A review by jadelaporte
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Easily one of the best fantasy novels I've read. Just a truly wonderful story. I feel a bit at a loss for words -- it's a story about ancient mythical beasts, kingdoms at war, powerful wizards and unspeakable terrors, but it's also a story about learning to love and to hate, how that love and hate shapes us and becomes us and we become it, how vengeance consumes and forgiveness frees and that even the most powerful magic bends it's knee to the power of that all consuming love and hate we carry within our hearts. 

McKillip's prose is beautiful and captivating, as elegant as it is efficient. She captures so much in so few words. A fantasy novel that's only 237 pages long but feels as sweeping and far reaching as other fantasy novels three times it's size. 

I'm sure this book won't be for everyone, but for me it was pure magic.