Anne Bishop: World of the Fae series

[bibliogramma]

Sometimes, when you read a new author, you are disappointed. Sometimes, you're pleased. and sometimes, you wonder why the hell you hadn't found out about her earlier.

I think I first read about Anne Bishop in sauscony's book journal, sausconys_books. And based on this recommendation, I put some of her novels on my wishlist, and for Christmas, I received Pillars of the World, the first of Bishop's World of the Fae series.

And I am delighted with it, and very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and other of Bishop's books. she writes well, and she's taken some standard themes and sources of fantasy and done something very interesting with them.

In some ways, Bishop's conceptualisations of elves is reminiscent of Gael Baudino's elves in Gossamer Axe - more like the elves in Tam Lin than in Tolkien - and her treatment of the distinctions between elves and witches made me think of another of Baudino's books - Strands of Starlight.

A new author on my shelves, and one I'm delighted to welcome there.

Comments

[wolfinthewood.livejournal.com]

I rather enjoyed Pillars of the World when I read it, though I haven't got around to the sequel yet. Don't like Baudino's books much, apart from Gossamer Axe.

[morgan-dhu.livejournal.com]

Gossamer Axe is by far my favourite of Baudino's books. (Chick with a harp or an axe. And red hair. I adore Christa/Chairiste.)

I also enjoyed Strands of Starlight and the others in that series, although I liked the first and last volumes better than the middle volumes.

The Dragonsword series was ho-hum in my opinion, and I simply could not get into O Greenest Branch et al.

[wolfinthewood.livejournal.com]

Uh - my original comment, to which you replied, has now mysteriously vanished. One of those strange LJ glitches, perhaps.

Anyway - yes, Christa/Chairiste is a very appealing character. The whole scenario is a good one. It is much her most original book, of those I've read.

I didn't know the term when I read the books; hadn't heard it until I made the acquaintance of plaidder, in fact; but the main character in the Dragonsword books struck me as an out-and-out Mary Sue.

Elements in the Strands of Starlight series grated on me quite a bit. But I don't believe in doing heavy crits of books that someone else has enjoyed. And I probably couldn't go into more detail at this point in any case, since I don't have the books anymore. (I have to keep my fantasy shelves regularly weeded - running out of space.)

O Greenest Branch simply looked dire to me.