The Cygnet and the Firebird - Softcover

Patricia A. McKillip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330330853 ISBN 13: 9780330330855

Publisher: Pan Books, 1994

Synopsis

When a pair of mysterious firebirds appear in their world, the first transforming random objects and the second altering time in order to steal, the sorceress Nyx and her cousin Meguet are forced to investigate a dark mystery. Reprint. SLJ. AB. PW.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Not quite a sequel to The Sorceress and the Cygnet (1991), but set in the same intriguing fantasy world, and with some of the characters in common. Meguet, cousin of the sorceress Nyx, stands guard outside a council meeting at Ro Holding when a powerful sorcerer gains entry to the chamber. Although lacking magic herself, Meguet somehow is able to resist the sorcerer's spell--as is Nyx. The sorcerer, Rad Ilex, is searching for an ancient object of enormous magical power hidden, unsuspected, somewhere in the castle. But Nyx will not let Rad search without knowing what it is he hopes to find. Later, a magical firebird arrives, his fiery breath transforming people and things into jeweled trees, his outcries painful to hear. Then, in the moonlight, the firebird regains human shape, as his victims regain their forms. He is Brand, and--though he remembers little- -heir to the remote kingdom Saphier, which is ruled by his half- dragon father, Draken. Rad, returning, fights with Brand, is wounded, and flees, taking Meguet with him. Nyx, meanwhile, locates Rad's object: a magical key that contains the spells of the supremely powerful dead mage, Chrysom. So Nyx must travel to Saphier to find Meguet and resolve the mysteries of who ensorcelled Brand, why Rad and Draken are enemies, and what Rad and Draken really want, the latter apparently intent on awakening all the dragons slumbering in the eerie magical desert, Luxour. Often charming and inventive, but the plot runs out of steam about halfway through. Rather a disappointment after previous high standards. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

YA-As she did in The Riddlemaster of Hed (Ballantine, 1985) and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Atheneum, 1974; o.p.), McKillip weaves a magic spell of words almost as intoxicating as a drug. The result will depend on readers; some will find its effect addictive, while others will be confused and long for a breath of fresh air. Since this is a sequel to The Sorceress and the Cygnet (Ace, 1991), there are already fans out there. The enchanted world and some of the characters of that book return here, but this one stands alone. A young man who has been trapped in the form of a firebird appears and creates chaos with his attendant magic. Like Odette in Swan Lake, he returns to his own form under certain conditions, and is appalled by his fate and its consequences. Unlike Odette, however, he can remember nothing of the circumstances of his enchantment or what will free him from it. Unraveling this mystery becomes the central business of the plot. The language, though, is either the glory or the curse of the novel. For those who enjoy smoky misdirection and brilliant word pictures, this book will be a feast. All others, be wary.
Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0330330853
• ISBN 13: 9780330330855
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240