Be Specific About Books During Pegasus (Pegasus #1)
| ISBN: | 0399246770 (ISBN13: 9780399246777) URL http://www.robinmckinley.com/books/#pegasus |
| Series: | Pegasus #1 |
Robin McKinley
Hardcover | Pages: 404 pages Rating: 3.61 | 8557 Users | 1460 Reviews
Present Of Books Pegasus (Pegasus #1)
| Title | : | Pegasus (Pegasus #1) |
| Author | : | Robin McKinley |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 404 pages |
| Published | : | November 2nd 2010 by G.P. Putnam's Sons |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Young Adult |
Commentary In Pursuance Of Books Pegasus (Pegasus #1)
UPDATE! 1/3 of A BOOK ALERT! HALF A BOOK ALERT!!! I thought I would get this out of the way first. Truly, there was not even an attempt to wrap up anything in this novel, not even temporarily. Pegasus ended mid-scene, mid-conflict, almost mid-sentence. It will be quite a laugh if McKinley never finishes this sequel. Now onto the story itself. I was glad to be back to the old-school princess-fairy-tale McKinley, after the genre detour Sunshine was. If you ever read fantasy written by the author, you already know the key elements of her stories: meticulous, imaginative world building, a young, strong heroine who has to come to terms with her own powers and grow into her responsibilities and attain self-confidence, friendships with animals, magic, all accompanied by the most gorgeous writing. All of this was in Pegasus. The moment I opened the book, I was completely enchanted by the world McKinley had created and by the words she used to describe it. The centuries-old alliance between humans and pegasi, their complicated communications, binding rituals - all of it was so new, so unique, so detailed and well thought-through. And then the moment Ebon, the main character's Sylvi's bond-mate, entered the picture, I totally fell in love with this naughty, outspoken, mischievous pegasus. And the way MckKinley described Ebon tumbling into Sylvi's window, or spreading his wings, or a tiny pegasus playing with Sylvi, it made me grin in delight. McKinley just has such a genius way with words, I can't explain it. But (of course there is a but), as much as I loved the world building and gorgeous writing, it just wasn't enough for me. It wasn't that the book was light on plot, but like in all McKinley books, the plot was driven by the main character's internal struggles and growth. And again, it's fine by me, generally. I loved Harry's personal journey in The Blue Sword, but that book was only 270 pages and Pegasus - 400 and only half of the story. I don't know about other readers, but I can enjoy luscious, descriptive and reflective writing for only so long, at about page 200 I want some action, and so happened here. By the middle of the book my attention started to waver and I began skimming a bit, trying to get to the end or at least some excitement faster. Basically, it seemed the narration got a little too indulgent. For what the plot was, the book was way too long. I could literally summarize the entire novel in one paragraph. I would have enjoyed it much more if the whole story only took one 300-page volume to tell. I can see how Pegasus's reviews can be all over the place. Fans of McKinley's writing and those who enjoy leisurely, slow paced quality of it, will love the novel, and rightfully so. Those who prefer books with more action and despise being left with no resolutions, will hate it. I am somewhere in the middle. At this point I am moderately interested to know how it all works out, but will I still be in 2014(!), when the sequel comes out?Rating Of Books Pegasus (Pegasus #1)
Ratings: 3.61 From 8557 Users | 1460 ReviewsEvaluate Of Books Pegasus (Pegasus #1)
I like the IDEA of this book, but the execution was lacking, which for me was a disappoint. Robin McKinley is a wonderful writer and one of my favorites, but her last few books have had something lacking. This is another case of that in a lot of ways.First the good:The world she describes is amazing. I loved the descriptions of the characters, especially the pegasi. I loved the protagonist and her family, they were all very sensible and down to earth for a royal family. I like the fact that theWell, what can I say...?I was lucky enough to borrow an ARC. I realize that that is a privilege and I really don't want to hurt sales for one of my favorite authors. BUT, I really didn't enjoy this book, largely because I took a strong dislike to the heroine. This has been my least favorite book of McKinley's, topped only by Deerskin which I found too painful to re-read due to its subject matter. I was really looking forward to this one!BTW, I knew going in that this was going to end on a
90% description of the made-up zoology/anthropology of the imaginary flying horses of a rather vaguely depicted fantasy kingdom. 10% awkwardly forced plot.
i first discovered robin mckinley in 4th grade. i discovered her along with patricia mckillip (right next to mckinley on the library shelves!), lloyd alexander, tolkien, le guin, diana wynne jones, susan cooper, and more. looking back, i can see it's no wonder i became such an incorrigible bookworm! these are the authors that taught me to love reading, to love books, to love everything that books promised - fantasy books in particular: escape, adventure, wisdom, growth, love. these are the
Pegasus was readable, to me, but I didn't come away very impressed.I did like it better than (my memory of) Dragonhaven and Chalice. It's less rambling than Dragonhaven (which isn't saying very much, but everything McKinley writes is rambling to some degree and I think Pegasus is in the high, but tolerable range) and it's less ... vague? than Chalice.Structurally, "vague" and "rambling" are still good words to characterize Pegasus with. McKinley does most of her exposition by interrupting
I don't often read fantasy books with a Pegasus involved (for some reason unicorns seem to be preferred). Pegasus is a gripping book, sometimes too preachy but overall not bad.
They do say that 'forewarned is forearmed', and I may have gotten lucky: I went into this book expecting it to be slow and centered around worldbuilding. Lo and behold, it was, and because I was prepared I could enjoy it for that aspect.I like food metaphors for books, and Pegasus is like spending a few hours at a buffet. You're going to be there the whole time, so you don't have to rush, but you want to- but gorging yourself only makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable. By which I mean that in
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