F/SF

I would have loved this book in the early 90s, when I read the rest of the Lyra books. It's a solid fantasy adventure of the time, and still a good story now. For all my tastes have changed, this is a solid choice in the genre.

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One of my favorites, this. ( )

In the forward for this 2011 edition of her Daughter of Witches (originally published in 1983), Patricia Wrede wrote about revising and tightening up the first book (Shadow Magic) of the Lyra series. Sequences of Book 1 were shown, with the original text struck out and the revised text in bold, along with the why and how these passages changed. It was a fascinating insight to Wrede’s development as an author. I was intrigued with this writing process and appreciated how much more interesting the story became.

Had a similar revision occurred for Daughter of Witches, I would have probably awarded at least 3½- or 4-stars. As it stands, the story bogged down ~ awkward phrasing and too much description in the middle of the exciting action, which got in the way of moving the story forward. The theme was a fine idea, the plot captivating when the writing flowed well, but otherwise the novel was basically a boring capture-escape-chase narrative, with undeveloped characterisation. At the end, we are left with the main characters milling around the caravan, still in the forest. There was no sense of a dénouement and the reader is literally left hanging, because the escape from the city of Drinn felt like a prelude to the real story. ( )

An easy read, just what I was looking for.
Ranira, a bonded girl, has the unwelcome attention of one of the High Priests in this restrictive country. Plus some foreigners are illegally staying at the inn where she slaves. They are all taken by guards with a likely fatal ending. With the use of the foreigners psychic powers and the local knowledge of Ranira's street urchin friend, they escape, but their problems are not yet solved. ( )