Heir of Sea and Fire

Riddle-Master Trilogy, Book 2

By: Patricia A. McKillip

Narrated by: Fiona Walsh

By the vow of her father and her own desire, Raederle was pledged to Morgon, Riddle-Master of Hed. But a year had passed since Morgon disappeared on his search for the High One at Erlenstar Mountain, and rumors claimed he was dead.

Raederle set out to learn the truth for herself, though her small gift of magic seemed too slight for the perils she must face. The quest led through strange lands and dangerous adventures. Only her growing powers enabled her at last to reach Erlenstar Mountain. And there she discovered what she could not bear to accept. Accompanied by Deth, the High One's Harper, she fled. And behind them came a pursuer whose name was Morgon, bent on executing a grim destiny upon Raederle and Deth. Her only hope lay in summoning the Hosts of the Dead, led by the King whose skull she bore.

©1977 Patricia A. McKillip (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

different everything

I simply can't believe the reader of this decided to pronounce every name differently. Very unprofessional. It was very difficult to connect with the characters, it was like the characters were total strangers to themselves because they were all using different pronunciations for each other than the first book in the trilogy.

Weaker middle book; occasionally careless reader

Plot:
This book was less satisfying to me than the first one in the series. Some characters I grew attached to in the first book appear but do little here. And at least two important events happen through astronomically-unlikely random chance.

Reader:
Fiona Walsh has a pleasant voice and changes it just enough to distinguish characters without being showy about it. This is exactly how I like books read! She pronounces some key names very differently than Prebble did for the first book, but for all I know Walsh's pronunciations could be the correct ones.

The big problem is that sometimes Walsh just reads a sentence wrong! A simple example: someone was told not to provoke the armed warriors around him. His response: "Tell that to THEM." But Walsh says "Tell THAT to them." There were about a half a dozen of these clunkers! And other times when the prose didn't flow well I strongly suspect Walsh made a subtler mistake somewhere.

Ah well. The world of the riddle-masters is still an interesting one, and I still want to know what happens next.

Heir

I've loved this book and this series a long time. I loved the first and it was so nostalgic to listen to this one too. The only thing is that since the narrator changed and they didn't keep the same pronunciations, it was always jarring to hear 'Hed' pronounced as 'heed.'

Exciting, Intriguing

Riddle in riddle in riddle! Each answered in the midst of intrigue only to lead to another exquisite riddle. As history becomes known the future is more in question. I can't wait to begin the third book in this trilogy!!

Marvelous

Masterfully written. Beautifully performed. Incredible images. Thought-provoking twists, and turns. I’m so grateful I was introduced to this series of books.