Juliet Marillier: Heart's blood

Juliet Marillierin fantasiaromaani on Kaunotar ja hirviö -sadun uudelleenkerronta, siinä määrin että tarinan lopputulema on melkoisen selvä jo teoksen ensimmäisiltä sivuilta alkaen: Heart's blood (Tor, 2009; ISBN 978-0-230-01791-7).



Marillier on kuitenkin siinä määrin taitava kirjoittaja, että huolimatta tarinaan piilotettujen salaisuuksien ilmiselvyydestä romaani houkuttaa lukemaan. Teos sopii mainiosti luettavaksi väsähtäneemmässäkin mielentilassa.

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. Surrounded by a wooded hill, and unknown presences, the crumbling fortress is owned by a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

Juliet Marillier: Dreamer's pool - a Blackthorn & Grim novel

Juliet Marillierin fantasiaromaanissa on monenmoista juonenainesta, siinä määrin että pata tuntuu paikoitellen porisevan yli äyräiden, mutta loppujen lopuksi kirja pitää jotakuinkin kutinsa: Dreamer's pool - a Blackthorn & Grim novel (ROC, 2014; ISBN 9780698139169).



Teokselle on ilmestynyt jatko-osakin, Tower of Thorns, jonka sain Helmetin e-kirjoista kerran jo lainattuakin, mutta laina-aika meni umpeen ennen lukemisen aloittamista. No, voihan sitä yrittää toisenkin kerran.

In exchange for help escaping her long and wrongful imprisonment, embittered magical healer Blackthorn has vowed to set aside her bid for vengeance against the man who destroyed all that she once held dear. Followed by a former prison mate, a silent hulk of a man named Grim, she travels north to Dalriada. There she'll live on the fringe of a mysterious forest, duty bound for seven years to assist anyone who asks for her help.

Oran, crown prince of Dalriada, has waited anxiously for the arrival of his future bride, Lady Flidais. He knows her only from a portrait and sweetly poetic correspondence that have convinced him Flidais is his destined true love. But Oran discovers letters can lie. For although his intended exactly resembles her portrait, her brutality upon arrival proves she is nothing like the sensitive woman of the letters.

With the strategic marriage imminent, Oran sees no way out of his dilemma. Word has spread that Blackthorn possesses a remarkable gift for solving knotty problems, so the prince asks her for help. To save Oran from his treacherous nuptials, Blackthorn and Grim will need all their resources: courage, ingenuity, leaps of deduction, and more than a little magic.