Windhaven

I read this book many, many years ago and loved it dearly. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for engaging characters and a good story. I'm long overdue to give this one another read.

In the world of Windhaven, freedom lies in wings. The area is composed of islands, some farther from others. Ships take time to travel and can't risk the open seas due to storms or fierce sea monsters. To relay messages quickly, the people of the islands rely on flyers, those born into wings. Maris is a young land-born girl who loves to watch the flyers. And by chance, she is taken in by one and is allowed to use the wings, learning to fly as she grows older. But because she wasn't born into the family, her younger brother is the one who must take them. "Windhaven" is divided into three central stories (as well as an introduction and epilogue) detailing the life of Maris as she changes the world, for better or for worse. She dreams of being a flyer and will go through anything to achieve that dream. She loves flying, and the threat of that freedom being taken away frightens her. This is a very touching book. For one thing, realizing how much Maris loves flying and then realizing how it's going to be taken from her is heart-breaking. Characters have real personalities and are very diverse. Maris meets friends and foes of both flyers and land-bound, trying to sort out the problems of her world and the barriers between people, even at the threat of death and exile. The book also touched me in a different way, as it described Maris's flights. One of my old childhood fantasies was to have wings and be able to fly, to feel the air around me and see everything below. This book grabbed onto the old love and pulled it out into the open, making the story all the more endearing. There's a lot of garbage fantasy among books. Much of it is very bad. I was very pleased to find this book so well-written, original, and enchanting. George Martin and Lisa Tuttle definitely know how to make a good fantasy story: Blend the fantastic ideas into the characters. The flights across Windhaven are the fantasy and that is what Maris loves above all else. Characters are the most important aspect of a good story, and "Windhaven" is more than that. It's an excellent one.

I had read this book 20 years ago and had almost forgotten how wonderful it is. After just rereading it i cant emphasize what a unique story it is. It is more like Biography of a fantasy character as it starts out with a young girl running on a beach watching "the flyers", to her becoming one against all odds, and then reluctantly having to give flying up due to life and then her old age near the very beach she used to run on. All done at a great pace and with heartfelt emotion. Its true that its not Song of Ice and Fire, but anyone who has read GRR Martin's stories will surely enjoy this one. (It Reminded me of "With Morning Comes Mistfall") Buy this book, and get ready to Fly... Relic113

The planet WINDHAVEN has no large land continents. Instead it consists of a series of islands with some grouped in clusters. When the colonists landed there, they built homes on the more habitable isles and soon a low-level technology formed that adapted to the geography. Flyers also appeared as the settlers compensated for the planet's environment by allowing some individuals to have silver tip wings to fly from island to island with messages.Over time the landsmen came to revere the flyer as the wings pass from parent to oldest child in a primogeniture manner. This system apparently works well and is accepted by all until a flyer adopts a girl, Maris. When he could no longer use his silver tip wings, he gives them to his beloved Maris. However, when her stepfather sires a son with her adopted mother, Maris is supposed to return the wings, but she refuses. Instead she demands a flyer council convene so that she can make her case to keep her wings and in doing so changes the social structure of her world.WINDHAVEN was first published two decades ago, but like any well-written novel, it passes the test of time and remains fresh as if it is a brand new book. The Anne McCaffrey crowd will find the tale reminiscent of the Pern books. The planet seems real and the technology evolves as form adapts to the reality of the world. Science fiction and fantasy readers will want to soar with the flyers through this enjoyable tale.Harriet Klausner