The Gift

The first slab in the 'Pellinor' sequence: the dark is rising, quests must be undertaken through deep woods and over towering mountains, battling the undead Hulls and Wers, with names of people and places having those 'fantasy' blends of consonants and vowels. It may be derivative but it is exciting. Maerad, discovered as a slave, is gradually revealed as the promised saviour in the battle with the Nameless One, as yet having no awareness of her powers. (It is a nice touch, as in The Windsinger, that the dark ones have always been on the lookout for this person but assumed it would be her brother.) Cadvan, who discovers her, and with whom she travels throughout this book, provides a strong model of the heroic bard's life, but also (like Le Guin's Ged) has a past marred by pride. The grand scenes are just that, magical encounters and tremendous battles. What makes this different is the enormous length given to detailed description, often of place (and some clever mock academic introduction and notes) which leaves you with the most thorough of backgrounds, though testing to any with an impatient need for action.