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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
The parliament of Erl wants their town to be more famous, so they go to their king and tell him they want a magic lord. The king sends his son, Alveric, to Elfland to marry Lirazel, the daughter of the Elf King. He does, bringing her back to Erl, and they have a son, Orion.
Lirazel doesn't adapt well, however, and returns to her father. Alveric begins a quest to return to Elfland but repeatedly fails. Orion becomes an expert hunter and begins hunting unicorns. Magic comes to Erl, but it quickly gets out of control. It doesn't turn out as the Parliament expected. Lirazel longs for Erl, so eventually her father absorbs it into Elfland using the last of his powerful magic. She is reunited with her family.
Lirazel doesn't adapt well, however, and returns to her father. Alveric begins a quest to return to Elfland but repeatedly fails. Orion becomes an expert hunter and begins hunting unicorns. Magic comes to Erl, but it quickly gets out of control. It doesn't turn out as the Parliament expected. Lirazel longs for Erl, so eventually her father absorbs it into Elfland using the last of his powerful magic. She is reunited with her family.
Way too boring especially since it was "oversold" to me. The writing doesn't appeal at all to me. It tries to mimic old traditional tales but it failed hard in my opinion.
I DNFed at 10%. It’s possible I’ll return and take another stab at it but after stopping and rewinding and stopping and rewinding and stopping and rewind over and over I finally just succumbed to the urge to stop listening.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The King of Elfland’s Daughter was the second volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, published in this edition in 1969 with cover art by Bob Pepper. I agree with series editor, Lin Carter, that it is the best of Dunsany’s pure fantasy novels. For my taste, Dunsany's very best work is contained in his early volumes of short stories, although The King of Elfland’s Daughter comes close.
Dunsany writes of the magical in flowing, poetical prose. The “magical" in this novel is effectively the eternal. Yes, he writes of unicorns and spells and so on, but a timeless childhood memory also would be truly magical for Dunsany.
Dunsany’s timelessly magical Elfland is inhabited by supernatural creatures, the Elf King himself, as well as trolls, goblins, unicorns, will o’ the wisps, and so on. A large part of the story consists of a mad quest by the son of the King of Elfland’s daughter, the King’s grandson, to return to Elfland, from which he is barred because of his human father. The Elf King has withdrawn his realm to insulate his daughter from further temptations from “the fields we know,” the everyday world subject to the ravages of time.
The King of Elfland’s Daughter is not to be missed. First published in 1924, long before Tolkien and almost all other fantasists, it is surely one of the greatest of all fantasy novels.
Dunsany writes of the magical in flowing, poetical prose. The “magical" in this novel is effectively the eternal. Yes, he writes of unicorns and spells and so on, but a timeless childhood memory also would be truly magical for Dunsany.
Dunsany’s timelessly magical Elfland is inhabited by supernatural creatures, the Elf King himself, as well as trolls, goblins, unicorns, will o’ the wisps, and so on. A large part of the story consists of a mad quest by the son of the King of Elfland’s daughter, the King’s grandson, to return to Elfland, from which he is barred because of his human father. The Elf King has withdrawn his realm to insulate his daughter from further temptations from “the fields we know,” the everyday world subject to the ravages of time.
The King of Elfland’s Daughter is not to be missed. First published in 1924, long before Tolkien and almost all other fantasists, it is surely one of the greatest of all fantasy novels.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Found this on Project Gutenberg - another checkmark for the Among Others reading list.
I can see how it influenced fantasy for decades to come, but I have to say that I found it pretty repetitively (therefore) far too long. The story itself was lovely and I enjoyed the ending.
I can see how it influenced fantasy for decades to come, but I have to say that I found it pretty repetitively (therefore) far too long. The story itself was lovely and I enjoyed the ending.
A beautifully written story that unfolds very slowly. If you dislike detailed descriptions then perhaps this isn't the book for you. But the prose is exquisite.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oof. This book successfully put me to sleep every night. It’s been a while since I’ve read something with such flowery language, and though it was enjoyable, its soporific effect had me take off a few stars. Plus, my Kindle version had a bunch of missing images at the start of every chapter that showed up as a massive warning symbol ⚠️