Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Ace (2016), 346 pages
Description
In the new fantasy from the award-winning author of the Riddle-Master Trilogy, a young man comes of age amid family secrets and revelations, and transformative magic. Hidden away from the world by his mother, the powerful sorceress Heloise Oliver, Pierce has grown up working in her restaurant in Desolation Point. One day, unexpectedly, strangers pass through town on the way to the legendary capital city. "Look for us," they tell Pierce, "if you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden's court." Lured by a future far away from the bleak northern coast, Pierce makes his choice. Heloise, bereft and furious, tells her son the truth- about his father, a knight in King Arden's court; about an older brother he never knew existed; about his father's destructive love for King Arden's queen, and Heloise's decision to raise her younger son alone. As Pierce journeys to Severluna, his path twists and turns through other lives and mysteries- an inn where ancient rites are celebrated, though no one will speak of them; a legendary local chef whose delicacies leave diners slowly withering from hunger; his mysterious wife, who steals Pierce's heart; a young woman whose need to escape is even greater than Pierce's; and finally, in Severluna, King Arden's youngest son, who is urged by strange and lovely forces to sacrifice his father's kingdom. Things are changing in that kingdom. Oldmagic is on the rise. The immensely powerful artifact of an ancient god has come to light, and the king is gathering his knights to quest for this profound mystery, which may restore the kingdom to its former glory-or destroy it...… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member AnnieMod
Once upon a time, a sorceress decided to take her son away from the king's court and the boy's father and to hide with him, not telling him anything about the court or his father. Until three knights show up and impress our boy - and he is off to the court of the king.
If that did not make you
I like the occasional retelling of the old myths and this one is one of the most elegant ones I had read for a while. The world that McKillip builds is a mix between a high fantasy one and ours - we have a king and knights and tournaments - but they also ride cars and motorcycles and have cell phones (when a god or a forest does not decide to disable them for a while). We have magic and wyverns (and other mythical beasts) but not dragons and basilisks (at least not until a sorceress falls in love or gets angered - then all the bets on those are off). Every time when McKillip reveals another part of the story, a new oddity is revealed - an old ritual here, food made of air there, the queen's lover over there or an old god in a shrine somewhere.
The story itself holds little surprises - Pierce goes south to Severluna to the court to find his father and brother and on the way there he passes by the Kingfisher Inn in Chimera Bay, meets a woman he falls in love with, finds a knife (well... let's call it finding it) and eats a wonderful meal (and sees a ritual that seems to be older than the world). And Chimera Bay is a weird place - between the old Merle and the man that everyone hates, it clearly is the place where the story will finish at the end. But not yet - because there is still a court to be visited, family to be met, a tournament to be won (or not) and a new world to be revealed - when the kings created the kingdom by cobbling together the small realms, a magical one fell as well. And the descendants of that kingdom are still around - and trying to get it back - by magic and tricks, by turning a son against a father.
It is a modern world - anyone can be a knight - male or female (even though we know that back, when the realm was created, that was not the case - or so the ravens say anyway). It is also a crazy world - partially because of the structure of the story (being a myth retelling, the characters remain shallow and just sketched so when they need to be logical, it does not work very well), partially because McKillip just mentions events that another writer will take hundred of pages for.
And the whole novel is held together by its language - flowery where it makes sense, sparse when it does not. It is well balanced and a pleasure to read. And despite the underdeveloped characters, it is a very readable novel. I wish they were more developed, more complete - but in a legend, it is the way.
If someone had never heard of Percival or Arthur, the novel can still work - the Arthuriana adds a layer on top of the story and reveals connections earlier than McKillip does (not by much) but at the end all the connections are there and the novel stands on its own. And that is not that easy to do.
If that did not make you
Show More
realize that you are in a retelling of the Arthurian legend, the name of our hero (Pierce Oliver), the king (Arden), his queen and other main characters may still tip you off. Or maybe the inn called Kingfisher. Or the quest that sends all the knights of the realms to look for an old object of power, something that can fed a god and never stopped doing it and now may look like a pot or some other vessel. I like the occasional retelling of the old myths and this one is one of the most elegant ones I had read for a while. The world that McKillip builds is a mix between a high fantasy one and ours - we have a king and knights and tournaments - but they also ride cars and motorcycles and have cell phones (when a god or a forest does not decide to disable them for a while). We have magic and wyverns (and other mythical beasts) but not dragons and basilisks (at least not until a sorceress falls in love or gets angered - then all the bets on those are off). Every time when McKillip reveals another part of the story, a new oddity is revealed - an old ritual here, food made of air there, the queen's lover over there or an old god in a shrine somewhere.
The story itself holds little surprises - Pierce goes south to Severluna to the court to find his father and brother and on the way there he passes by the Kingfisher Inn in Chimera Bay, meets a woman he falls in love with, finds a knife (well... let's call it finding it) and eats a wonderful meal (and sees a ritual that seems to be older than the world). And Chimera Bay is a weird place - between the old Merle and the man that everyone hates, it clearly is the place where the story will finish at the end. But not yet - because there is still a court to be visited, family to be met, a tournament to be won (or not) and a new world to be revealed - when the kings created the kingdom by cobbling together the small realms, a magical one fell as well. And the descendants of that kingdom are still around - and trying to get it back - by magic and tricks, by turning a son against a father.
It is a modern world - anyone can be a knight - male or female (even though we know that back, when the realm was created, that was not the case - or so the ravens say anyway). It is also a crazy world - partially because of the structure of the story (being a myth retelling, the characters remain shallow and just sketched so when they need to be logical, it does not work very well), partially because McKillip just mentions events that another writer will take hundred of pages for.
And the whole novel is held together by its language - flowery where it makes sense, sparse when it does not. It is well balanced and a pleasure to read. And despite the underdeveloped characters, it is a very readable novel. I wish they were more developed, more complete - but in a legend, it is the way.
If someone had never heard of Percival or Arthur, the novel can still work - the Arthuriana adds a layer on top of the story and reveals connections earlier than McKillip does (not by much) but at the end all the connections are there and the novel stands on its own. And that is not that easy to do.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jjvors
"Kingfisher" by Patricia McKillip contains her usual beautiful prose, and her complex, unfolding mystery plot. However, the setting is different; a modern society with a magical history, somewhat forgotten, somewhat believed. The king has a mage, people read minds, while using cell phones,
Show More
basilisks appear on roads and stall traffic, people ride bicycles into another world. Both technology and magic are accepted with equanimity. Again, as usual, McKillip brings events to a satisfying conclusion with a number of surprising twists. Highly recommended for any fantasy fan! Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryGirl11
Another elegantly twisty fantasy novel from Patricia McKillip, set in the same world as her other novels. The insertion of modern technologies into her created world took some getting used to, but it worked. Always worth reading.
LibraryThing member Herenya
I was excited about Kingfisher, because it’s been several years since McKillip’s last novel and I’ve read all of her stories that I can get my hands on.
Kingfisher is a loose Arthurian retelling, drawing upon stories about Sir Perceval and stories about the Fisher King. It’s set in a
There’s a Holy Gail-type quest that weaves the different threads together, yet in itself remains kind of peripheral. The things the main characters seek are ultimately more important and more personal: Pierce leaves the remote community where he has grown up, seeking the city and the father he’s never met; Carrie, who works at the Kingfisher Inn, seeks answers about its history and the silences of those connected to it; Daimon, the king’s youngest son, learns the truth about his mother and is sent on a quest that could result in him severing ties with his father and half-siblings.
Sometimes McKillip’s stories are too ambiguous and dream-like for my liking, but this one wasn’t. I think the presence of old, familiar narratives, and of contemporary technology and cooking helped to ground it. Those things made it easier to speculate about directions the story might take, and to find things I could identify with the characters over.
I also liked the way Kingfisher critiques the damage questing knights can do when they are careless and prioritise their quest over other people.
I really liked Kingfisher. And McKillip’s prose is lovely, as always.
“Look for us,” he heard. “If you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”
He straightened again, blinking at the thought. They were smiling at him again, welcoming him into their world, making him, for a moment that melted his heart, one of them. The moment passed; he was himself again, in all his awkwardness, his isolation, his inexperience: a young, tangle-haired man wearing a filthy apron at the end of a dock at the edge of the world, chasing after crabs instead of wyverns.
Kingfisher is a loose Arthurian retelling, drawing upon stories about Sir Perceval and stories about the Fisher King. It’s set in a
Show More
secondary fantasy world where knights ride electric motorbikes and own cell phones - where women can be knights and no one considers that remarkable - where dragons would exist if they weren’t extinct.There’s a Holy Gail-type quest that weaves the different threads together, yet in itself remains kind of peripheral. The things the main characters seek are ultimately more important and more personal: Pierce leaves the remote community where he has grown up, seeking the city and the father he’s never met; Carrie, who works at the Kingfisher Inn, seeks answers about its history and the silences of those connected to it; Daimon, the king’s youngest son, learns the truth about his mother and is sent on a quest that could result in him severing ties with his father and half-siblings.
Sometimes McKillip’s stories are too ambiguous and dream-like for my liking, but this one wasn’t. I think the presence of old, familiar narratives, and of contemporary technology and cooking helped to ground it. Those things made it easier to speculate about directions the story might take, and to find things I could identify with the characters over.
I also liked the way Kingfisher critiques the damage questing knights can do when they are careless and prioritise their quest over other people.
I really liked Kingfisher. And McKillip’s prose is lovely, as always.
“Look for us,” he heard. “If you come to Severluna. You might find a place for yourself in King Arden’s court.”
He straightened again, blinking at the thought. They were smiling at him again, welcoming him into their world, making him, for a moment that melted his heart, one of them. The moment passed; he was himself again, in all his awkwardness, his isolation, his inexperience: a young, tangle-haired man wearing a filthy apron at the end of a dock at the edge of the world, chasing after crabs instead of wyverns.
Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
A weird and thoroughly original-feeling mix of Arthurian legend, pagan myth, and contemporary rural Britain - with lots of cooking - meshes to form McKillip's latest novel, 'Kingfisher.'
Pierce Oliver (Percival) has been raised in the remote fishing village of Mistbegotten by his mother, Heloise, a
Meanwhile, halfway between Mistbegotten and Severluna, the Kingfisher Inn hosts an amazing all-you-can-eat Friday Night Fish Fry - a banquet served in a strangely ritualistic manner. There are mysteries here too; things no one will tell the young cook Carrie - especially not her eccentric father, Merle. To try to find out these secrets, Carrie secretly agrees to work for the seductive yet hated cook Todd Stillwater, who runs a fancy restaurant specializing in experimental haute cuisine.
In Severluna, the king has initiated a grail quest - seeking a lost vessel of power which is rumored to belong to the god Severen. However, the priestesses of Calluna espouse a competing belief; that lost histories tell that this vessel was one of the goddess' mercy.
Pierce Oliver finds himself caught up in the quest, and he finds that the roads he takes 'away' often double back and lead him back toward the Kingfisher Inn and toward 'home.'
There are a lot of references in here - and probably some that I missed as well. Obviously the Knights of the Round Table, the Fisher King, the Cauldron of Annwn... what might seem at first to be a simple tale becomes deceptively complex. It feels like a dream where the dreamer has the unnerving sense that nothing is exactly as it seems. And here where some of my uncertainty about this book comes in: McKillip often creates fantasy worlds where, although unpleasant events may be occurring, the world itself is incontrovertibly someplace you would like to be. That's not true of this world. I didn't 'like' it and I would not like to live there. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not. Overall, while the mix of magical elements with modern-day elements like cars and sneakers and cell phones and what-have-you felt original, I'm not sure it was wholly successful.
I still felt this was a very good book, with a lot of food for thought (in addition to a lot of food and food metaphors). But while Patricia McKillip is one of my favorite authors, this isn't one of my favorite books by her.
Many thanks to Ace Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
Pierce Oliver (Percival) has been raised in the remote fishing village of Mistbegotten by his mother, Heloise, a
Show More
retired sorceress. He knows nothing of his father, but when one day he encounters a group of knights from the big city of Severluna, he's impressed by their shiny black limousine and their flashy leather jackets - as well as the supernatural shadows that seem to follow them. When they mention that there might be a place for him among them, his decision to travel to Severluna and seek his lost father is triggered.Meanwhile, halfway between Mistbegotten and Severluna, the Kingfisher Inn hosts an amazing all-you-can-eat Friday Night Fish Fry - a banquet served in a strangely ritualistic manner. There are mysteries here too; things no one will tell the young cook Carrie - especially not her eccentric father, Merle. To try to find out these secrets, Carrie secretly agrees to work for the seductive yet hated cook Todd Stillwater, who runs a fancy restaurant specializing in experimental haute cuisine.
In Severluna, the king has initiated a grail quest - seeking a lost vessel of power which is rumored to belong to the god Severen. However, the priestesses of Calluna espouse a competing belief; that lost histories tell that this vessel was one of the goddess' mercy.
Pierce Oliver finds himself caught up in the quest, and he finds that the roads he takes 'away' often double back and lead him back toward the Kingfisher Inn and toward 'home.'
There are a lot of references in here - and probably some that I missed as well. Obviously the Knights of the Round Table, the Fisher King, the Cauldron of Annwn... what might seem at first to be a simple tale becomes deceptively complex. It feels like a dream where the dreamer has the unnerving sense that nothing is exactly as it seems. And here where some of my uncertainty about this book comes in: McKillip often creates fantasy worlds where, although unpleasant events may be occurring, the world itself is incontrovertibly someplace you would like to be. That's not true of this world. I didn't 'like' it and I would not like to live there. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not. Overall, while the mix of magical elements with modern-day elements like cars and sneakers and cell phones and what-have-you felt original, I'm not sure it was wholly successful.
I still felt this was a very good book, with a lot of food for thought (in addition to a lot of food and food metaphors). But while Patricia McKillip is one of my favorite authors, this isn't one of my favorite books by her.
Many thanks to Ace Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nhlsecord
This story has so many characters doing similar things that, by the last half of the book, I forgot what their relevance was. However, even with that problem, it was wonderful to hear McKillip's voice again as I was reading and I really enjoyed the first half of the book with the unexplained magic
Show More
and the great food and interesting people. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisCarey
In a world where modern technology exists alongside magic, the magical beasts are not yet quite extinct, and King Arden reigns in the capital city of Severluna, Pierce Oliver has grown up the son of a sorceress who has retired from court to raise her son on a rather bleak cape, where she runs a
Pierce sets out for Severluna, driving his car because that's the kind of fantasy this is. He's not quite there when he finds himself in Chimera Bay, at the Kingfisher Inn--or at least the restaurant that operates in the remains of the Kingfisher Inn. One of the men there is also a wolf; a young woman who cooks there is strange in her own ways--and is about to make a big mistake. And while there, Pierce witnesses a strange ritual involving a large knife, which he then feels compelled to steal.
Meanwhile, in Severluna, Prince Damien, the king's youngest child and bastard son, has been enchanted by a young woman who wants him to visit her home village, which is apparently nowhere on the map. King Arden is about to order his knights on a quest to find an ancient, magical cauldron.
Two different gods, or rather a god and a goddess, regard that cauldron as rightfully theirs.
Princess Perdita, the king's legitimate daughter born at nearly the same time as Prince Damien, is greatly worried by her brother's strange distraction, and starts following him around. Or is she following someone set to deliberately misdirect her?
The sorceress wants her son back. The goddess wants her cauldron back. Some at least of the king's knights want to make the god supreme over all other gods.
The knife Pierce stole has its own agenda. So does the cauldron.
This is as beautiful as McKillip's short fantasy novels typically are, beautifully written, gentle, surprising, and intricate. I love the characters, and even the villains are well-done. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review.
Show More
restaurant. When she finally tells her son the truth about his father, a knight at King Arden's court, she sets off a chain of events that will have major repercussions.Pierce sets out for Severluna, driving his car because that's the kind of fantasy this is. He's not quite there when he finds himself in Chimera Bay, at the Kingfisher Inn--or at least the restaurant that operates in the remains of the Kingfisher Inn. One of the men there is also a wolf; a young woman who cooks there is strange in her own ways--and is about to make a big mistake. And while there, Pierce witnesses a strange ritual involving a large knife, which he then feels compelled to steal.
Meanwhile, in Severluna, Prince Damien, the king's youngest child and bastard son, has been enchanted by a young woman who wants him to visit her home village, which is apparently nowhere on the map. King Arden is about to order his knights on a quest to find an ancient, magical cauldron.
Two different gods, or rather a god and a goddess, regard that cauldron as rightfully theirs.
Princess Perdita, the king's legitimate daughter born at nearly the same time as Prince Damien, is greatly worried by her brother's strange distraction, and starts following him around. Or is she following someone set to deliberately misdirect her?
The sorceress wants her son back. The goddess wants her cauldron back. Some at least of the king's knights want to make the god supreme over all other gods.
The knife Pierce stole has its own agenda. So does the cauldron.
This is as beautiful as McKillip's short fantasy novels typically are, beautifully written, gentle, surprising, and intricate. I love the characters, and even the villains are well-done. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from Audible in exchange for an honest review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member chavala
It took me a little to warm up to this book, but in the end I was blown away.
It starts with an interesting mix of elements, something I haven't seen in fantasy before: modern times and technology (cars, cell phones), but set in a kingdom with kings, queens, and knights who joust and fight with
There are many lovely and intriguing story lines that converge and intertwine: a sorcerers' son who decides to journey from the tiny town he grew up in into the big city, a young woman facing the mystery of an old conflict no one will talk about, a prince learning about his heritage.
The king declares what is essentially a grail quest. A modern-day-with-magic grail quest. It's one of the more interesting journeys I've been on in a while.
The setting reminded me of some of McKillip's short stories, with an Oregon coastal tourist town feel, and a bit of San Francisco when he got to the big city. But maybe that's my Pacific Northwest bias showing (plus knowing the author is or was an Oregonian).
Highly recommended.
It starts with an interesting mix of elements, something I haven't seen in fantasy before: modern times and technology (cars, cell phones), but set in a kingdom with kings, queens, and knights who joust and fight with
Show More
swords - but are men and women and ride electric bikes or are chauffeured around in limousines. Also, the worship of a river/metal god, a spring (water)/moon goddess, and some pretty powerful sorcery.There are many lovely and intriguing story lines that converge and intertwine: a sorcerers' son who decides to journey from the tiny town he grew up in into the big city, a young woman facing the mystery of an old conflict no one will talk about, a prince learning about his heritage.
The king declares what is essentially a grail quest. A modern-day-with-magic grail quest. It's one of the more interesting journeys I've been on in a while.
The setting reminded me of some of McKillip's short stories, with an Oregon coastal tourist town feel, and a bit of San Francisco when he got to the big city. But maybe that's my Pacific Northwest bias showing (plus knowing the author is or was an Oregonian).
Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member dmturner
McKillip is a lovely and intense fantasy writer who adeptly mixes recognizable and mundane details (cell phones, bicycles) with elements of high fantasy (magic cauldrons, wyverns, realms alongside reality), and she draws you into her books willy-nilly. That said, this book is quite a hodge-podge,
Show More
hard to follow and with a few too many characters, most of whom are luminously and oddly beautiful. Also, the descriptions of food are remarkably passionate. Is it worth reading? Sure, though you may gain weight doing it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Chris.Bulin
I enjoyed the prose as much as ever with a Mckillip novel. The story feels like a little bit of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Beowulf combined. It got a star knocked off for a lack of diverse characters. The setting was modern so it seemed silly that everyone was fair of hair and light of eye.
LibraryThing member Tip44
Couldn't get into this. While I love the Riddle Master of Hed and many older McKillip books this one was too heavy on the magic realism. I couldn't get my mind around what was real and what wasn't and didn't have the patience to continue on to see if it started making sense later.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Weird and dreamy combination of cooking and Arthurian legend, reality at once modern and medieval. Gorgeous language and imagery, quirkily appealing characters and quests. Enjoyed it, though it did feel like dreaming to read it, in a slightly surreal way.
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
Ms. McKillip has taken Arthurian legend, the Mabinogion, and Fae folklore and melded them together in a beautiful but widdershins fantasy story, half medieval and half modern. I don't know how else to explain this fabulous book. It's beautifully written in that poetic, mystical style that
The story follows three young people: Carrie is a sous chef at the Kingfisher Inn, Daimon is the illegitimate son of King Arden, and Pierce is the daughter of a sorceress/chef. Food is essential in this story, as it is in the best fairy tales.
It's one of those books that throws the reader right into the story, which can be a bit confusing at first, but I had fun picking out all the obscure references to legend and folklore until the three separate stories meshed together. It's a lovely book, one of McKillip's best and that's saying something.
Show More
characterizes this author's works.The story follows three young people: Carrie is a sous chef at the Kingfisher Inn, Daimon is the illegitimate son of King Arden, and Pierce is the daughter of a sorceress/chef. Food is essential in this story, as it is in the best fairy tales.
It's one of those books that throws the reader right into the story, which can be a bit confusing at first, but I had fun picking out all the obscure references to legend and folklore until the three separate stories meshed together. It's a lovely book, one of McKillip's best and that's saying something.
Show Less
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 2017)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Science Fiction and Fantasy — 2016)
Language
Original publication date
2016