Peter S. Beagle
The Innkeeper's Song (1993)
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Genre: Fantasy
Plot Summary:
After Tikat witness his beloved Lukassa's death and resurrection, he follows Lukassa and Lal, the woman who brought her back from the dead. The two women eventually pick up a third woman, Nyateneri, and settle at an inn. Tikat follows the trial of a man-fox who brings him to the inn. While at the inn, the characters begin to understand of who is persuing whom and why, and Lal and Nyateneri begin a quest to destroy the enemy of their magician teacher, all while being purused by an assassin. This is the story of a battle, but it mostly tells of the power of love, death, evil, and magic. SPOILER: Nyateneri is actually a man.
Geographical Setting: The Gaff and Slasher Inn outside Corcorua, other imaginary lands
Time Period: Alternative Past
Appeal Characteristics:
Although there is a definite plot of a journey and battle, the story is primarily about its comples characters. Written with chapters narrated by various characters, the characterization is well-done. The three main characters are powerful women, but their interactions with male lovers, enemies, and teachers are important to the plot. The tone is intense and dark as the main characters fight the forces that attempt destroy them, but it also has a philosophical tone about the meaning of life, death, and love. There is an evocative tone as the author powerfully describes the various characters and their motivations as well as their languages, lands, and histories. The setting is a fantasy world where cultures and languages are described more eloquently than locations. Much of the story takes place in an inn but characters often venture into the outlying lands on quests. The pace is measured because actions develop steadily yet sometimes slowly. Because of the unique narration (multiple chapters by multiple narrators) events (and relevations to the reader) unfold in their own time making the pace seem particularly deliberate. The writing style that of an elegant and lyrical storyteller, as the author describes the songs and feelings of the main characters. There is a sense of magic that is infused within the story.
Read-alikes: Fans of Beagle may enjoy his earlier work, A Fine and Private Place. This story about two ghosts who fall in love and a recluse who befriends them has well-drawn characters and an elegant beautifully written writing style. Readers may also enjoy Carolyn Kephart's Wysard. The wysard Ryel must save his kingdom and the world from the forces that are sapping the magic from the air. Like The Innkeeper's Song this book has complex characters and a lyrical storyteller style. Writer Guy Gavriel Kay shares Beagle's lyrical, elegant style, and fans of The Innkeeper's Song may want to explore Kay's Tigana. Tigana is a world destroyed by a warrior sorcerer, but several survivors of the land wage a battle to overthrow the rulers who destroyed it. Like The Innkeeper's Song, Tigana also has complex characters and a setting that includes complicated, memorable cultures. Greer Illene Girlman's Moonwise. During a ritual Sylvie suddenly vanishes and her friend Ariane must journey on a quest to find her. Moonwise shares the elegant style of Beagle's but makes it more complex and convoluted yet worthy of deconstruction. It also has an intense tone similar to that of The Innkeeper's Song. Patricia McKillip's trilogy of the Riddle-Master is available in one book containing the stories: , Heir of Sea and Fire, and Harpist in the Wind. These tell the story of the journeys of a young prince in a strange land that may witness the rebirth of magic. It has a lyrical style, well-drawn characters, and a sense of intricate magic.
Red Flags: Sexual situations and some not particularly graphic violence.
The Last Unicorn (1968)
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Genre: Fantasy (High Fantasy)
Plot Summary:
Peter S. Beagle’s classic begins in a lilac wood, where a lone unicorn sees two hunters. The unicorn is startled to hear one man say that she is the last unicorn in the world, and she soon sets out to find other unicorns. Along the way she meets Schmendrick, a magician with imperfect skills and a feisty peasant woman, Molly Grue. When a mysterious Red Bull is revealed as the culprit behind the disappearing unicorns, the trio sets out to find it. Their quest eventually leads them to a crumbling seaside castle, home of King Haggard, his son, Lìr, and the terrifying Red Bull. SPOILER: On their way to the castle, the unicorn is discovered and pursued by the Red Bull. In an effort to save her, Schmendrick transforms her into a human, with some doubt that he can ever change her back again.
Geographical Setting: England
Time Period: Medieval
Appeal Characteristics:
The characters of The Last Unicorn are memorable, likeable and varied. With personalities ranging from sensitive and sweet to warped and cruel, each character brings something unique to the story. Beagle succeeds in conveying the personalities of even minor characters in just a few pages. The quick pace, together with tense, lively action scenes, keeps the reader interested as the story builds. The straightforward, linear story of the unicorn’s quest is combined with touches of philosophy about love and what it means to be human. The story also includes elements of magic and mythology, without overpowering the story. Rather than create a new world, Beagle sets his story in an apparently n
onspecific, medieval country with only the slightest hints that this place is, in fact, England. Beagle’s tone is appropriately nostalgic and bittersweet for a book dealing with the last of a species. His style is surprisingly poetic, and Beagle employs numerous metaphors and similes to convey the characters’ feelings and experiences.
Read-alikes: The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany tells the story of a human that seeks to marry an elf princess. Readers the enjoyed the poetic style, limited world building and mismatched romance of The Last Unicorn may enjoy this 1924 classic. Another fantasy classic, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, retells the story of King Arthur, beginning with his birth. Readers that enjoyed the medieval, English setting and magical elements of The Last Unicorn should investigate this title. Richard Adams’s Watership Down is about a group of rabbits on a long journey to find a new, safer home. While the species may be very different, like The Last Unicorn this book combines a straightforward story with philosophy and has a similar bittersweet tone. The Name of the Wind by new author Patrick Rothfuss is about a young boy’s development into a powerful wizard and his trials along the way. Readers that enjoyed the magical aspect of The Last Unicorn as well as its lively pace may enjoy this book, especially since Rothfuss himself recommends The Last Unicorn to readers. Tanith Lee’s Black Unicorn is the first in a trilogy that starts with a girl accidentally bringing a unicorn to life and the ensuing quest to get the unicorn back to its own land. Like The Last Unicorn Lee’s book features a female protagonist and an evocative writing style (and a unicorn, of course), with a more young adult bent.
Red Flags: Some violence and mild language
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