I was reminded of this post from robin mckinley by the question raised in the previous post, about whether spindles end or perhaps another mckinley novel ought to be included on a list of 50 greatest fantasy novels of the century so far here, in a rare blog update, robin mckinley reports some promising news in the guise of posing questions and answering some of them. A compelling and inventive novel set in a world where science and magic are at odds, by robin mckinley, the newberywinning author of the hero and the crown and the blue sword, as well as the classic titles beauty, chalice, spindles end, pegasus and sunshine maggie knows somethings off about val, her moms new husband. The parents of mckinley were william mckinley and jeanne turrel mckinley, who used to work as a naval officer and teacher respectively. This might require two additional books, but, as she wrote above, she may be able to squash it back down to two. I hadnt been that livid over the ending of a book since i spent a night reading my. Has anyone read the pegasus series by robin mckinley. This friendmaking tends to happen in between lots and lots of worldbuilding. Her old blog posts and thus all my links to her blog are completely gone, so ive. Mckinley chalice does a wonderful job of developing the pegasi culture, particularly their art and largely gestural language, as sylvi and ebons relationship grows over the course of several years.
Robin mckinley has won many awards, including the newbery medal for the hero and the crown, a newbery honor for the blue sword, and the mythopoeic award for adult literature for sunshine. Flying talking horses, yay robin mckinleys pegasus. My husband who is not a reader and doesnt carry the character in his head did not understand why his newlywed wife was flipping out over the end of a book. Pegasus, up to the end, had all the promise of being one of her best, in my opinion. If i had known this book would end on a cliffhanger, i would probably have waited to read it until the next book was available. But despite this, communication is nearly impossible, requiring a magician interpreter and still fraught with failures, and so it has been for 800 yearsuntil princess sylvi small, spunky.
Robin mckinley s books are always amazing, and this one is no exception. In the end, harry crewe appears to be thinking whether she has the courage to accept her new fate or not. Quite simply put, pegasus is about the friendship between a young princess and her pegasus. A new york timesbestselling author and newbery medalist the hero and the crown delivers a. No, not that one, from which they made the awkward 80s movie with the big fakey flying dog, and all, which was supposed to be like a dreamscape but which i remember more as kind of mawkishly twee nightmare. Books by robin mc kinley authors like robin mc kinley. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Pegasus book the seattle public library bibliocommons. I know you dont do sequels, but surely the ending of pegasus isnt the end. There is a climax at the end, but the rest of the 399 pages slowly and beautifully weaves a tapestry of two cultures a world apart, despite the centuriesold alliance that binds them.
She has written two novels and a number of short stories in the world of damar. Wherein robin mckinley poses four questions and answers. Jennifer carolyn robin mckinley born november 16, 1952 is an american author of fantasy and childrens books. Pegasus robin mckinley i didnt get the opportunity. Robin mckinley writes lots of stories where girls or, ever so. All this changes when sylviianel, sylvi for short, and her pegasus ebon truly bond and can talk telepathically.
In fact, pegasus is one book that happens to be printed in three books. Wait to read pegasus until the companion book robin mckinley intended to write is available. Robin mckinley is an american fantasy author, whose works often have active female heroes. The ending of pegasus is so abrupt i thought there was a problem with my electronic copy of the book. Her 1984 novel the hero and the crown won the newbery medal as the years best new american childrens book as of 2015, mckinley has written or contributed to twenty books. It seems like an interesting story although its ya and thats not what i was looking for. She has specifically stated that this book is not a sequel. Robin has confirmed that pegasus is not intended to be a standalone novel, and that there will at some point be an ending to the story. Unfortunately these questions were only half answered by the end of the book. I had some inkling this might be the case when fifty pages from the end i realized things were getting worse. Robin mckinley is the only author ive ever read who slows me down, who makes me take my time. Pegasus follows her usual pattern of worldbuilding and character introduction, sliding quietly into a major change for the world, and culminating in an adventure like none otherbut this one is something else, too.
However, only pegasus book one is currently available. Wherein robin mckinley poses four questions and answers two. Fantasy fiction juvenile fiction magic humananimal communication princesses pegasus greek mythology infobuy. Pegasus is actually the first book of two, and in a way should be read as such. The most recent novel written by her is titled as ebon. The powerful magician fthoom, however, seeing their relationship as both heresy and a danger to the magicians power, has vowed to end it. In balsinland, royal humans are bound to royal pegasi, intelligent winged horses. Author mckinley was born on november 16, 1952, in warren, ohio, the united states. Juvenile fiction childrens stories in english american writers.
And yes it has a happy ending if you dont require technicolour. Spindles end, it was a fresh breather for the ya world, and on reception of the companion book next year, will. I was about 95% through when i could there is no way robin mckinley could have the story wrapped up neatly in the time left. I wish robin mckinley would write the never ending story. It worldbuilds quite a bit in the distinction between its established realms, and for those who might expect direct clashes and conflict at. Robin mckinley gained early fame when her second published novel, the blue sword 1982, was named a newbery honor and her third novel, the hero and the crown, won the newbery itself. Whether i like the book or not tends to depend on how. Because of a thousandyearold alliance between humans and pagasi, princess sylviianel is ceremonially bound to ebon, her own pegasus, on her twelfth birthday. I liked her other fairy tale type stories deerskin was pretty original. The good news is that if you liked the blue sword, youll like pegasus. Classic mckinley, from the original concept pegasi.
Pegasus ebook hennepin county library bibliocommons. Gianna in all honesty, the book is beautifully written but the ending is not at all. Robin mckinley is one of the most popular american authors who has written several highly. The two species coexist peacefully, despite the language barriers separating them. Robin mckinley s pegasus is the kind of story that you have to digest in small morsels in order for it to grip you in its vivid, fairy tale progressive storyline. Beauty and rose daughter are both versions of beauty and the beast, spindles end is the story of sleeping beauty. So as the title says i just finished pegasus last night. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it. Mckinley s lyrical, descriptive writing creates the same dreamlike quality in this book and the characters are complex and compelling. Poking around robin mckinleys old blog and other related sites i discovered that pegasus was intended to be the first part of a trilogy, and that part two has been hanging fire for many years. Pegasus book santa clara county library bibliocommons. Mckinley s stories tend to center around characters trapped between two worlds, and pegasus is no exception. It worldbuilds quite a bit in the distinction between its established realms, and for those who might expect direct clashes and conflict at every turn, it might not be to their. Amber i would say it is my favorite of the 5 or so robin mckinley books i have.
When i picked up pegasus for the first time i was relaxed because i was like robin doesnt do sequels this is gonna be great. Robin mckinley writes lots of stories where girls or, ever so occasionally, boys make friends with people you wouldnt necessarily think they would make friends with. And the four most asked questions are robin mckinley. Weak start, but more than made up for it once the story really got going. She lives in hampshire, england with her husband, author peter dickinson, two hellhounds nicknamed chaos and darkness, an 1897 steinway upright named rhodanthe, and increasing numbers of rose bushes. A list for people to vote on their favorite robin mckinley books. The blue sword was a newbery honor book and the hero and the crown won a newbery medal. Pegasus book king county library system bibliocommons. The ending of this one, however, is very, very dissatisfying, something on the order of, suddenly the plot was run over by a mack truck. Its the first time shes written a book that leads directly into a second, not a sequel, but a.
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