I have dedicated 2019
as my Year of Romance (#YOR) here on Supernatural Underground, specifically
Romance in Fantasy Fiction (#RIFF) because Fantasy fiction is how I roll. ;-)
I began in March with JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings (aka
when romance is missing-in-action) and continued last month with Laini Taylor’sDaughter of Smoke and Bone, which is
romance of the kind I loosely describe as “my enemy, my love.”
This month’s story, which is in fact a trilogy like both the preceding works, is Patricia McKillip’s Riddlemaster series, which comprises three instalments: The Riddlemaster of Hed, Heir
of Sea and Fire, and Harpist In The
Wind. It also (roughly) bridges the first two books covered in terms of
time period, with The Riddlemaster of Hed
published in 1979. And it’s one of my favorite romances, as well as my favorite
Fantasy series, so it had to be part of my #RIFF on #YOR. J
When I first read The Riddle-Master of Hed, I thought this
was going to be very much in the style of The
Lord Of The Rings (LoTR) with the
romance very much in the background. (Don’t get me wrong, btw, I adored the
story anyway, and still do.) In fact the treatment of Raederle, the romantic
interest for our hero, Morgon, the eponymous Riddle Master of Hed, is initially
very similar to that of Arwen in LoTR, i.e. she’s there in the background
but she doesn’t play an active part in the story.
Although at least the
reader knows that Morgon cherishes romantic notions in that direction – in fact
it’s what kicks off the story. Morgon, who has won a supposedly unwinnable
riddle game, learns that the King of neighboring An had promised to marry his
daughter, Raederle, to whoever wins that game. I am sure you pick up on the
classic fairytale overtones here! As it turns out, Morgon has actually met
Raederle because he and her brother studied together at the Riddle-Master’s College,
and yes, he is definitely interested in marrying her – although somewhat less
sure of her views on the same matter. (In a very unfairytale-like way he
actually thinks she should have a say in the matter…)
So he sets sail to
meet Raederle again and ascertain her inclination, which is when (of course!)
matters gang awry, with Morgon first being shipwrecked then finding out that a
mysterious and powerful people are trying to murder him. Rather than marrying
the woman of his dreams, he is instead swept up in a complex and dangerous
riddle game, which takes him a quest journey across the face of the Realm
(which is the name of the world in this series.)
So we never get to
meet Raederle at all in Book 1, although she’s always there in the background
of the story. He also makes friends with another young woman called Lira, so as
reader you think maybe that’s where the real romance going to be, although she
reminds Morgon of his kid sister, which is hardly a promising indication…
So you can imagine my
surprise – and yes, delight, dear readers – when I opened Heir Of Sea and Fire and started reading, and boom!, there I was in Raederle’s point of view. And not only is she
the main character in this book, she’s setting out – with Lira and Tristan,
Morgon’s kid sister – to find and rescue him. This mission naturally takes them on a quest-journey across the Realm
where they also run foul of Morgon’s mysterious enemies and Raederle finds out
that she, too, has a destiny…
I mean, only think,
dear readers – a heroine and love interest with a destiny as well. If not for Eowyn, I would have thought the great JRR must
be spinning in his grave at this point. It’s nothing new now, but back in 1979
I imagine it must have been quite revolutionary, especially in epic fantasy
literature.
The third book, Harpist In The Wind, returns to Morgon
as the point-of-view character, but he and Raederle are together throughout most
of the story – and part of why they ultimately win through is because they’re
together. I’ve always found their romance really satisfying for that reason,
but also because it’s very much a relationship between equals. In terms of the style of romance, because of Morgon and
Raederle’s relationship before the story starts, I think it has elements of the
“boy and girl next door”, as well as “friends and lovers” that transitions into
“ever after.”
As romances go, I
would also describe Raederle and Morgon’s love as gentle, rather than
tumultuous. The events of the story provide the tumult, while Morgon and
Raederle’s constancy, as well as their power, enable them to ride the storm –
and yanno, that makes for pretty satisfying reading.
So if you haven’t read
the Riddle-Master series yet – which
you probably have since it’s now regarded as a classic – hie thee and read it.
It’s a gorgeous tale, with gorgeous writing, and a worthy addition to the #YOR
look at #RIFF.
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Helen Lowe is a novelist, poet, and blogger whose first novel, Thornspell (Knopf), was published to critical praise in 2008. Her second, The Heir of Night (The Wall Of Night Series, Book One) won the Gemmell Morningstar Award 2012. The sequel, The Gathering Of The Lost, was shortlisted for the Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. Daughter Of Blood, (The Wall Of Night, Book Three) is Helen's most recent book and she is currently working on the fourth and final novel in The Wall Of Night series. Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog and is also on Twitter: @helenl0we
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