Drowntide

Drowntide is a really great adventure novel with a lot of imagination put into it. It inspired me to work on my own fantasy material! If you love the ocean and it's dark secrets, you'll be enchanted by this book. The strange beings in this novel aren't exactly mermaids, but just as mysterious and fascinating! VERY WELL WRITTEN. I'll never forget it.

Drowntide is a lyrical little book which tells us about Keiris and his coming of age. He is the youngest son of powerful Queen Amelyor. She alone has the power to sound the horns and guide ships back safely to port. When her daughter and heir apparent Nandyris is killed, she sends Keiris on a quest to bring the kingdom a new heir. Without an heir who can use the horns, Hyosis would eventually be at the mercy of the unforgiving sea. Scyoc, always an inventive and engaging writer, has delivered a book that avoids the usual fantasy plots and clichés. Drowntide lacks swords, bad guys, and stereotyped monsters. Keiris' coming of age depends instead on coming to terms with his own fears and the relationship that he ultimately will accept with the sea. Scyoc is sadly out of print these days. I first encountered her work when I read Sunwaifs (1981) and it immediately become one of my early speculative fiction favorites. Drowntide, published in 1987, was one of her last novels. Fans of her work should be aware that Scyoc has once again started writing and has had two short stories published-- one in 2004 and one in 2005. Perhaps we have a new novel to hope for? If you can find a copy of Drowntide, I highly recommend that you give it a try. It should appeal to fans of writers like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mary Doria Russell.

With a terse evocative style and uncommon lyricality, Van Scyoc breathes life into a coming-of-age store about my favorite subject: a person in denial forced to realize the truth about his character. Tragically all her books are out of print! Why?

This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. I am very sad to see her books are all out of print. This one is full of her beautiful writing and images of the sea. It's a sort of twist on the selkie legends with a flavor all its own. A young man sets out on a sea journey of self discovery and finds his unknown father who lives IN the sea... Fans of McKillip, McCaffrey, and McKinley will enjoy this author!