The Forgotten Beasts of Eld

How should I describe the voice of Patricia McKillip? Her words are meticulously chosen to show an opulent and fantastical world. I have sometimes tried to imitate her, but I just can't keep it up for long.  

In this stand-alone novel, the witch Sybel lives alone on Eld Mountain. She has inherited or captured and tamed a handful of incredible, magical beasts. These are all the company she needs, until she is asked to care for a king's lost heir. Soon she is no longer able to remain aloof from the world. 

In subsequent readings, I've been struck by… show more.

Patricia McKillip is most famous for her other fantasy books, but this one is her first novel, which won the 1975 World Fantasy Award. Unlike many other fantasies, it’s done on a small scale. The beautiful heroine, Sybel, lives alone on a mountain with magical beasts: the Boar Cyrin, the Dragon Gyld, the Black Swan of Terleth, the tawny Lyon Gules, the Cat Moriah, and the falcon Ter. Icy and emotionless, Sybel’s world is changed when the prince of the land brings a baby for her to raise. The story, filled with lovely, sparse prose, takes several turns. Be warned… show more.

This is a magical read, following the story of Sybel, a woman raised on Eld Mountain among a fantastic menagerie called there by wizardry. At home with a swan, a dragon, a lion, and a boar, we see her wild nature reflected. She cares nothing for humans until a child, Tamlorn, is unexpectedly left in her care. She grows to be a flawed, self-critical, compassionate, and brave woman, who despite choosing to live alone in the wild, does her best to care for the boy. It’s an encounter that brings her into the world of men, where revenge becomes her… show more.