Skip to main content

Chalice by Robin McKinley

Robin McKinley knows first lines. You read just the first sentence and immediately feel like you've entered a world entirely complete and utterly its own. And you want to sit down and stay awhile. Chalice is no exception to the rule. The world reminded me a bit of the kingdom in Spindle's End, both of them deeply entrenched in a sticky sort of magic with a heritage and weight to it. The characters reminded me a bit of those in Rose Daughter, purposefully a bit vague and left up to your imagination to carve out clearly. All of them living their lives as best they can with a sure but undefinable sense of doom hanging over their heads. 

Mirasol occupies a position known simply as Chalice. She is the second-highest ranking individual in the Willowlands and it is her job to bind relationships and ties within her domain, between the people and the land they both live on and belong to. At the opening of the story, a new Master (the highest-ranking individual in the land) is coming home to take control of the Willowlands and try to restore some order and peace after the debaucheries and mistakes of his older brother, the previous Master. Mirasol and the new Master have their work cut out for them as she is brand new to the position with no idea how to do what she must, and he is a third-level priest of Fire who is no longer quite human and must tread with extreme care so as not to burn everything (and everyone) he touches to ash. 

Sigh. Chalice is a bit of the loveliness, to be sure. It is short and as sweet as the honey that pervades the story's every pore. In fact, just as Sunshine left me with a killer craving for cinnamon rolls, Chalice made me wish I was five years old again and sitting in the kitchen with my Grandpa sucking fresh honey straight off the comb. There are only a few characters in this story and so it seemed that much more important that the ones I had make it through their challenges well and whole. I liked how they seemed to gain additional form and substance as they grew closer and closer to the final test. Until, at the end, they seemed like friends. Full of familiar light and color. 
Labels:

Comments

  1. Brie3:56 PM

    I'm still waiting on my copy to arrive. From your review it sounds like it will be wotth the wait.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angiegirl7:14 PM

    I thought it was. The ending is particularly good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thea12:09 AM

    I cannot wait to read this novel. I'm expecting it in the same shipment as GRACELING :)

    Great review, as usual, Angie! I love Robin McKinley's ability to make small details--like Sunshine's huge cinnamon rolls--feel wholly real, and delectably so.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Angiegirl1:52 AM

    Exactly. You come out of this one drenched in honey.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Charlotte8:36 AM

    And isn't it just the loveliest cover!

    Thanks for the link!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Angiegirl5:51 PM

    You're welcome, Charlotte. Love the cover. And all the bees throughout.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Christine1:47 PM

    I read the first chapter excerpt of Chalice a few weeks ago by following the link you posted here, Angie. I was immediately drawn into the story and now HAVE to read it. Especially after this positive review. Thanks! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angiegirl3:20 PM

    You bet, Christine. We're always happy to spread the McKinley love here at the 'Ville.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lenore Appelhans11:24 AM

    What a great review! I have this book in my pile and now I am extremely eager to read it - thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Angiegirl1:25 PM

    Thanks, Lenore. Hope you enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

I can't quit Jennifer Echols . Not that I really try that hard, but I read her new ones and often feel as though I'm still searching for that one in possession of that certain something that will make me feel the way  Going Too Far did. Like I couldn't put it it down. And definitely like I didn't hate either of the main characters after the fact. Well, I found it with Such a Rush . I read this 300+ pager in a single night, which clears up the question of whether or not I couldn't put it down. And I finished it definitely not hating either of the main characters. I didn't finish it loving them both unreservedly, though. I loved Leah with my whole heart from page one and that never changed. My feelings regarding one of the Hall brothers remain complicated. More to come on this in a bit. On a side note, I'm delighted that Such a Rush is Ms. Echols' hardcover debut. It's a meticulously designed book, a pleasure to hold in my hands as I stayed up way
22 comments
Read more

Bibliocrack Review | The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

 Hi. Hey. Hello there. It's been a . . . well, you know what it's been. We're all still living this together. So I will simply skip to the fact that I couldn't not review this book here. Because reading it was something special. I knew nothing about Ali Hazelwood 's debut novel except that it involved women in STEM and that the cover made me smile. I decided to set it aside for myself as a reward. Work has been . . . punishing . . . for the last year, and I have been so exhausted every hour of every day. And so I determined to buy The Love Hypothesis  on release day knowing nothing about it. But when I went to the bookstore to get my copy, none were available. In fact, none were available anywhere for love nor money, in store or online. At first I was moderately disappointed. Then I told myself maybe it's not that great after all and I didn't necessarily need to feel this preemptive sense of loss. But it kept gnawing at me. The loss. And so I paused work an
4 comments
Read more

Review | Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

It really is a pretty cover. And dragons. I love them so.  It's been far too long since I've read a book in which dragons played any kind of primary character role. They do here, and they are probably my favorite aspect of this book. But more on that later. It's probably worth noting that I, like the rest of the world, was aware of Fourth Wing and the collective losing of BookTok's mind over it. I mean, it was kind of thrilling to hear that you couldn't find a copy anywhere—in the sense that I love it when books are being consumed and loved. And when that happens in such a way that it takes publishing by surprise (for lack of a better way to phrase it) so much so that they have to scramble to print more. So I did the sensible thing and bought the ebook. And then I proceeded to do the not-so-sensible-but-extremely-Angie thing and not read it. There was a cross-country move tucked in there somewhere between the buying and the reading, but more on that at a later date
Post a Comment
Read more