The Naming is the beginning of Alison Croggon's well received Books of the Pellinor, a young adult fantasy trilogy centered around the land of Edil-Amarandh. Reading through the appendices reveals that Edil-Amarandh precedes Atlantis as a mythical continent that simply disappeared (presumably, of course, this is all Croggon's creation, but at least it's an interesting way to bring the Books of the Pellinor to the real world). As the first book in a trilogy it does a fine job establishing the plot and the world, giving us a clear view of all the basic things we need to know in order to continue through the second and third books.The Naming follows Maerad, a slave girl with an extraordinary musical talent who accidentally discovers a man named Cadvan. Except, she's not supposed to be able to see through Cadvan's spell-induced invisibility...unless she is a bard like him. It soon becomes clear that Maerad is more than just a lowly slave girl and outside of her prison she finds that darkness is returning to Edil-Amarandh and the brief glimpse of joy she had after having escaped will be short lived indeed.Croggon is quite the world builder, to say the least. Edil-Amarandh is almost as richly detailed as Tolkien's Middle Earth. That's saying something here. Few books can have that sort of detail and succeed; Croggon's novel passes with flying colors on this front. Everything from the lay of the land to the hierarchy of the bards, even a little on the personal aspects of characters one might not expect in a book in the first place; all these things are delved into by Croggon so we get a good sense of what this place is like. There's a good amount of dialogue and narrative devoted to establishing this world and for the most part it works.The characters in this novel are fairly easy to be sympathetic towards. This is a young adult novel, yet it reads very much like a novel meant for adults. Maerad, however, does deal with issues of pertinence to the teenage community, particularly issues of "growing up" (as a woman, mind you) and coming into her new found power, whilst dealing with the past she never knew. Cadvan acts the part of mentor, in a way, but has a fair amount of depth to take him over the hump from the cliche.It should also be mentioned that Croggon's narrative style is stunning. She writes with superb skill, which I find tremendously refreshing in this modern age of commercial fantasy. Her prose is beautiful and alluring, fluid and surprisingly poetic. It's not perfect, but she certainly can weave a good sentence.I had two problems with Croggon's writing in this novel. The first was the seeming necessity for dialogue that reads somewhat Shakespearean (though, thankfully, not so Shakespearean that I wanted to drop the book). The second problem was the very obvious "Tolkien" feel. The names and even certain elements of the world itself feel almost as if they were lifted right out of Lord of the Rings. I doubt this was intentional. It wasn't enough to prevent me from finishing the story (it's an entertaining read after all), but it should be noted nonetheless. I think one thing that could be improved is injecting a deeper and more creative feel to Edil-Amarandh.Other issues were the slightly simplistic plot line, particularly where Croggon tried to be rather clever in regards to a riddle, only I saw through it almost immediately. Perhaps there are strange twists in the next two books, however, that make my current assumptions quite wrong (I actually hope so, because I like being proved wrong in fantasy). We'll see. Also, I'd hope that in future books there is less of Cadvan telling Maerad things. I get that the characters are bards, who are known for telling tales and what not, but he doesn't have to explain in great detail everything. Some things can be left for Maerad to discover (or perhaps Maerad could learn them by furthering her interests in the subject of lore).Overall, the novel was actually quite good. It was entertaining, dealt with some tough issues that I've not seen done well in fantasy, or anything for that matter (particularly certain things with Maerad, which I won't spoil here, as you should read the book to understand). I did enjoy the richness and depth of her world, despite some flaws I saw with it. I am quite fond of fantasy that is capable of making a world feel lived in, as opposed to just randomly created so the author could write a novel. Croggon gives me the impression that she didn't create this world overnight, or even over a year. It feels like a decade in the making. Maerad is a great character to center on, too, and I found myself deeply interested in what happened to her. To add, the action and pacing were relatively flawless. Basically, this is a darn good book for fantasy readers young and old. It's a great introduction for younger folks who find Tolkien's windy prose too "classic" feeling, and a welcome treat for adult readers looking for something with a little classic adventure with depth.
Not only was I seduced by the pretty uk version cover of this book (which i listened to in a pricey audio format) but it came highly recommend, so I really wanted to like this book and its fair to say I did like this book...but only for a little while. I liked this book very much at the start. The setting in particular. One cant help but wonder how our young Maerad, will escape and what clever way she will find to do so. I found myself imagining the slave settlement a bit like the setting in the 90's Amiga 500 game- "another world" But meh - that's how geeks roll. My first disappointment was the escape scene. I Can't help but feel it could of been done in a more dramatic way, with more imagination. A man puts a spell on her and she’s invisible and just walks out? com'on." I didn't expect shawshank but surely something a bit more compelling could of been thought up of? Even the dogs, who could of at least then added the thrill of the chase got closed down just as it got...well er thrilling? I Would loved to of scene the author really show us something with more depth, or with a bit more edge. Perhaps she does later on in the book? But I didn't find out as around 30% in to the book I stopped, and put it down. I couldn't finish it.Another negative which is reserved only for the audiobook was the narrator, who did a fine job until they started singing! how did they get this gig when part of the story is all about singing? couldn't they of got a second voice over in for those parts from a gifted songstress? its really did take some of the authenticity away from the story since much of a bards power comes from an outstanding singing voice.Getting back to the story, I found it very unoriginal - "Yawn. You are the chosen one. You happen to own the most priceless musical bard equipment that only legend talks of... (That hasn't been noticed or stolen before) blar blar, You've saved the life of you mentor twice already even though he's much more experienced/wiser then you & all without any effort because your gift is of such power...and after that point?Now guessing but... don't tell me! She saves the world? The end? Job done. Sigh.
What do You think about The Naming (2006)?
If you are as steeped in Tolkien as I am this book is going to sound REALLY familiar. Somehow, I didn't mind that this time -- usually it causes me to look for something else to read -- I fell completely under the spell of her beautiful writing and storytelling, and fell in love with her characters more than once. And it was rather fun to be reading on and on and suddenly recognize Galadriel and Lothlorien under a new form, or snicker a bit when her versions of the Nazgul show up, and wonder when we would meet Saruman (towards the end, indeed) and so forth. The "chosen one" device? Could have done without that but there are three more books, perhaps she will twist it into something more original. She has the writing chops. I couldn't help but like this one.
—Kerith
So, I'm going through my reviews right now to make some of them less trollish and whatnot, since when I was 15 I apparently didn't really know how to review books (or bother to capitalize, punctuate, etc.). Anyway ... sadly, I can't do a very good review for this book because I no longer remember it very well. I only remember that it just couldn't hold my interest very well. I really wanted to like it because one of my best friends loves the series ... but, well, she is into epic fantasy and I'm really not, as hard as I've tried to give it a chance. So, if you enjoy the type of book with people riding through the forests on horses and fulfilling prophecies and whatnot, then you'll probably enjoy this. It's just not my type of thing.
—Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!*
If it weren't so good, I would say this book is a mixture of every other fantasy book on the block. Test: can you match each plot line with another famous work?...The "chosen one" is raised in a secluded farm, identity hidden...The girl was trained in musicianship by the local bard, and her prodigious talent allows her to be named as a bard when she finally arrives at the school...While travelling together, the neophyte receives instruction from a famous bard with a slightly sinister past...Unde
—Alice
