Beyond Reality discussion

Have you finished reading Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip, book 3 in the Riddle-Master trilogy? Please let us know what you thought about the book, and the series as a whole.

Spoilers OK here!

I finished this today. McKillip’s writing is lyrical and lovely. I tend to read fast, wanting to discover what happens next in the plot, but I really concentrated on reading slowly, both the savor the poetic prose and to not miss subtle revelations related to the plot.

I wish I had a list of or easy reference to the major riddles sifting through the tree books in this series. I would have liked to trace back to them as Morgon and others found the answers.

I was so proud of myself for figuring out that Deth and Yrth were the same “person”, but didn’t suspect his/their true identity till just before it was revealed to us.

More after a few more readers chime in!

On my first read I definitely didn't suspect. But I was sure I was missing something. The whole thing is wonderful.

I've read the trilogy before, but I still appreciate the lyrical storytelling style in each re-read. Each time a different part of the story stands out.

This time, the magical system of the land-law struck me as terribly beautiful. Each ruler, in receiving the land-law, became intimately aware of every plant and creature; truly loved and appreciated it in every way. Each land had a unique treasure at its heart, from the vesta to the miners to the wraiths to the farmers of Hed. A High King, then, had to be the repository of every land-law. And each ruler, to protect and steward their land, also had to be ready to sacrifice the very thing at its heart.

I read this one a few years ago, after the group chose the first book for a monthly read and I decided to re-read the whole trilogy (I'd read it before but it had been decades). I remember very few of the plot details, but the dream-like atmosphere of the world remains with me (I find that is often the case with McKillip's books - I haven't read them all but her later volumes are even more ethereal and lyrical).

Good insight, Chris. Do you remember in Riddle Master, the riddle/tale of the king of An who laid waste to his own land in defense against an army from Hel? He lost the land-law. But bringing the treasures at the heart into danger (at least under certain circumstances) seems to have been necessary.

What I recall most vividly over the years are the little bits of mundane care: most interactions with Morgon's family, Rook describing what Raederle had been writing to him about, Raederle finding him in the tavern and his immediate acceptance of responsibility... Rork of Umbar telling Astrin "The King sent armed men to take you if you resist; the High One sent his harpist to place you under the doom if you try to escape, and I came . . . I came to listen to you.” or Morgon to Har . “How can you trust me like this?” he demanded.

“Occasionally,” Har admitted, “I am not rational.”

Very NOT ethereal or lyrical, but conveying so much that other writers would take paragraphs to get across.

I thought the rulers of each land were such wonderful characters—uniquely tuned to this own lands, with talents, personalities, and quirks. And each land was likewise unique. All those visits to each place and time spent with each ruler turned out to be so important to Morgon. Those were some of my favorite scenes and sections of the tiology.

Just finished this. FIrst time reading it too - not quite sure how it's taken me this long to know about these books - thanks Beyond Reality!!
I loved the trilogy, although I had to re-read the first book immediately after finishing it as I was conscious I had missed loads, and I feel a little the same about the third book too. The middle book is much more straightforward. Some of this is due to the lyrical, poetic writing - which I love btw, some of it is due to her sparse style, which again I really appreciate. Nice to have a fantasy author who doesn't think you have to have 1000 pages in order to make your point.
I loved Raederle, and the fact that the middle book was her story. I was a bit disappointed that not as much was made in the third book of her heritage. I was expecting it to create many more problems for Morgon than it did! I loved Morgon too - "they were promised a man of peace", and boy he was that! And Deth. Well, I know spoilers are OK here, but I still can't bring myself to outline all his various guises. I think I worked out his main guise about 10 pages before it was revealed. I adored that bit between him and Morgon at the top of the Wind Tower.
I agree with Kathi about the uniqueness of the various lands and their rulers. Wonderful characters. My favourite part of the first book was his visit to each one in turn.
Thanks again for bringing this series to my attention.

Nope. Usually, when reading a multi-part series, I tend to like the first and last parts best, with a kinda meh for the middle part. There are exceptions, but I've revisited my reviews, and there is a definite trend.

Well, this series completely inverted that trope. The first and last part were tedious to read. Again, we had the same problems as the first part - they spend lots of time and unimportant chapters going somewhere, and then they return or go somewhere else, basically off-screen, the same afternoon. It's like the writer was on a bet that she had to have the characters visit all the places in all the books. The seasons will change while they are travelling, but a battle started, will still be ongoing when they get there.

And, remember that one place where there was an offscreen battle mentioned? Well, the guy we've been looking for is obviously there, in the tower in the ruined city. Did we forgot to say that there's such a tower? Bummer. There is, let's go there and finish the book.

The story is about feelings, about belonging, about love. That part works. Unfortunately, it's mired with so much sloppy story-telling, that it's effectively ruined for me.