More reviews for the new edition of Patricia A. McKillip’s World Fantasy Award-winner THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD, now available in paperback and for the first time as an ebook.

Photo: Stephen Gold/Wikimedia Commons

For NIGHT OWL REVIEWS, Jane Eliot praises the novel.

5 Stars

THE FORGOTTEN BEASTS OF ELD is a delightful story, wonderfully woven with poetic prose. Phillip’s has a distinctly lyrical voice and her words flow on the page. Myths and legends come alive, riddles abound, and magic seeps through each word. This is an utterly enticing story, with a fascinating heroine.

BOOK BASTION enjoys the discovery.

In a lot of ways McKillip’s writing style reminded me of Robin Hobb’s ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE which I also read earlier this year. It’s lofty and ambitious, and while the prose sometimes feels a little like it’s meandering around descriptions and feelings, every word is purposefully chosen to deliver on the allegory of love and the unexpected places it takes a person. Aside from the comparison to Hobb, there’s also similarities shared with the old-style fairy tales, like the ones we might read as children. There are brief moments of darkness, but McKillip instead highlights all of the beauty and wonder of her world and it never stops feeling magical.

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It was a lovely take on fantasy, and in a lot of ways the story still feels timeless in spite of having first been published in 1974.

A lovely and beautifully written story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ = 4/5 Stars!

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

Cover by Thomas Canty