Chalice

This would have been a fantastic book - if it had been about 150 pages longer. I think that makes me angrier than if it had been a terrible book. What happened, Mrs. McKinley? Did the rest of your only draft get blown away by a blustery wind? As it stands, this book feel hurried in a way that her books never have before. I cannot recommend it.

I didn't understand much till about the 70th page. She has her own language in this book that I couldn't pick up on till latter. I enjoyed the story but wish that it was more clearly written and I am a huge fan of McKinnley(except for sunshine). But this was weird. But good at the same time.

In the past, I've read and re-read other Robin McKinley books so much that they have fallen apart, forcing me to buy new copies. When I heard she had a new book, I rushed and actually bought the paperback, despite the extra expense, and rushed through it in one night. However, at the end, I find myself with mixed feelings.

The beginning of the book was the most disappointing, as it definitely starts in media res and doesn't give the reader any context for what's happening. Mirasol is a cipher performing ceremonies without us knowing their significance. As the book goes on, we start getting details, but almost grudgingly, as if McKinley was reluctant to fill out the characters and setting from bare-bones archetypes. Possibly this is meant to mirror Mirasol's own confusion and lack of information, but it's rather frustrating to read. The bones of the story are interesting, but so under-developed that it's hard to read.

When compared to the rich, memorable characterisation in her other books, Chalice falls flat. Many of the characters are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and even the more fleshed-out Mirasol, Master, and Lord Seneschal would have benefitted greatly from some extra face-time. The love story is particularly dimished by this; it's not bad, but it's hard to really root for characters when a) they've only talked to each other a handful of times and b) you hardly know anything about them. Even minor characters in McKinley's other books are better served.

However, what little we do learn about the setting is fascinating. Demenses are held together by the efforts of the Circle, whose most important members are the Master and the Chalice; a demense not held together properly apparently tears itself apart through flood, earthquake, and fire. The main plot of the book involves political intrigue, which hints at a wider, more complex world outside our heroine's demense, even though we never get to know much about it. The details about beekeeping provided a nice, solid backdrop.

Overall, Chalice is a worthwhile read, but it definitely feels too sparse to stand up to McKinley's other work. It's a pity, too; with another hundred pages or so to fill out the characters, it could've been great.

While better than Dragonhaven, this is the second McKinley book in a row that I would probably not have troubled to finish if it had been by any other author. (And it kills me to say this, because she is one of my favorites and I've loved all of her previous work.) Dragonhaven felt like a first draft; Chalice feels like a short story unwillingly stretched into novel length. I didn't get to know any of the characters well enough to care deeply about them; we don't see any of the backstory unfold (imagine if Spindle's End had opened with Rosie discovering she was the princess and gone on from there); and McKinley falls into her usual trap of relying on a vague supernatural incident to end the novel. I wanted to love Chalice--but I didn't, and sadly I think this is the last McKinley book I will run out and buy in hardcover.

I'm not going to bother typing a summary of this book,since that has been done in other reviews,but I will give my opinion of it-Chalice is a GREAT Book!!The magic that connects Mirasol and the Master to Willowlands is interesting and original,and the writing style is much better than that in Dragonhaven.Although some people found this novel slow,I personaly remained engrossed until the end.Chalice is not quite as good as McKinley's Damar novels,but it comes very close!