t want to wait that long for Play. (Oh, and I’d like another in the Trade Pact Universe while you’re about it.) Please write VERY fast. Because I’m out here waiting and so are a lot of others…
(Glenda: I too have read this in a couple of huge gulps, and agree. It's a terrific book. I must go back and read more of the author's work.)
March 21, 2013
A Turn of Light
I've often referred to myself as a "bibliovore" since I tend to devour books. Well, to me, this book is a feast.
Magic. Romance. Toads. Dragons. Not-horses. Not-humans. Adventure (- and, yes danger of the world-shattering variety). Coming-of-age. Personal growth and self-knowledge. All these elements bound together in one book, in one story told in witty and elegantly-flowing prose. What more could a bibliovore want? There's even a sweet dessert! (Nearly as good as Pegg's summerberry pie, I bet.)
I've loved Julie Czerneda's science fiction for years. I expected to like her first foray into fantasy too, and I was right. Some things are different, of course - fantasy is different from science fiction, after all. Fantasy offers a writer the freedom to invent an entirely new reality, not dependent on the our (known) universe's laws of physics and other constraints on our reality. But I think it also requires more discipline, too - the writer must then make sure that everything in the book conforms to the rules of the invented reality. In that aspect, Czerneda may have an advantage over some other authors going from science fiction to fantasy, because in her sf novels, she always creates aliens with a richly detailed, "invented" biology, and then bases their behavior and culture on the "rules" imposed by that biology. That seems to require a similar form of discipline.
At any rate, I found no false notes, no glaring holes in the world or the plot. Everything that happened seemed perfectly consistent and natural - at least, natural for Marrowdell, the world created in this book. I'm eagerly looking forward to the sequel! There's so much more I'd love to discover about Marrowdell, Jenn, Wisp, Peggs, and the other characters I won't mention, lest I give anything away to those who haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting them.
I've often referred to myself as a "bibliovore" since I tend to devour books. Well, to me, this book is a feast.
Magic. Romance. Toads. Dragons. Not-horses. Not-humans. Adventure (- and, yes danger of the world-shattering variety). Coming-of-age. Personal growth and self-knowledge. All these elements bound together in one book, in one story told in witty and elegantly-flowing prose. What more could a bibliovore want? There's even a sweet dessert! (Nearly as good as Pegg's summerberry pie, I bet.)
I've loved Julie Czerneda's science fiction for years. I expected to like her first foray into fantasy too, and I was right. Some things are different, of course - fantasy is different from science fiction, after all. Fantasy offers a writer the freedom to invent an entirely new reality, not dependent on the our (known) universe's laws of physics and other constraints on our reality. But I think it also requires more discipline, too - the writer must then make sure that everything in the book conforms to the rules of the invented reality. In that aspect, Czerneda may have an advantage over some other authors going from science fiction to fantasy, because in her sf novels, she always creates aliens with a richly detailed, "invented" biology, and then bases their behavior and culture on the "rules" imposed by that biology. That seems to require a similar form of discipline.
At any rate, I found no false notes, no glaring holes in the world or the plot. Everything that happened seemed perfectly consistent and natural - at least, natural for Marrowdell, the world created in this book. I'm eagerly looking forward to the sequel! There's so much more I'd love to discover about Marrowdell, Jenn, Wisp, Peggs, and the other characters I won't mention, lest I give anything away to those who haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting them.
March 18, 2013
A Turn of Light is like eating chocolate truffles. It's far too delicious to gulp down in a single sitting. It begs to be savored. It's amazing how much such loving people get themselves into such deep trouble. And it's so very beautiful to see them pull through.
June 9, 2023
RTC! 4 ⭐!
July 25, 2013
A curmudgeonly anti-romantic interest; a weary too-wise soldier; a naïve, dying heroine; people who are not people; sharp-toothed toads; busy-body aunts who actually help more than they hinder; an abundance of pies; and a hero’s journey that never gets past the entrance to the valley - in the hands of anyone by Julie Czerneda, this would be a recipe for disaster.
But because this is Czerneda, A TURN OF LIGHT is a sparkling, sunlight-saturated rumination on what makes a hero a hero, and how the people closest to our Dear Hearts are not only worth dying for, but also worth living for.
Jenn Nalynn’s 19th birthday is happening on the solstice, and with its turning, she’ll be a woman. And that means she’ll finally be able to leave Marrowdell, the enchanted valley where her parents settled along with a handful of other exiled families two decades prior. What Jenn doesn’t know is that setting foot outside of Marowdell would spell the end for not only her, but of every villiager, ever enchanted tress and field, every magical and mystifying creature. For Jenn was born in the Turn, a strange limbo between Jenn’s world and a realm populated with dragons, demon horses, and people who are not quite human. If Jenn doesn’t stay, Marrowdell and everyone she loves is lost. But if she does stay, can Jenn ever be happy?
What I loved best about this book is that Jenn is very much a young woman scratching out her own place in the world. She has very real fears and desires, and the way she approaches her problems – while might be seen as passive to some readers – does really reflect my experience being this age and being tossed into the adult world with big choices to make for the first time: thinking you’re ready and then freezing in horror and indecision when you learn that you are not.
For all that Jenn is out of her depth, her passion to do good, to protect Marrowdell and yet fulfill the desires of her own heart makes her a strong and worthy heroine.
Without spoiling too much, I really enjoyed the subtle shift of magic under the ‘real world’ of Marrowdell – the faint not-quite-right-ness of the flowers, the armored toads, the way a horse is not quite a horse, that a breeze is not quite a breeze, and the hypnotic, vaguely sinister way that all the denizens of Marrowdell, human or not, must love and protect Jenn, have no choice in the matter.
My favourite scenes have to be between Scourge, the not-quite-a-horse, and Wisp, the not-quite-a-breeze-nor-yet-a-man-either. Their banter is fantastic, fun, and Wisp is by far my favourite character of the novel. His self-sacrifice is admirable, but so is his Sherlockian grumpiness.
Also, my new book boyfriend is Bannan. He’s hunky, like a good fantasy-world-soldier-prince ought to be, but what I really loved about him was his loyalty to his friend Tir, and his sister. He loves his family, he wants a family, and he admires and respects other people’s families. He has a genuine desire to make a good, simple life for himself in Marrowdell. He is intelligent enough to know that while war is sometimes necessary, violence is abhorred and harming another person is unforgivable. And that even when he acts like a love-sick boy, he always behaves like a man. While rolling his eyes at himself for behaving like a love-sick boy.
Enjoy this book slowly, savour it over cider and a good warm slice of pie, and leave some white pebbles out for the house toads; you never know when you might need them.
But because this is Czerneda, A TURN OF LIGHT is a sparkling, sunlight-saturated rumination on what makes a hero a hero, and how the people closest to our Dear Hearts are not only worth dying for, but also worth living for.
Jenn Nalynn’s 19th birthday is happening on the solstice, and with its turning, she’ll be a woman. And that means she’ll finally be able to leave Marrowdell, the enchanted valley where her parents settled along with a handful of other exiled families two decades prior. What Jenn doesn’t know is that setting foot outside of Marowdell would spell the end for not only her, but of every villiager, ever enchanted tress and field, every magical and mystifying creature. For Jenn was born in the Turn, a strange limbo between Jenn’s world and a realm populated with dragons, demon horses, and people who are not quite human. If Jenn doesn’t stay, Marrowdell and everyone she loves is lost. But if she does stay, can Jenn ever be happy?
What I loved best about this book is that Jenn is very much a young woman scratching out her own place in the world. She has very real fears and desires, and the way she approaches her problems – while might be seen as passive to some readers – does really reflect my experience being this age and being tossed into the adult world with big choices to make for the first time: thinking you’re ready and then freezing in horror and indecision when you learn that you are not.
For all that Jenn is out of her depth, her passion to do good, to protect Marrowdell and yet fulfill the desires of her own heart makes her a strong and worthy heroine.
Without spoiling too much, I really enjoyed the subtle shift of magic under the ‘real world’ of Marrowdell – the faint not-quite-right-ness of the flowers, the armored toads, the way a horse is not quite a horse, that a breeze is not quite a breeze, and the hypnotic, vaguely sinister way that all the denizens of Marrowdell, human or not, must love and protect Jenn, have no choice in the matter.
My favourite scenes have to be between Scourge, the not-quite-a-horse, and Wisp, the not-quite-a-breeze-nor-yet-a-man-either. Their banter is fantastic, fun, and Wisp is by far my favourite character of the novel. His self-sacrifice is admirable, but so is his Sherlockian grumpiness.
Also, my new book boyfriend is Bannan. He’s hunky, like a good fantasy-world-soldier-prince ought to be, but what I really loved about him was his loyalty to his friend Tir, and his sister. He loves his family, he wants a family, and he admires and respects other people’s families. He has a genuine desire to make a good, simple life for himself in Marrowdell. He is intelligent enough to know that while war is sometimes necessary, violence is abhorred and harming another person is unforgivable. And that even when he acts like a love-sick boy, he always behaves like a man. While rolling his eyes at himself for behaving like a love-sick boy.
Enjoy this book slowly, savour it over cider and a good warm slice of pie, and leave some white pebbles out for the house toads; you never know when you might need them.
December 2, 2012
I was fortunate to receive an ARC, and I absolutely loved it. Gripping, spellbinding, and fraught with tension. Julie Czerneda is a master storyteller. Her world and its characters will win your heart.
March 24, 2013
A mixed bag. The first 150 pages were a muddled mess. Much was straightened out - interesting characters developed and a place very well drawn - but the full structure of the world's magic never really became unmuddled. I don't mind understanding coming slowly as it comes to the main characters, but I *do* want it to come eventually, and it just didn't here. My only other objection was that the main character made far too many of those silly, stupid, impulsive, teen-horror-movie moves to be believable. Still, I did read all 840 pages, so there was a lot done right. Just not as right as I might have wished.
April 2, 2017
hmmmm
The Good:
·Interesting and unique plot
·Lots of time to get to know the world and characters. I didn't love the book and usually would not read the sequel because of that, but I feel like I spent so much time absorbing Marrowdell and the people in it that I would actually like to return to it, and soon.
·There was a pretty heft chunk, like 300 or 400 pages, where I was totally absorbed in the story and zoomed through it.
The Bad:
·The entire story takes place in Marrowdell. 800+ pages set in the one tiny village? Yeah, it gets old.
·The story drags on. I enjoyed the slowness until around the page 650 mark. At that point I started wondering when something was actually going to happen and when the book would finally end. A good 300 pages of this could have been cut and not much would be lost.
·We spend 800+ pages with Jenn Naylnn, our heroine, and she never becomes likable. Sure, she's all right, but if I spend so many hours of my life reading a book I would like to feel a connection to the main character or at least CARE about her. Jenn is incredibly boring. I liked her the first few chapters because she was a girl who wanted to leave her tiny home and explore the world and I relate to that, but the entire book is spent with various characters telling us that she's got the best heart ever, but really all we see is her being TSTL and incredibly selfish a few times. No me gusta.
·Instalove. I can not believe that I couldn't get a developed romance in EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES. 800 pages!
·If you asked me what the hell went down concerning the plot I couldnt explain it for a million dollars. Seriously, someone please tell me what any of that stuff meant? All I know is that there was a lot of magic and another world and some mysterious creatures.
I listed a lot of things I didn't like, but what makes me give this book 3 stars is that it's charming. I liked being absorbed so fully into the world of Marrowdell. Also I loved the horse/kruar Scourge. He was my favorite character and worth one star alone.
The Good:
·Interesting and unique plot
·Lots of time to get to know the world and characters. I didn't love the book and usually would not read the sequel because of that, but I feel like I spent so much time absorbing Marrowdell and the people in it that I would actually like to return to it, and soon.
·There was a pretty heft chunk, like 300 or 400 pages, where I was totally absorbed in the story and zoomed through it.
The Bad:
·The entire story takes place in Marrowdell. 800+ pages set in the one tiny village? Yeah, it gets old.
·The story drags on. I enjoyed the slowness until around the page 650 mark. At that point I started wondering when something was actually going to happen and when the book would finally end. A good 300 pages of this could have been cut and not much would be lost.
·We spend 800+ pages with Jenn Naylnn, our heroine, and she never becomes likable. Sure, she's all right, but if I spend so many hours of my life reading a book I would like to feel a connection to the main character or at least CARE about her. Jenn is incredibly boring. I liked her the first few chapters because she was a girl who wanted to leave her tiny home and explore the world and I relate to that, but the entire book is spent with various characters telling us that she's got the best heart ever, but really all we see is her being TSTL and incredibly selfish a few times. No me gusta.
·Instalove. I can not believe that I couldn't get a developed romance in EIGHT HUNDRED PAGES. 800 pages!
·If you asked me what the hell went down concerning the plot I couldnt explain it for a million dollars. Seriously, someone please tell me what any of that stuff meant? All I know is that there was a lot of magic and another world and some mysterious creatures.
I listed a lot of things I didn't like, but what makes me give this book 3 stars is that it's charming. I liked being absorbed so fully into the world of Marrowdell. Also I loved the horse/kruar Scourge. He was my favorite character and worth one star alone.
March 27, 2013
This is a huge book and it needs to be for the full story, and if you've read Czerneda before, you'll trust her to be amazing with the worldbuilding and engaging characters BUT I wonder if new readers will have the patience of the slice-of-life scene setting and leisurely introduction of the first 150 pages.
I like this sort of detail, to build a story and see the relationships as they are before the big changes happen, it reminded me a bit of the manga Natsume Yuujinchou in that Jenn had this amazing power, but no one - especially not she herself - was to know about it because more awareness brought more danger.
I liked Wisp never being quite as she expected, I LOVED Baran and Tir, and Peggs and Jenn's aunt and father and the worldbuilding of the Verge - oh and Scourge of course: I imagine him as a sort of Rathorn (P.C. Hodgell reference there) sans plates. It took me a while to warm to the house toads but I did.
This is sort of kingdom level fantasy in that the crisis if mishandled can have larger consequences for the valley and the Verge, and I loved that in the end the resolution was down to relationships, ties that bind, self-awarenss and actually listening to advice ^^, mostly.
I wish Jenn hadn't been so wilful and happy to lie, especially at the point where she had already had the experience with Wisp to know that her instant gratification could really have problematic consequences. She was saved by not only being said to have a good heart, but actually having a good heart in truth ^^.
I like this sort of detail, to build a story and see the relationships as they are before the big changes happen, it reminded me a bit of the manga Natsume Yuujinchou in that Jenn had this amazing power, but no one - especially not she herself - was to know about it because more awareness brought more danger.
I liked Wisp never being quite as she expected, I LOVED Baran and Tir, and Peggs and Jenn's aunt and father and the worldbuilding of the Verge - oh and Scourge of course: I imagine him as a sort of Rathorn (P.C. Hodgell reference there) sans plates. It took me a while to warm to the house toads but I did.
This is sort of kingdom level fantasy in that the crisis if mishandled can have larger consequences for the valley and the Verge, and I loved that in the end the resolution was down to relationships, ties that bind, self-awarenss and actually listening to advice ^^, mostly.
I wish Jenn hadn't been so wilful and happy to lie, especially at the point where she had already had the experience with Wisp to know that her instant gratification could really have problematic consequences. She was saved by not only being said to have a good heart, but actually having a good heart in truth ^^.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2016
I tried to read this book based on a recommendation from a family member. At 350 pages in is still boring, its like little house on the prairie with some supernatural elements that are hinted at and slowly revealed but the main characters are still spending most of their time fixing doors and baking pies to win the approval of friends and family...
January 4, 2017
Needs a really, really good editor. This book appears to have had none. The author is also in need of a best friend who is willing to read draft after draft and call out BS. This book was brimming with it, from syntax to character development. Don't read if your standards are above bad fan fiction.
February 22, 2013
I thought this book was beautiful, wondrous, engaging and constructive. The setting and characters are exquisitely rendered, the ending is satisfying. It was exciting to read and I look forward to more.
October 23, 2020
This is an interesting book. It is *quite* long, so don't pick it up if you are looking for a quick read. I'd categorize it as Little Women meets Finian's Rainbow. There is very little action in this book, and, truly, no villain. It is mostly a character study and an expose on how to work together to reach a common goal. What takes so long here is actually *defining* the goal. We have several different approaches and several different people and no one can see anyone else's view point.
Yet, still, there is just something so sweet about this novel. There was no crying, no sense of urgency to finish it, just a joyful journey. There is just a group of people who work together - not even so much because the are *forced* to, but, rather, because things just work better that way. All the personality types and all the people types, and they come together. I kept thinking I would set it aside and read something more entertaining or more action packed and I couldn't set it aside. I couldn't even skip to the last chapter to see how it ended. This book is all about the journey. And a lovely journey it was.
Yet, still, there is just something so sweet about this novel. There was no crying, no sense of urgency to finish it, just a joyful journey. There is just a group of people who work together - not even so much because the are *forced* to, but, rather, because things just work better that way. All the personality types and all the people types, and they come together. I kept thinking I would set it aside and read something more entertaining or more action packed and I couldn't set it aside. I couldn't even skip to the last chapter to see how it ended. This book is all about the journey. And a lovely journey it was.
July 13, 2013
I want to give this book five stars, because the world-building is astounding. Czerneda included a history that makes sense, a culture both similar to and markedly different from the North American norm, and magic that's seriously fantastical and weird and holds together.
AND although it takes over 800 pages to do it, this is a complete story in ONE VOLUME! Woo-hoo!!
But. The down side is that it takes the approach of hiding key facts about the world and some of the characters in order to maintain tension and, I guess, some mystery. I generally find this frustrating, and this book is no exception. For example, I can see - having read the whole book - that there are valid reasons for everyone trying to keep Jenn ignorant of various facts. That doesn't change the fact that the keeping-her-happy-through-ignorance thing aggravated me for 700 plus pages ... not to mention that it wasn't working very well in the first place.
Then there's the fact that Wisp, a point of view character after a certain point, knows most of the answers and never thinks about them. It's true that there are things he doesn't know, and he's biased about some others, but he knows a bunch of key facts and the reader doesn't get to know them until a long way into the book.
The set of characters in the very small frontier settlement are diverse and largely content - but not all of them, and a little imperfection is a good thing. Also it turns out that most of them have reached contentment after a period of discontent that's mostly in the past. I remain a bit puzzled, though, about an instance or two where Jenn is deliberately and casually deceitful, which seemed out of character to me. Indeed, the weakest character in the book is Jenn; she's often willful, dense, and selfish, despite being frequently described as good and charming. Fortunately, the other point of view characters provide nearly adequate relief from her, but some readers might be too annoyed by her to stand it.
It's kind of amazing, though, that a book set in what's really a very small area with a modest-sized cast can have such a feel of sprawling, busy, wildly fantastical space. That was absolutely the great and fun part of it, and mostly overcomes my dissatisfaction with the structure of the plot. Mostly.
AND although it takes over 800 pages to do it, this is a complete story in ONE VOLUME! Woo-hoo!!
But. The down side is that it takes the approach of hiding key facts about the world and some of the characters in order to maintain tension and, I guess, some mystery. I generally find this frustrating, and this book is no exception. For example, I can see - having read the whole book - that there are valid reasons for everyone trying to keep Jenn ignorant of various facts. That doesn't change the fact that the keeping-her-happy-through-ignorance thing aggravated me for 700 plus pages ... not to mention that it wasn't working very well in the first place.
Then there's the fact that Wisp, a point of view character after a certain point, knows most of the answers and never thinks about them. It's true that there are things he doesn't know, and he's biased about some others, but he knows a bunch of key facts and the reader doesn't get to know them until a long way into the book.
The set of characters in the very small frontier settlement are diverse and largely content - but not all of them, and a little imperfection is a good thing. Also it turns out that most of them have reached contentment after a period of discontent that's mostly in the past. I remain a bit puzzled, though, about an instance or two where Jenn is deliberately and casually deceitful, which seemed out of character to me. Indeed, the weakest character in the book is Jenn; she's often willful, dense, and selfish, despite being frequently described as good and charming. Fortunately, the other point of view characters provide nearly adequate relief from her, but some readers might be too annoyed by her to stand it.
It's kind of amazing, though, that a book set in what's really a very small area with a modest-sized cast can have such a feel of sprawling, busy, wildly fantastical space. That was absolutely the great and fun part of it, and mostly overcomes my dissatisfaction with the structure of the plot. Mostly.
October 1, 2016
Not for me. The premise had potential, but I had too many issues with the female protagonist Jenn.
I couldn't connect with her. I didn't like her personality. She lacked fire. Everything happens to her or around her; she doesn't drive enough of the action. Also, she doesn't really have a backbone, at least not when it comes to her family. Or maybe she was just too much of a "Good Heart" for me. I like my heroines stronger and more resistant to the will of others. Most of the time, I found her annoying. One minute, she'd be vowing to leave Marrowdell. The next, she's trying to appease her family. The constant seesawing was too much for me. Furthermore, she's basically trapped--caged. However, I felt she didn't demonstrate enough anger or desperation upon this realization.
UPDATE 2/2016:
Going to give it a second try.
******************
Of course, practically every male falls in love with her or wants to marry her. Roche, Devins, Allin, Bannon, Wisp/Wyll. It was irritating to say the least. I couldn't stand the whole Wyll-thread. I didn't appreciate "the wishing." Her romantic love for Wisp/Wyll comes out of nowhere. In previous interactions with Wisp, I was given no indication of feelings deeper than friendship. Then, Bannon falls in love with her upon first smile. This angered me a bit. Partly because I liked his character; much more could have been done with him. For example, the story would have been far more dynamic if he and Jenn started out at odds with each other.
In conclusion, the story was boring. The world of Marrowdell was too small, and none of the characters managed to offset this. It would have been better if Jenn had ended up leaving the village relatively soon in the story, but she doesn't...
I couldn't connect with her. I didn't like her personality. She lacked fire. Everything happens to her or around her; she doesn't drive enough of the action. Also, she doesn't really have a backbone, at least not when it comes to her family. Or maybe she was just too much of a "Good Heart" for me. I like my heroines stronger and more resistant to the will of others. Most of the time, I found her annoying. One minute, she'd be vowing to leave Marrowdell. The next, she's trying to appease her family. The constant seesawing was too much for me. Furthermore, she's basically trapped--caged. However, I felt she didn't demonstrate enough anger or desperation upon this realization.
UPDATE 2/2016:
Going to give it a second try.
******************
Of course, practically every male falls in love with her or wants to marry her. Roche, Devins, Allin, Bannon, Wisp/Wyll. It was irritating to say the least. I couldn't stand the whole Wyll-thread. I didn't appreciate "the wishing." Her romantic love for Wisp/Wyll comes out of nowhere. In previous interactions with Wisp, I was given no indication of feelings deeper than friendship. Then, Bannon falls in love with her upon first smile. This angered me a bit. Partly because I liked his character; much more could have been done with him. For example, the story would have been far more dynamic if he and Jenn started out at odds with each other.
In conclusion, the story was boring. The world of Marrowdell was too small, and none of the characters managed to offset this. It would have been better if Jenn had ended up leaving the village relatively soon in the story, but she doesn't...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2014
3 and a 1/2 stars
The story of a girl who is friends with an invisible dragon, who dreams of leaving her small backwater town for some grand adventures, only to find she can't ever leave her village due to a magical curse, and that the village she grew up in is overflowing with its own set of magical mysteries.
Things I liked:
- A relaxing book, not an epic adventure like most fantasy stories, but a story about a small village and their inhabitants, nice to read about their somewhat simple lives after a long hard day at work.
- The characters were, for the most part, interesting and well rounded. There are quite a few characters and I only mixed them up a little bit, haha. I know some people on here had a problem with the lead, Jenn Nalynn, and I could see why, but I've seen much worse female characters.
Things that irked me (a few spoilers)
-I found the book a bit rambling about its village sometimes, and figured the book could have easily been cut down by a good 200 pages and not have lost much in terms of plot and character development.
-This is more a personal issue, but the main romance is a love at first sight kind of deal, and I've always loathed LAFS stories, always feels like a cop-out on real romantic development.
-The biggest irk for me, in the ending everything got wrapped up way too perfectly and easily. Everyone was happy, nothing was lost. Didn't make the issue that they'd been building up to for hundreds of pages really seem like that big of a deal.
All in all, a decent book I don't regret reading, though I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel. The book wrapped up the story quite nice as it is.
The story of a girl who is friends with an invisible dragon, who dreams of leaving her small backwater town for some grand adventures, only to find she can't ever leave her village due to a magical curse, and that the village she grew up in is overflowing with its own set of magical mysteries.
Things I liked:
- A relaxing book, not an epic adventure like most fantasy stories, but a story about a small village and their inhabitants, nice to read about their somewhat simple lives after a long hard day at work.
- The characters were, for the most part, interesting and well rounded. There are quite a few characters and I only mixed them up a little bit, haha. I know some people on here had a problem with the lead, Jenn Nalynn, and I could see why, but I've seen much worse female characters.
Things that irked me (a few spoilers)
-I found the book a bit rambling about its village sometimes, and figured the book could have easily been cut down by a good 200 pages and not have lost much in terms of plot and character development.
-This is more a personal issue, but the main romance is a love at first sight kind of deal, and I've always loathed LAFS stories, always feels like a cop-out on real romantic development.
-The biggest irk for me, in the ending everything got wrapped up way too perfectly and easily. Everyone was happy, nothing was lost. Didn't make the issue that they'd been building up to for hundreds of pages really seem like that big of a deal.
All in all, a decent book I don't regret reading, though I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel. The book wrapped up the story quite nice as it is.
October 9, 2019
My mom gifted me this book. It looks like she purchased it used from a local library. It's a long one. I don't know that I'd recommend it, but it's readable.
It took me a while to get into it. Part of the problem is the author's frequent, lengthy parenthetical phrases in the middle of sentences. It's difficult to follow when subjects are too far from verbs. For a while it was so hard to read I wondered if this was originally written in another language and translated. Maybe it's just her writing style. It took me a while to get used to it.
One thing I like is that the characters talk to each other about their feelings. Not a lot is held back for long, which doesn't make for a compelling story, but it is refreshing. This openness helps characters avoid injustice and misunderstanding. It's easy to trust everything will turn out okay in the end. There's not a lot of evil and not a lot to fear. Because of this, there is also not a lot of heart to invest which makes it less meaningful in the end. Oh well. It's light entertainment.
Even so, I come away feeling heavy, not enlightened, and not particularly enriched. I'm mostly glad I finished the long thing. Though I was mildly entertained, I don't think it was worth my time. It was a gift, so I read it.
It took me a while to get into it. Part of the problem is the author's frequent, lengthy parenthetical phrases in the middle of sentences. It's difficult to follow when subjects are too far from verbs. For a while it was so hard to read I wondered if this was originally written in another language and translated. Maybe it's just her writing style. It took me a while to get used to it.
One thing I like is that the characters talk to each other about their feelings. Not a lot is held back for long, which doesn't make for a compelling story, but it is refreshing. This openness helps characters avoid injustice and misunderstanding. It's easy to trust everything will turn out okay in the end. There's not a lot of evil and not a lot to fear. Because of this, there is also not a lot of heart to invest which makes it less meaningful in the end. Oh well. It's light entertainment.
Even so, I come away feeling heavy, not enlightened, and not particularly enriched. I'm mostly glad I finished the long thing. Though I was mildly entertained, I don't think it was worth my time. It was a gift, so I read it.
April 13, 2015
I've been savoring this book for a long time, often returning to it when I found myself stressed out and at odds with the world. For me, it's an almost perfect comfort read, full of rich characters, magic that's truly magical, and a story that feels much larger than the limited geographical area of the setting. Having had the good fortune to spend a little time with Julie, I can tell you that reading it is like spending time enjoying her good humor and curiosity about the world. I only wish I could have read this when I was younger, because I did find the (very young, both chronologically and emotionally) main character's impulsive actions a bit frustrating at times, especially when combined with the way the people around her sheltered her from the truth of her heritage. But that being said, Jenn Nalynn grows a great deal by the end of A Turn of Light, and secondary characters like Tir, Riss and Horst, Aunt Sybb, and Scourge (especially Scourge!) made this book a joy to linger in.
March 23, 2013
Wow, this was long. I got pretty engrossed in this fantasy world Czerneda creates of exiled aristocrats in a sort of "new world" where they have become farmers. They've settled in a valley caught halfway between the magic world and the non-magic world, kind of an edge world, filled with beautiful meadows, rich farming, log cabins guarded by giant needle teethed toads which are quite like house cats, moths which may or may not be fairies, beautiful meadows (but avoid trampling the grain as you may not make it back out again alive), and a young woman named Jenn who is cursed with a wild desire to explore the world and is doomed if she tries. It's a pretty classic fantasy, but the world building is intricate and lovely. Also, 800 pages. Yikes. Settle in.
May 19, 2013
Never judge a book by it's cover.
The cover made this novel look so promising, but GOD what a flop.
The " heroine " is a silly snut ( a word I will make up in place of nastier verbs ) and probably named after her daughter. Perhaps Czerneda has daughter issues and thinks her sweet princess is the image of Jenn Nalynn. Oh boy!
Great detail is put into this book, which normally I adore, however when an entire page or more is written detailing the scene or particular mood resemblance, I found myself turning back the page having forgotten where the story was. Not thrilled!
A thousand things I would rather do that pick up the next book.
The cover made this novel look so promising, but GOD what a flop.
The " heroine " is a silly snut ( a word I will make up in place of nastier verbs ) and probably named after her daughter. Perhaps Czerneda has daughter issues and thinks her sweet princess is the image of Jenn Nalynn. Oh boy!
Great detail is put into this book, which normally I adore, however when an entire page or more is written detailing the scene or particular mood resemblance, I found myself turning back the page having forgotten where the story was. Not thrilled!
A thousand things I would rather do that pick up the next book.
September 13, 2013
I have a super power; I read freaky fast. If I am not engaged in a book, or cannot relate to the characters, my reading speed drops drastically. A Turn of Light is 840 pages, and I finished in 48 hours (including work and sleeping, although I read while I ate meals). Marrowdell is a wonderful magical place, full of people who have kept too many secrets for too long. I do not like love triangles, but this triangle has an important place in the story. I cared about these characters, even the supporting inhabitants of Marrowdell, and the magical inhabitants were both charming and horrifying. I recommend that any lover of fantasy spend some time visiting Czerneda's world.
April 9, 2014
Absolutely gorgeous. Marrowdell has to be one of the most magical places I've ever encountered in fantasy - what seems like an ordinary farming village at first is bursting with secrets. Sometimes I wanted to smack Jenn Nalynn in the head to make her THINK before she acted, but that just goes to show how emotionally involved I got with all of the characters.
This was my first Czerneda book, but will definitely not be my last!
This was my first Czerneda book, but will definitely not be my last!
April 1, 2017
While I enjoyed this story, I don't think I'm quite the target audience. It was a sloooooooooooow burn and I just felt like it could have been so much more with so few words. If you like GRRM's descriptive style but not the grimdark, this book is for you! I don't like grimdark (or heavy description) but this was just a bit too saccharine for me. It was pretty light on conflict and major consequences. And oh god there was a love triangle! Oh, how I hate those. Mostly because the couple that comes out of it isn't ever the one I'm cheering for. As with this. Anyway, none of these things make it a bad book, just not a book that's quite right for my tastes. But hey, it's got a dragon! (he was my favourite)
January 1, 2021
This was a really big book that took me a while to get through, in part because I wanted the satisfaction of having completed something, so I read a number of other books at the same time. This is something of say a rural fantasy. It doesn't take place in a big city with a lot of political intrigue. there is a prince, but he's off screen and barely mentioned. There's a ton world building in this book, and while I found a fair amount to be confusing at times, I think Czerneda did a pretty good job wrapping up the story and providing a number of answers. I think there are still some unanswered questions, but perhaps those are addressed in the next book. If you like BFF (Big Fat Fantasies) you'll quite likely enjoy this.
March 17, 2022
The main character is a bit annoying at times as she is very self centred and spoilt but she is the youngest in the family and the villagers in the know have motivation to keep her happy. The romantic triangle in the book never really convinced me. The description of life in the village, however, is wonderful and I do enjoy both the setting and the characters on the whole. Things like the house toads, the truth seer, the boundaries between the world, the strange self caring crops, the carnivorous horse (kraeger? I forget the name of the species) were wonderful and kept my attention even when I was rolling my eyes at some of the weak spots. So did the underlying mystery about what would happen at the eclipse. Although the book was on the long side, I enjoyed Czerneda's world building skills.
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