What do You think about Daughter Of Witches (1987)?
I came across this in Patricia Wrede's list of books, and remembered that I read it in high school. I remember it being so-so. It just didn't seem super-original to me, though that may reflect the time it was written- in the 1980's when feminist flavored fantasy was newer, and fantasy in general was evolving from pulpy sword & sorcery type books (a la Conan the Barbarian) What I mean by the feminist flavor is the theme of witches being depicted as good, and being persecuted by the Eeevil Patriarchy. (particularly priests- no not an analog for the Catholic Church/Christianity at all, right?) For better books by Patricia, check out her Dealing with Dragons series. They make fun of fairy tale cliches, while having original plots/characters.
—Mariah
In Stephen King's book "On Writing", he talks about that one point in every writer's career, where he/she comes across a published book/story and is seized by a realization - an epiphany, if you like. That epiphany is, "I can write better than this!"For me, that came with reading this book.While not a terrible book, the characters were a little flat and cliche, the plot was predictable, and the writing was mediocre, at best. I still firmly believe that with enough time and effort, I could write something equal to this.
—Christopher
Fun read with lots of action and engaging characters - this is a great sort of summer, fantasy read. Not quite as much depth of emotion or character as I normally like. But I decided that sometimes an easy, fun read is just the ticket. And Patricia Wrede does that exceptionally. Especially in the fantasy genre where I feel like there aren't a lot of well written, lighter books. Or if there are I haven't found them. And maybe light isn't quite the right description for this book which definitely has its dark spots but they're handled discreetly enough and lend an air of seriousness that works for this story. Even with that, though, it's an easy read and the pacing is great.
—Lady
