More excitement around Tachyon’s reissue of Patricia A. McKillip’s World Fantasy Award-winner THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, soon to be available in both print and for the first time in digital formats.

At BLACK GATE, Zeta Moore touts the fantasy.

The moment you begin THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, the World Fantasy Award-winning novel by Patricia A. McKillip, you understand you have put yourself in the hands of a masterful wordsmith. McKillip has no peer when it comes to incantatory prose, and her wizardry spells you into a waking dream in this breathtaking tale.

And in the comments to the article, John R. Fultz, acclaimed author of THE TESTAMENT OF TALL EAGLE and BOOKS OF THE SHAPER trilogy, added

This novel is a bonafide masterpiece, as well as a modern classic, and one of my all-time favorite novels. Every fantasy fan should read it. My favorite McKillip book–and she’s written a lot of good stuff.

Photo: Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons

BOOK BEYOND praises the novel.

Much like the animals in this novel, I felt drawn inexorably towards Sybel and her story. Patricia McKillip seems to have a hold over me, because reading her novels, I cannot help but be whisked back to my 8 year old self. Her lyrical prose and simple yet powerful stories strike a chord with me that I can’t quite put into words.

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This novel resonates with me in such a powerful way. It’s a story about love and bitterness, told with sincerity and depth with a complex protagonist who suffers and must move past it. There’s adventure, political machinations, moments of stark beauty and terrible loss. It’s nostalgic and enduring and intelligent. A true fantasy classic.

BEST FANTASY BOOKS includes the classic among its Best Strong Female Heroine Fantasy Books.

McKillip’s elegant prose lends this dark fairytale a dreamy, mythic quality. A fantastic read featuring a fantastic heroine.

For more info about THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty