Reviewer:Imhiriel Date:02/10/06
The spare, even austere style has a piercing clarity like the rare air in those mountains. The repetitions of certain passages, the word order, which seems at first glance drab or awkward, is in fact very effective, and fits the epic style of the story: It insinuates the words in the reader's mind like a chant, gaining power as they are repeated.
The flow and rhythm of the narrator's voice is actually rather suitable to be read aloud (an observation which doesn't come to me often or naturally, and which caught me by surprise myself), I sometimes could very well imagine a bard like the one in the story actually telling it, like a saga. So, it further evokes and illustrates the framework of the story - very effective.
Very, very good example of the style informing and supporting the voice of the story.
I like the portrayal of the difficult, unaccomodating Harper with his genius and his bitterness and his secrets.
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[2] The Harper by:JunoMagic
Reviewer:Larner Date:12/04/07
My first introduction to the image of the blind harper was in Rosemary Sutcliff's "Warrior Scarlet," which to this day remains one of my favorite books. And this look at perhaps Maglor coming to the high village to entertain for the winter, the reluctance with which he was greeted, the glory with how he was allowed to leave with a cloak fit for kings and the following of a boy intent on becoming a harper himself, is marvelous.
Thank you.
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