Chalice

McKinley has been one of my favorite authors since I was a teenager. I was thrilled to see a new book from her, and in the same mystical vein as some of her earlier works. What a lovely story. I checked this out from the library at first, but after reading it realized I wanted to own it.

A young untrained beekeeper is chosen as the land's Chalice, after the previous Chalice suffered a harsh and sudden death while dabbling in forbidden magic. A new Master is also chosen to heal the land, and he isn't completely human. Mirasol, the new Chalice tends to her bees, who are yielding enormous amounts of honey, and tries to learn her duties with the aid of ancient books and manuscripts. Will she and the new Master succeed in foiling the schemes of their greedy overlord? Can they heal their land and gain the respect of its people? Every stream, every gesture, every bee, every sentence in "Chalice" is filled a new and beautiful kind of earth magic. McKinley's half-wild, untrained sorceress reminded me a bit of Andre Norton's witches, but hers is not a land of half-awakened evil like Norton's Escore. Rather it is a magically abused land crying out for love and healing. This is a uniquely beautiful fantasy.

One of my chief complaints with some of Ms. McKinley's other works, like Spindles End, has been the deus ex machina endings. I found the story enjoyable, playing on a theme of "The Lord is the Land, and the Land is the Lord," and the ending in keeping with the rest of the story. I usually find Ms. McKinley's stories hard to sum up without spoiling key elements. So let me just say I borrowed Chalice from the library and enjoyed it enough to purchase my own copy, even given my limited living space.

Robin McKinley debuted with a fleshed-out retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," and later followed it up with ANOTHER retelling. And after a few books about dragons and vampires, McKinley returns to her old territory -- she spins up a vaguely medieval tale of a woodland beauty and a charred "beast" entirely out of her own imagination. McKinley's sumptuous prose and her depiction of a "living" land add an extra dimension to a straightforward little love story that drips with sweetness. Some months ago, the decadent Master of Willowlands and his Chalice were killed in a fire. The new Chalice is Mirasol, whose duty is to fill ceremonial cups and help bind the land. But then the late Master's little brother arrives from the priests of Fire -- charred black and no longer entirely human. Mirasol is determined to do the best job she can for the new Master, when she isn't tending a woodland cottage covered in bees. Unfortunately the land is still unsettled despite her joint efforts with the Master, especially since his strange behavior frightens his people. In the course of her duty, Mirasol soon gets to know her new Master -- he's quiet, kind, worried about burning people, and confused by the world he had almost forgotten. But as he struggles to keep his land balanced, the Overlord begins to scheme to put a new Master in Willowlands -- one that will do whatever he wishes. With her role as Chalice and her power over bees, Mirasol must find a way to save her beloved Master... You wouldn't think that such a slender novel could have such a richly imagined world, where metaphysical bonds link the Master and Chalice to the very land itself. Not only does Robin McKinley conjure such a world in "Chalice," but she also wrought an intricate web of politics and tradition around the ritual roles. Poor Mirasol, trying to navigate her new role. And McKinley's prose is as sweet and thick as Mirasol's honey ("the great windows were still twilight grey..."), but filled with a slightly bittersweet feeling. And she crams the novel with rural splendour -- trees, little cottages, old dusty books -- as well as anything having to do with bees and beekeeping. When Mirasol is with her books in the woodright, McKinley's writing takes on an exquisitely mystical edge (albeit a quieter one than her Chalice duties). But once the Overlord's little plan comes into play, McKinley also interweaves a sense of dread and foreboding, which gets worse as the story creeps toward the inevitable clash. If there's a flaw in the story, it's that the bees serve a slightly deus-ex-machinesque function for the Master. However, the heart of this story is the growing love story between two young people who are unsure how to do their jobs, and fear that they are failing. Mirasol and the Master (whose name is only revealed late in the book) are wonderfully realistic characters, and Mirasol's stumbles and struggles make her seem like a totally realistic country girl suddenly given a great task.

Reviewed by Neha Kashmiri (age 14) for Reader Views (8/08) Born and raised as a beekeeper and a woodskeeper, Mirasol is surprised when the rods chose her as the new Chalice. As Chalice she is the second most important member after the Master. The new Master of Willowlands is a Priest of Fire, whose touch can burn a human's flesh and who hasn't been in the Willowlands for seven years. His brother's sudden death brings him back to the human world, but can he and the new Chalice fix all the harm of the previous Master?--especially when most of the other Circle members are afraid of the new Master. Even when it seems that the Willowlands can be restored, the Overlord declares an outblood Heir. Inadvertently, Mirasol gives her support to the new Heir and only finds out when it's too late. The Chalice soon learns that the only way an outblood Master can not disrupt the land is if she marries the Heir. Mirasol doesn't support the Heir much less wish to marry him . . . or bear his child. Then, when it seems that things can get no worse, a faenorn, a fight to the death, is declared. How can the new Master defeat the new Heir when he cannot even pick up a sword? Mirasol has to help anyway she can; but how can she if helping the Master would only get her in trouble with the Heir? I have only read one other book by Robin McKinley ("Beauty") and it had set my expectations high. "Chalice" met every single one of them. Ms. McKinley sets up a new world and new characters beautifully. The bees and the honey are nice touches which wrap up the story beautifully. "Chalice" is highly recommended to fans of fantasy.