I was not a huge fan of the way characters spoke, and I especially didn’t like how differently Maerad spoke than other characters. That’s probably not even the right word to use, but that’s the only thing I can think of to describe it.
The one thing that held me back from complete enjoyment of the book was the writing style, which was too old-fashioned. However, the world was much better developed than many similar fantasies I’ve read, and I could tell Croggon put a lot of thought into it. The magic is unexplained and described only as “the Gift,” with very little to show how it works or what it does. There’s the standard Light and Dark concept, with the standard Evil Villain. Though much having to do with the politics and culture of the world is ignored, Croggon has developed the Bard part of the world well, with its own language and customs, and the whole legend of the world is also done well, if a bit trope-y. Of course, it’s not nearly as vast or extensive as Tolkien made the Lord of the Rings. Anyway, on the back cover, Tamora Pierce describes The Naming as Tolkienesque, and that is definitely apparent in the book. To be honest, the thing that I most remembered was the “let’s pretend this book was an actual historical document that’s been translated” gimmick. Anyway, the whole book seemed hauntingly familiar, though I barely remembered anything of the plot. And I don’t quite remember if I actually finished reading the series, though I think I did.
I’ve actually read this series before, something I realized once I started, but it was long enough ago that I only remember bits and pieces. Rating: 3/5 After devouring Sharon Shinn and Kate Constable, I immediately went on the hunt for more 2000s fantasy and found Alison Croggon’s Book of Pellinor quartet. The Naming, by Alison Croggon, was published in 2002 by Candlewick.
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