2009 Reading #69: Harpist In the Wind
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
61. Hmong in Minnesota by Chia Youyee Vang.
62. Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie L. McLaughlin.
63. Heir of Sea and Fire (Book Two of the Riddlemaster trilogy) by Patricia McKillip.
64. Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories by Craig Laurance Gidney.
65. Essential Incredible Hulk Volume 1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, et al.
66. I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik.
67. Wizard's Eleven (Book Three of The True Game) by Sheri S. Tepper.
68. Migration of Hmong to the Midwestern United States by Cathleen Jo Faruque.
69. Harpist In the Wind (Book Three of the Riddlemaster trilogy) by Patricia McKillip. Odd, reading this series at the same time as The True Game (see above). The two echo one another in many ways: both concern shapeshifters, and young people coming into their power, and worlds haunted by ancient and forgotten history. At times the Riddlemaster trilogy was difficult to get a grasp on--bewildering, but beautiful. But this final volume not only manages to justify that (or at least much of it), it rewards the reader with a satisfying, surprising, and surprisingly emotional payoff. The ending also helped me to crystallize one of my inarticulated issues with Tepper's series, which is that in the end it didn't seem like winning actually cost her protagonists much of anything. In McKillip's story there are prices being paid all along the way, not just of blood or innocence, but of larger existential questions appearing where there had previously been certainties.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
61. Hmong in Minnesota by Chia Youyee Vang.
62. Myths and Legends of the Sioux by Marie L. McLaughlin.
63. Heir of Sea and Fire (Book Two of the Riddlemaster trilogy) by Patricia McKillip.
64. Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories by Craig Laurance Gidney.
65. Essential Incredible Hulk Volume 1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, et al.
66. I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks by Fletcher Hanks and Paul Karasik.
67. Wizard's Eleven (Book Three of The True Game) by Sheri S. Tepper.
68. Migration of Hmong to the Midwestern United States by Cathleen Jo Faruque.
69. Harpist In the Wind (Book Three of the Riddlemaster trilogy) by Patricia McKillip. Odd, reading this series at the same time as The True Game (see above). The two echo one another in many ways: both concern shapeshifters, and young people coming into their power, and worlds haunted by ancient and forgotten history. At times the Riddlemaster trilogy was difficult to get a grasp on--bewildering, but beautiful. But this final volume not only manages to justify that (or at least much of it), it rewards the reader with a satisfying, surprising, and surprisingly emotional payoff. The ending also helped me to crystallize one of my inarticulated issues with Tepper's series, which is that in the end it didn't seem like winning actually cost her protagonists much of anything. In McKillip's story there are prices being paid all along the way, not just of blood or innocence, but of larger existential questions appearing where there had previously been certainties.