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Liked It2 of 2 members found this review helpful “The book flows so well that at times, you forget that you're actually reading something at all. The characters are vivid and the story is engaging. It's a very good book and the others in the series are equally as well written.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“i Absolutley love this book”
Marissa P wrote this review 4 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I borrowed The Naming from a co-worker. I have to say its been ao nice to find someone to talk books with. And have that someone like the same type of books, fantasy stuff with not much horror or murder and no sex, but maybe a little love. She also shops in the young adult section of the book story and generally avoids the adult section. So we have lots of books to share with each other and its great!
Namine wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This series, well book one anyways is FABULOUS! I have really enjoyed it and read it straight through took my about 6 or 7 hours to finish and it was a great read. The characters are intriguing and changing. There's lots of developments and un-expected twists and turns. I can not wait to read the next book.
This book was based in a culture and era that I had never read about before. Is it was nice to learn about the culture there. It was also nice because the author generally explained everything to you, but it was actually one character explaining it to another. I can not decide who my favorite character is.its a toss up between the two main ones Maerad and Cadvan. I also really like Silvia, but she only makes a couple appearances.”
“I really loved this book. It was an interesting mixture of action and adventure, along with normal, girl-like, issues. I believe the story to be the most developed since The Lord of the Rings.”
Laura K wrote this review Monday, November 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A lyrical, magical, wonderfully woven tale of the 16-year-old slave Maerad, who tragically lost her family to evil forces. She is a slave in Gilman's Cot and is routinely subjected to abuse, poverty, and drudgery. Cadvan, a powerful bard, passes through Maerad's town and, as fate would have it, encounters her. Cadvan senses something special, even powerful, in the young girl. He convinces her to escape with him and travel to Norloch to consult his mentor, Nelac. He is sure that Nelac will see the potential in Maerad. As their journey is fraught with danger, deception, and evil spirits, Maerad presents powers that she did not know existed and Cadvan begins to suspect that she is The Foretold...the one who will save the world from the dark powers that are now coming into a power... so complete, so intense, that The Light is beginning to falter. The Naming although slow at times, is resolute and unwavering in its telling of a magical tale of this strong, sure woman”
Jackie W wrote this review Monday, November 23 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It's a little confusing with the different languages, but it's a very good story.”
Emma J wrote this review Tuesday, November 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“it is about a girl who used to be a slave. cadvan found her and found out about her past by scrying her. she fights of wers with cadvan with only a stick that is on fire.”
Bridget C wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A pretty decent fantasy novel. The plot, though it is a little predictable, is logical and and flows as a well written story should. Maerad, the heroine, is intriguing and one can be inspired by her strength and perseverance through the many obstacles she faces along her journey with Cadvan. I really enjoyed reading this book, and it is definitely worth picking up of the shelf!”
ushi-sama! wrote this review Tuesday, November 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book and the follow three were amazing! As we follow the adventure of Maerad of Pellinor, her journey to defeat the Nameless becomes more and more perilous. In the first book, Maerad learns of a new world she had lived in before she could truely remember what it was like. She finds that she is the most powerful Bard there is and the only one to defeat the Nameless One. In the third book, the plot shifts to Maerad's brother's focus as he journeys to find her and help her in her adventure. The conflict is finally solve in the fourth book where Hem, Maerad's brother, and Maerad work together to force the evil out of the land. I really enjoyed theses books! They are a great read for someone who enjoys magic, danger, and adventure.”
Alyx S wrote this review Sunday, November 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Maerad has few memories of her life before she became a slave. She knows that her mother was a bard of the School of Pellinor - one of those people with an innate knowledge of the Speech that holds the true name of all things, people who can perform magic as easily as music. Her mother gave her a harp before she died, and Maerad knows how to play it, thanks to another enslaved bard who shared music but not magic with her. And she has survived almost to adulthood in the brutal conditions of a warlord's compound, not even knowing about the great power that sleeps within her.
Robbie F wrote this review Saturday, October 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
But Maerad hardly even dreams of being free from harsh servitude. It would be hard enough to get past the compound's walls, guards, and dogs. No one traveling alone, unarmed, and on foot could hope to escape the shadow of the evil mountain, the vast wastes beyond, and the dangerous beasts that prowl in them. For Maerad, there seems to be no chance of escape.
And then Cadvan appears, wounded, exhausted, covered by a magic only she can see through. She saves him, and he returns the favor. Recognizing something in her that could spell the end of the Dark that presses against the land, Cadvan leads Maerad to freedom through a long, perilous journey. He brings her to one of the Bard schools that still hold out the Light against the encroaching Dark. He arranges to be her teacher, responsible for her training in letters, arms, and magic. And he becomes her guide and guardian on an even longer journey, fraught with even greater dangers, as they seek the advice of the leading school of bards.
As evil creatures, dark sorcerers, and a murky fate harass them on all sides, Maerad opens up. Her womanhood awakens. Her power, tremendous yet untrained, begins to show. Her background and heritage become increasingly strange and mysterious. Her feelings toward Cadvan begin to grow. And, by what surely cannot be mere luck, she discovers a brother she never knew was alive. So she lives to hear these words, from a lady whose similarity to Galadriel of Lorien is far from the only way this book resonates with The Lord of the Rings:
"Your future is uncertain, and I can tell you nothing that can help you. You are singular and dangerous, and so it is that you are sought by both the Dark and the Light. Perhaps you will find that your Fate has nothing to do with either of them. It may be that you will find that your greatest peril exists already within you. Only this is clear: you have a great heart, but will only find it to be so through great pain. This is the wisdom of love, and its doubtful gift. Yet I have endured much suffering and still remain unbitter and unclosed."
To open this book is to enter a fresh fantasy world on the order of Tolkien's Middle-Earth. It is to become caught up in another bout between good and evil, this time with everything pivoting on a girl instead of a handful of little men. It is to begin a quartet of robust dimensions, inspired when an award-winning Australian poet noticed that her son had begun to read fantasy. We can't all get such gifts from our mothers, but we can horn in on Joshua Croggon's bounty. Once you start to read this book, you will be carried along by its beautiful language and its compelling realization of a world of pure imagination. You may (or may not) enjoy the highly documented appendices, with their weird conceit that the book is translated from ancient texts surviving an Atlantis-like culture. (Personally, I sniffed at the author's apparent bias in favor of "one of the most genuinely secular societies ever known.") But I am quite sure the end of the book will leave you hungry for more. Be not dismayed. For this is only the First Book of Pellinor, a quartet that continues in The Riddle, The Crow, and The Singing. ”“Australian poet Alison Croggon brings an eye for sensual detail to this heroic fantasy that follows the genre's familiar formula: A humble person is caught up in extraordinary events and led (or sent) on a journey by a wise figure, only to discover eventually that he/she is destined to save the world in an ultimate confrontation between the powers of good and evil. In this case the young person is sixteen-year-old Maedra, who is rescued from slavery by the Bard Cadvan. They share an exhausting journey toward Innail, one of the Bard schools and strongholds that govern the land, and Maedra grows to trust Cadvan as he reluctantly reveals his magical powers in several ambushes from evil creatures. But under duress she, too, begins to discover that she has a Gift--and more. After she has learned to read, ride a horse, and handle a sword at Innail, they set out on another dangerous trek to the prestigious city of Norloch, where Cadvan hopes to consult with his mentor Nelac to confirm his conviction that Maerad is the One who was Foretold. Many other characters and creatures come into this tale, as well as mystical intimations and dreams, and lavish descriptions of landscape, food, clothes, and room furnishings. In the tradition of Tolkien, a whole history of an ancient language and culture undergirds the story, and Croggon has even provided appendices of that history, a pronunciation guide, and an invented bibliography of her sources. Die-hard fantasy fans who can forgive its slow pace will enjoy this richly imagined story and look forward to its sequel, The Riddle.
Amanda N wrote this review Friday, October 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
-Patty Campbell”
