Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip
Fantasy Masterworks series. Gollanz, 2014. ISBN:
9781473205741.
(Age: 15+) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy, Sorcerers, Princes
and princesses.
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (2003), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
for Adult Literature (2003). This award winning novel is a feast for
the fantasy lover, one for those who wants a challenge and something
different. Ombria is a strange place with a palace riddled with
secret passages and rooms. Buried beneath the city is a shadow city,
inhabited by ghosts and Mag, a waxling created by Faey, a powerful
sorceress. When the Prince of Ombria dies he leaves only a very
young son, Kyel, and Domina Pearl, a ruthless old woman, takes over
the kingdom as regent. She expels Lydea, the Prince's mistress,
leaving her to die. But Mag saves her and together with Ducon, the
prince's bastard nephew, they try to overcome Domina Pearl's evil
intentions and save Kyel.
Written in beautiful prose, Ombria in shadow brings to life a
strange world on many levels. The reader is taken on a wondrous trip
through dusty passages with strange doors in the palace, and on a
further journey through the city with Ducon as he draws shadowy
doors and eerie buildings. There is mystery about the worlds that
McKillip describes; there is even mystery about the ending and the
reader has to pause and reread to find understanding of the
connectedness of the worlds and of Mag and Ducon's role in them. And
the magic described is original and fascinating.
The love that Ducon and Lydea have for young Kyel is central to the
book and glows throughout. It is refreshing to have the love for a
child as the main theme rather than romantic love. The idea of
loyalty to those who are loved is also one to explore and ponder
over, especially that of Mag and Faey, who discovers love for her
waxling.
It is easy to see why Ombria in Shadow is still in print
after so many years. It is a perplexing, demanding and lyrical book
that will keep the reader thinking long after it is finished.
Pat Pledger