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Description edit see section history

(Published in Australia and the UK as The Gift.)
In the classic spirit of epic fantasy comes this glittering saga of a young girl who learns she possesses an uncanny gift — and is destined to use it to save her world from a terrifying evil. Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving... read more

Summary edit see section history

Maerad of Pellinor is a slave at Gilman's Cot, she is rescued by a strange man known as Cadvan, he reveals himself to be a bard, a person whom has The Gift as she does and many others. She is brought into the world of bards learing of her herritage, and whom she will become.

Characters edit see section history

  • Maerad: Main character of the Story, a slave of unknown power even to herself.
  • Cadvan: Bard, Maerad's teacher and friend.
  • Silvia: wife of Malgom.
  • Dernhil: librarian, teacher of Maerad, killed by Hulls.
  • Saliman: Bard, of Turbansk.
  • Milana: Maerad's mother. She was a Bard of the First Circle of Pellinor.
  • Malgorn: Husband of Silvia, lives in Innail.
  • Nelac: Bard in Norloch.
  • Darsor: Cadvan's strong and fierce horse.
  • Enkir: First Bard of Norloch, very arrogant.
  • Lady Ardina: Queen of Rachida and also the Elemental Elidhu
  • Oron: Add a description of this character.
  • Helgar: A female Bard who visits Innail
  • Dernhill: A librarian bard who is asked to teach Maerad to read.
  • Dringold
  • Lothar: One of Gilman's slaves, who is in charge of the caring of the beasts and Maerad's elder.
  • Annan
  • Indik: Swordmaster of Innail and one of Maerad's teachers
  • Marta
  • Idris
  • Dorn: Maerad's father
  • Hem/Cai: A boy who Maerad and Cadvan find while travelling
  • Sharma: Known as the Nameless One.
  • Imi: Maerad's horse
  • Gilman: The man who enslaved Maerad and her mother
  • Likud: A Hull Cadvan knew by name.
Show all 26 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “By the sworn bond you owe me as your teacher, and by the deeper bond you owe me as your friend, I bid you tell me now, what has happened to you Mearad of Pellinor?”
    Cadvan of Lirigon
  • “Light blooms the brighter in the darkest places.”
    Ardina
  • “Here in the unchanging darkness it was impossible to tell what time it was outside, in the world of color and light.”
  • “Truth is not so simple, Maerrad. You know that. It all depends from where you are looking, and it changes... Do you think it is so easy to trace the workings of the Light? How do any of us know that we choose rightly?”
    Cadvan of Lirigon
  • “There is no Darkness in you, if that's what you mean; I know that, even though I couldn't finish the scrying. If there were, I would have found different walls and different kinds of refusals.”
    Cadvan
  • “What I guess is that the Landrost has sent his messengers out, and that the hunt is on. I have only seen crows today; all other birds are in hiding.”
    Cadvan
  • “At least I won't die a slave.”
    Maerad
  • “In the dark the wers hold their power. They will fear this fire. They cannot break the stone.”
    Cadvan
  • “Whatever you do, don't panic. I cannot make light, unless we have no choice, because it might attract trouble. Use your ears. And watch for bats.”
    Cadvan
  • “I am honored to meet you, Maerad of Pellinor. I thought none of your school yet lived.”
    Malgorn

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Show all 29 settings

Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

For almost as long as she could remember, Maerad had been imprisoned behind walls.

Table of Contents edit see section history

GILMAN'S COT
I Escape
II The Landrost
III The Scrying
IV Battle with the Wers
V Through the Mountains

INNAIL
VI A Blue Dress
VII The Welcome Feast
VIII The Council of Innail
IX Dernhil of Gent
X Leavetaking

RACHIDA
XI Innail Fesse
XII The Weywood
XIII Elidhu
XIV The Kulag
XV The Hutmoors
XVI Lady Ardina

NORLOCH
XVII The Valverras
XVIII The Broken Teeth
XIX Hem
XX The House of Nelac
XXI A Council of Friends
XXII The First Circle of Norloch
XXIII Old Scars
XXIV Flight

APPENDICES
A Brief History of Edil-Amarandh
Of Annar and the Seven Kingdoms
The Speech: Some General Notes
Of the Bards: History, Society, and Culture
Notes for the Appendices

Glossary edit see section history

  • inchoate: just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary
  • verisimilitude: the appearance of being true or real
  • wold: a piece of high, open, uncultivated land or moor
  • detritus: waste or debris of any kind
  • meretricious: apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity
  • coruscate: flash or sparkle
  • vertiginous: causing vertigo especially by being extremely high or steep
  • tumulus: an ancient burial mound; a barrow
  • puissant: having great power or influence
  • littoral: of, relating to, or situated on the shore of the sea or a lake
  • bollard: a short, thick post on the deck of a ship or on a wharf, to which a ship's rope may be secured
Show all 11 glossary entries

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 4 in Books of Pellinor. (standard series)

Followed by The Riddle.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Alison Croggon (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Penguin Books
Country: Australia
Publication Date: 2002
ISBN: 0140293434
Page Count: 465

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Recommended for 12-16 years who like fantasy/adventure books

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Riddle
  • The Crow
  • The Singing
  • Fire
  • City of Glass
  • East

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