Photo de l'auteur

Jessica Rydill

Auteur de Children of the Shaman

6+ oeuvres 118 utilisateurs 7 critiques 1 Favoris

Séries

Œuvres de Jessica Rydill

Children of the Shaman (2001) 78 exemplaires
The Glass Mountain (2002) 21 exemplaires
Malarat (2013) 11 exemplaires
Die Eisgöttin. Kristallwelt 01. (2003) 6 exemplaires
The Anniversary 1 exemplaire

Oeuvres associées

Anniversaries: The Write Fantastic (2010) — Contributeur — 10 exemplaires
Terra Nullius (2018) — Contributeur — 3 exemplaires

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Nom canonique
Rydill, Jessica
Nom légal
Saunders, Jessica
Date de naissance
1959-11-16
Sexe
female
Nationalité
England
UK
Pays (pour la carte)
United Kingdom
Lieu de naissance
Bath, Somerset, England, UK
Lieux de résidence
Midford, Bath, England, UK
Études
University of Cambridge (King's College)
Professions
writer
Relations
Ash, Sarah (sister)
Rydill, LJ (father)
Saunders, Stephen (husband)
Agent
Caspian Dennis, Abner Stein
Courte biographie
Jessica Rydill was born in Bath in 1959. She read English at King’s College Cambridge before training as a solicitor. In 1998 she gave up work to write. Her first two novels, Children of the Shaman and The Glass Mountain, were published by Orbit in 2001 and 2002. She lives near Bath with her husband and her Asian Ball-jointed Dolls.

Membres

Critiques

Thirteen year old Annat is a shaman by birth. Within her own people, the Wanderers, shamans can heal, protect, and enter bodily into other realms. Outside her people, however, shamans are looked upon with suspicion and mistrust. Annat is largely untrained in her powers, but when her aunt falls sick, she and her brother are sent to live with the father they barely know.

Annat is finally able to train as a shaman under the tutelage of her father, Yuda, but the family soon turns down a dangerous path. Yuda has been assigned to investigate strange occurrences and brutal murders in a small northern town. Strange, old magic seems to be at play in the area, and soon after arriving, Annat’s brother Malchik disappears. Annat and Yuda’s search for Malchik will take them on a strange journey through a mystical land of winter, where they must find Malchik and stop the evil being responsible for the town’s troubles.

This was an interesting and well-crafted fantasy. The story exists in a slightly offset historical Russia/Eastern Europe, with a good dose of Judaism and Jewish mysticism. The Russian fairy-tale setting is in vogue at the moment, with books such as The Bear and the Nighingale by Katherine Arden, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo creating well-deserved buzz. Rydill’s inclusion of Jewish history, religion, and folklore set her book apart and add a touch of realism and historical grounding in a fantasy tale.

In all, the book is well written. The character of Annat is well-realized, sometimes to the detriment of the other characters, who can feel a bit flat. The journey through the fairy-tale realm borrows from Eastern European and Russian folklore, and is for the most part exciting and fun reading. I did find that the book began to drag a bit towards the end, but overall I found Children of the Shaman a diverting fantasy.

Fans of the fantasy genre, especially those who enjoyed The Bear and the Nnightingale or Shadow and Bone will likely enjoy this book. Anyone looking for a fantasy featuring a strong female lead (Children of the Shaman reminds me a lot of The Green Rider by Kristen Britain) shoudl also consider this book for their TBR.

A copy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
irregularreader | 2 autres critiques | Sep 23, 2017 |
Cette critique a été rédigée par l'auteur .
From Amazon:
"Several years after the events recounted in CHILDREN OF THE SHAMAN, Annat and Malchik's story continues in THE GLASS MOUNTAIN. Some semblance of normality has returned to their lives - but this is shattered when the crows return to Masalyar and it appears that dark shamanic forces are at work once more ...

Set in a world both familiar and fantastical, THE GLASS MOUNTAIN is a wonderfully atmospheric and refreshingly different fantasy novel that will captivate readers."
 
Signalé
JessicaRydill | Jun 5, 2017 |
Cette critique a été rédigée par l'auteur .
When their aunt is taken ill, thirteen-year old Annat and her brother are sent from their small coastal town to live with their unknown father. Like Annat, Yuda is a Shaman; a Wanderer with magical powers, able to enter other worlds. As Annat learns more about her powers, the children join their father on a remarkable train journey to the frozen north and find a land of mystery and intrigue, threatened by dark forces and beset by senseless murders that have halted construction of a new tunnel. But Annat’s doll, her only remembrance of her dead mother, may hold a dark secret - and when her brother Malchik is kidnapped, Annat and her father must travel onwards to find him before it is too late.

Between uncertain allies, shadowed enemies and hostile surroundings, it is only in the magical kingdom of La Souterraine that they can find answers - and it may be that only a Shaman can save the family and the Goddess.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
JessicaRydill | 2 autres critiques | Jun 5, 2017 |
Cette critique a été rédigée pour LibraryThing Member Giveaways.
Malarat by Jessica Rydill

Malarat by Jessica Rydill has a distant, yet entertaining quality. It holds readers just at arm’s length, as the tons of old society held those viewed as “beneath” just on the outside, so that the general masses could watch the upper-crust revelry, but know he or she was not welcome to join in the fun. The language tends to be overdone at times, which can put some readers off, but such stoic stance can be expected out of the work’s chosen format.

The characters are strong and clear, the Duc de Malarat being the title character. Although, there does not seem to be one character singled out for favor in the reader’s eyes. Malarat is also the territory run by the Duc de Malarat. Characters and the plot in Rydill’s work are sectioned-off by location.

The work is written in third person, and is evocative of play formatting. In truth, it is a play without being a play. Shakespearian fans will find the flow highly reminiscent. True to such a format, the front of the book includes a “glossary of unusual words” followed by a list of characters. In this hefty book, there is intrigue, politics, the threat of war on top of wars already being waged under the surface.

Rydill’s work is interesting and intricately put together. The play format and its subsequent idiosyncrasies may put some readers off, but then, a number of individuals shy from classics due to one aspect or another. Yet, each classic tale is still a part of today’s literary world because others find them enchanting and engrossing.
… (plus d'informations)
1 voter
Signalé
cmtruxler | 2 autres critiques | Oct 4, 2013 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
6
Aussi par
2
Membres
118
Popularité
#167,490
Évaluation
4.0
Critiques
7
ISBN
11
Langues
1
Favoris
1

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