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Patricia A. McKillip
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The Sorceress and the Cygnet Paperback – Import, May 8, 1992

by Patricia A. McKillip (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 130 ratings
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Corleu was different from the typical dark-haired Wayfolk. His blond hair and his fascination with the legends and children's rhymes about the Cygnets, Gold King, Blind Lady, Dancer, and Warlock set him apart.When Corleu and a band of Wayfolk become trapped in an endless swamp, he crosses a threshold (an unthinkable act for Wayfolk) seeking a means of escape. This impetuous act puts him on a collision course with the legends of his childhood. This is not a simple novel. The intricately woven plot laced with surrealist qualities will appeal to mature fantasy lovers.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    242 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pan Books
  4. Publication date
    May 8, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    6.97 x 0.59 x 4.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    033031839X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0330318396
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pan Books; New Ed edition (May 8, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 242 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 033031839X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0330318396
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.97 x 0.59 x 4.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 130 ratings

About the author

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Patricia A. McKillip

Patricia A. McKillip

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Patricia Anne McKillip (born February 29, 1948) is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels, which have been winners of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and the Mythopoeic Award. In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. She lives in Oregon and is married to David Lunde, a poet.

According to Fantasy Book Review, Patricia McKillip grew up in Oregon, Britain, and Germany and received a bachelor of arts in English in 1971 and a master of arts in 1973 from San Jose State University. She has also lived in Roxbury, New York (in around 1999).

Most of her recent novels feature cover paintings by Kinuko Y. Craft.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Stepheng3 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
130 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

gd
5.0 out of 5 stars A dream, as all her best books are.
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018
Verified Purchase
To read this book, is to swim through a dream and when finished to wonder how it is not real.
3 people found this helpful
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Cassandra (Book Blogger)
4.0 out of 5 stars A rich and mythical story
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2010
Patricia A. McKillip's novel, The Sorceress and the Cygnet, may begin with the boy Corleu, but the women of Ro Holding on whom the book ends are what made me love it. Corleu, a boy of questionable heritage, is caught up in stories of the gods -- the Gold King, the Blind Lady, and others -- and literally steps inside their stories, freeing them to renew old battles with one another. He ends up in a many-roomed house in the swamp of the Blood Fox, which is home to the sorceress Nyx, and eventually clashes with Nyx's cousin, Meguet, guardian of the Cygnet as he seeks the Cygnet's heart in exchange for saving the love of his life from the Gold King.

Without giving away the ending, what I like about this book is the richness of the descriptions. You know it's going to be good from the first couple sentences:

"He was a child of the horned moon. That much Corleu's great-gran told him after, pipe between her last few teeth, she washed the mud out of his old man's hair and stood him between her knees to dry it" (1).

This level of specificity & detail is present throughout this brief novel. McKillip offers proof that a novel doesn't have to be long to have substance. She invents myths, rhymes, and family histories that are believably complex and richer than your average monster of a fantasy novel. The narrative works because we discover reality alongside Corleu. While the movement from Corleu's point of view (POV) to Meguet's POV feels abrupt and leaves the book feeling slightly disjointed, I understand why she structured the book this way: without Corleu, readers would have been completely lost. In a way, she uses Corleu to set up not just this book but its sequel,  The Cygnet and the Firebird , which continues the women's POV and, in my opinion, is a stronger story that nevertheless would be difficult to understand without reading this one first. Enjoy!

Check out more of my reviews at [...]
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed the story from this author. The story keeps your interest and carries you right along with it.
One person found this helpful
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Kira R. Signer
3.0 out of 5 stars She has done better
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
McKillip is one of my favorites, and I endlessly re-read the half dozen of her novels I have on Kindle for the creative urgency of her plots, the amazing characters, the deep understanding of longing, and her rare ability to tell us about them in a way that is clear and inevitable and poetic. This is not that.

In this book, I found it difficult to see why things mattered or even sometimes to know what was going on. The great characters and the beautiful poetry are still there, only it seems as though the book's idiom might be in a private language the author keeps with herself.

It's average work from a usually stellar author. Get a different one.
One person found this helpful
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hart
5.0 out of 5 stars mesmerizing story
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2015
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A magical, wonderful story, filled with enchanting characters, ancient powers, timeless love. Patricia McKillip writes like no other and builds spells with her words.
One person found this helpful
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Chris Aura
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for in the great story telling by Patricia A.Mckillip. It's a book that's had to put down.
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book I compare to Ombria in Shadow and In the Forests of Serre which are my favorites from Patricia A. Mckillip.
One person found this helpful
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Michael Harwood
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2017
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One of McKillip's best!
2 people found this helpful
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Michael B
2.0 out of 5 stars kindle ebook edition marred by section break rendering
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book uses section breaks to switch scenes, especially toward the climax of the story. Unfortunately the kindle ebook edition doesn't render these section breaks properly on the iOS/iPadOS kindle apps. These section breaks render ok on reader.amazon.com and on the MacOS kindle app, but are invisible on iOS/iPadOS. This problem impairs readability and is likely to confuse readers.

This list is probably incomplete:

• p178: section break between "remember you" and "The web".
• p184: section break between "Midnight" and "She rode".
• p190: section break between "Help us" and "The Gatekeeper".
• p197: section break between "seemed to shift" and "Meguet and Nyx".
• p209: section break between "name her" and "Nyx".
• p216: section break between "Cygnet flew" and "Corleu saw".
• p225: section break between "Cygnet's eye" and "The Holder".
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic
Reviewed in Canada on April 3, 2020
Verified Purchase
Unique story with many twists. Author understands the often strange and dark pathways of the drive for knowledge and the even stranger voyage to love.
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