Reviews

The Naming by Alison Croggon

tckcallahan's review against another edition

5.0

Love this series. Has been a long time favorite of mine and I thoroughly enjoy rereading it again. As with Maerad and Cadvan. Music will always be my home.

thistledownhair's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

cielbear's review against another edition

2.0

It didnt seem to intrest me at all..kind of bad to say, but I will try to pick it up again later.

fai_aka's review against another edition

3.0

The first half of the book is quite slow-paced, but then things started to get interesting

badseedgirl's review against another edition

3.0

I have made it no real secret that I have a long standing and complicated love-hate relationship with Fantasy novels. So it was with some trepidation, I started The Gift or The Naming as the copy I read was titled by Alison Croggon. My main problem with fantasy is Faeries, or The Fey, The People, whatever you want to call them. I’m annoyed by them, light, dark I find them all to be annoying.

Imagine how pleased I was to find a fantasy novel with only the slightest hint of the Faeries. Now I am positive that if I was to continue with this series, it would become just lousy with fairies, that is just how fantasy novels work, but for this one at least, very little fairies, Yeah!

That alone deserves,

3 of 5 stars.

betharanova's review against another edition

5.0

This book is truly a blessing that aligns with the desires of my heart. It is loving and full of friendship, yet it doesn't flinch in the face of anger or darkness. The prose is thoughtful and enveloping; it's taught me a lot about how to slow down and be descriptive in my own writing. I love so many of the characters, but especially Maerad and Cadvan. The magic has that deep, old feeling that only comes with the best of the best fantasy books. Also, it's got an academic foreword, a map, and a language guide. I'm swooning.

callmeren's review against another edition

5.0

This is the third time I've read this and it's as beautiful as ever. Though now that I'm older and with more awareness, I can see some of its flaws now, like major description-itis, what people might call info dumps, and interesting coincidences. But really, all that does is mark it as a beautiful book that could have only been written in its time--hopeful, nuanced, and deceptively simplistic. The description may be long, but it's vivid and it isn't overbearing. It paints the beauty of the scenery in detailed strokes. The lore of the world is fascinating for being told through myth and "song," and are always delivered like lessons, so I gorge on them like candy. Knowing what comes next only makes me more excited to read more.

Reading this book makes me want to write a book like it, even if I know publishers probably wouldn't see value in this style of prose today. Tragic. It's one of the series that has influenced me the most as a writer.

ladyofthegreatlakes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

authoraugust's review against another edition

4.0

Let's hear it for another excellent find from the Kindle Daily Deal! I don't usually go in for high fantasy - it leaves me squirming because I can never bring myself to care about something on such a grand scale; I'm a sucker for the individual and the details - but I'm glad I gave Croggon's book a chance. Maerad is a pretty good protagonist, certainly better than many in high fantasy I've read or read about, and Croggon's writing is luscious. Sometimes it's obvious she's a poet, when the detail goes overboard and fills space, but most of the time she uses description so deftly and tweaks common turns of phrase to mean something new and fresh, placing you right in the center of her fantastical world. I didn't like how quickly the story ended, after it had just gotten ramped up, but to be fair that's kind of the mark of high fantasy: a lot of build-up in the early parts with not a lot of action (very Fellowship of the Ring like that, The Naming was). All in all, a solid read, and enjoyable enough that even when it refused to download to my Kindle, I read it on my iPhone screen.

kcdcwrites's review against another edition

5.0

Lots of comparisons have been made between this book and [b:the Lord of the Rings|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156043001s/34.jpg|3204327] trilogy. I can see that. I can see that in quite a few different places throughout the books. (At this point in time, I've read the first 3.)

That doesn't negate the fact that it's a damned good book. Maerad is the voice of every girl who has felt left out, and wants to be special. Then, when she finally gets it, has no idea what to do with it. It's a very human reaction.

Epic journey? Check.
Orphaned and enslaved at an early age? Check.
Hot teacher? Check.
New take on magic? Check.
Born instinctively knowing a language? Check.
Intriguing personalities? Check.

In short, this is the book I was looking for where so many had failed. I finished it inside 2 days, and this is no small novel. Highly recommended by the me.