The Tower at Stony Wood

There are a very small number of writers who are extraordinary literary stylists. Patricia A. McKillip is one such and this latest novel reads like honey-coated silk. Her stories, always larger than life fairy tale romps in darkened woods, while maintaining a certain strength of characterization and intricate plots, become, at times, almost secondary to the beautiful prose in which they are written. This particular... Read Full Review

I adore Patricia McKillip. I want to sit on a carpet near a fire in a room somewhere and listen for snatches and bits of stories she tells. Her words dance, a compliment many may not truly recognize, but that is why I love her. Her lyricism is is simply beautiful. Her stories are so different from each other, yet they all seem to share a common theme of self-discovery and I find it hard to believe I FEEL for each of... Read Full Review

A strange, shape-shifting monster has imprisoned the King's bride, Gwynne of Skye, in a tower, and taken her place. Cyan Dag is sent by a mysterious old bard to rescue Gwynne. But his quest--so simple and desperate at first--keeps changing, twisting, turning in on itself. Instead of Gwynne's tower he finds a dark tower of dreams, a dragon-guarded tower full of gold, and a mouldering tower by the sea. And instead of the... Read Full Review

I have nothing but praise for all of Patricia A. McKillip's recent novels, and her latest only strengthens my conviction that she is one of the finest fantasy writers out there. I would go so far as to say that she has the most lyrical prose of anyone in the genre. The Tower at Stony Wood is a typically enthralling offering, loosely based on Tennyson's poem, "The Lady of Shallot." McKillip never retells, however; she... Read Full Review

In the midst of the King's wedding, Cyan is stopped, mesmerized, not by the beauty of the new Queen, but by the eyes of an ancient bard. He goes to do the bard's bidding, because he can do no else, and because, in her eyes, he sees truth, and beauty, and pain, and destruction. The bard's tale is unbelievable, yet Cyan must believe it. The lovely Queen from Skye is no queen, but a monster. The real queen languishes in... Read Full Review