I wanted to like this book, and I tried so hard to, but I just couldn't. It's not bad: I'd call it good, actually. If it had been written by anyone else, I'd give it three stars. But I expect more of McKillip, who usually doesn't waste words.The Book of Atrix Wolfe has a great premise: a powerful mage must deal with the consequences of his hubris. It's thematically complex, which is rare for high fantasy novels. I love what it says about conflict: that you cannot give into your weaker nature; that the ends don't justify the means; that if you fight death with death you end up with an endless cycle of revenge, and the innocent will suffer. That instead of running from what you fear or regret you must name it, acknowledge it, and speak of it in order to gain control. Some of the sentences are precise, insightful, and quotable: "Someone living, he realised early, who had not been scarred by the siege or haunted by memory, was valuable to the storytellers. Having no memories of his own, he became their receptacle for memory, and, with his untroubled past, for hope."The final chapters, where all of the themes started to come together, were pretty fucking great. The book says what it means to say eloquently. It just … says it over and over and over again.I found Saro's chapters particularly tedious: they mostly involve endless descriptions of food (which just makes me hungry and mad) and the servants' overheard conversations about the goings-on at the palace (which rehashes the narrative events without moving the plot forward at all). I don't see why McKillip devoted so many pages to any of it. I also can't understand why she chose the write the prologue the way she did: it spells out the major events motivating the plot, so clearly that you can trace each plot thread to its logical conclusion -- which ruins any narrative tension the novel might have had.Oh, and there's also the problem of Atrix Wolfe, who just needs to grow the fuck up.Not really recommended. Read something else by McKillip instead.
A bittersweet story about magical actions and it's direst consequences.This is the story of Atrix Wolfe, a mage original from Chaumenard, but who now lives amongst wolves. One day he starts having dreams. Those dreams make him travel to the realm of Pellucir, where he finds the castle under siege by the ruler of Kardeth. Everywhere he looks, there's devastation. Death, famine and, scavengers surround the kingdom. Being faced with such a despairing vision, Atrix decides to take matters into his own hands...He decides to create a Hunter out of death, to destroy death.In a green wood on a hill, the Queen of the Woods watches her consort and their child Sora. On the night that the Hunter is created, someone stops to listen to the words of a Wolf....That someone will be turned into the Hunter, a being of legends and terror. On that night, the child Sora, daughter of the Queen of Woods disappearsTwenty years later, a young prince finds a book without a name. The book contains strange spells, on which the words don't signify what they should mean. Words with enough power to summon the Hunter. Twenty years later Atrix is once again confronted with the results of his actions. This time Atrix will have to protect a prince, discover a lost girl, and come face to face with its worst mistake.Patricia A. Mckillip writing is like an never ending melody of perfection. She creates the most lyrical scenes that i've ever read in my life. In truth, if you want to read stories in which the words grab hold of your heart, this is the author to read.
What do You think about The Book Of Atrix Wolfe (1996)?
Even when the story is in the "normal", human world it seems dreamlike and fairytale-ish and a high contrast to the sort of stories that I usually read. It seems drawn from an earlier tradition of fantasy and there were aspects that recalled The King of Elfland's Daughter most specifically, but also The Face in the Frost.McKillip produces powerful imagery, from the piles of luscious food continually produced by the ever-busy castle kitchen to the haunted tower to a definitely Elfland's Daughter inspired fairy wood.
—Derek
We open with the king pleading with the wizard Atrix Wolfe, to work magic that will enable him to overcome another king. Atrix makes it clear that this is Not A Good Thing and Not What Wizards Do. But he keeps up the pressure. Meanwhile Saro, the daughter of the Queen of the Wood, and her father, owing to their drop of mortal blood, watch the scene curiously. Atrix, finally infuriated, weaves together a terrible spell, and unleashes a dark rider on the battlefield.That was the prologue. The story picks up years later, with Tanis, the son of the king who died on the battlefield, who was born that very day, arguing with another student of wizardry about which king was responsible. Given that one died, and the other was driven from the field, there's no good argument for either except that the other one wouldn't have. But Tanis is summoned home. He goes up on the mountain where he catches a glimpse of the famous White Wolf, Atrix Wolfe himself, and grabs a book from the library, and goes.Meanwhile, there's a mute girl who works in his brother's castle, as a scullery maid. Her name is Saro.And Atrix Wolfe is plagued by dreams that send him back to the kingdom.In McKillip's lyric prose, we get dreams with messages, an enchanted wood, a haunted keep, a magical misleading book, visions in a full cauldron, brotherly love, secrets, and the need to undo what was done.
—Mary Catelli
I read this some years ago so the story line isn't fresh in my mind. However, the book made a huge impression on me. As with all of McKillip's books, it is full of enchantment, mystery and beautiful language. The story is about struggling for perception and understanding, it's about language and finding a voice. It's also about the destructiveness of war (intentional and unintentional). There are two stories going on, that of a young scholar prince and that of a mystical young lady yanked away from her family. The young man wears thick glasses. The young lady is mute and works as a skullery girl in a huge castle kitchen. McKillip's descriptions of the food being prepared are full of symbolism. These descriptions are sometimes overelaborate and drag on. It is one of only two flaws in the book, the second being an ending that feels contrived. McKillip's books are never about action, they're about unraveling mysteries and it's true here times two.After reading this, I remember recommending it to a friend who teaches college composition as a book full of potential points of discussion. However, this friend was not a fantasy reader and probably had a hard time believing a fantasy would be intellectually stimulating. However, had I been teaching at that time, I would have jumped right in with it. I kept this book on my shelf because I expect to reread it one day.
—Jen
