Scan barcode
A review by shanaqui
Chalice by Robin McKinley
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I think this is the fifth time I've read Chalice now; it's an enchanting, gentle read, one which has plenty of trappings of high fantasy, and yet feels like a cosy slice-of-life romance in some ways. (Not that you should consider this book a romance -- that's not what I'm saying.) There's a lot of world-building: the main character, Mirasol, has inherited the role of Chalice during a troubled time in her home demesne, where the very land is crying out in tortured pain. Her duty as Chalice is to bind the people and the land together, stop the land crying, and support the work of the Master and the other people who guard and guide the demesne.
A tall order, you'd think, and especially so because normally a Chalice has training... but due to the circumstances, Mirasol has not. Worse, most people who take up the role have an affinity with water, or wine. Blood or milk are known as well. But Mirasol holds her Chalicehood in honey, because she's a beekeeper.
The book follows Mirasol as she tries to fit into her role, and help the new Master fit in as well. He has his own set of problems: he was sent away to become a priest of fire, meaning that he's literally become fire in some ways. He risks hurting people when he tries to touch them, his senses are changed, and it's difficult for him to walk and move like ordinary people. Mirasol thinks he's the best possible choice for the demesne, but the people are frightened of him, sometimes even the people who are meant to work right beside him.
The magic of this book for me is that Mirasol's own magic is homely. She mixes a little honey into water, uses honey with different properties to cure things like headaches, sprinkles a little honey into a great gaping crack in the land to help it close through the blessing of the Chalice's honey... She works with and thinks about her bees constantly, and they play a huge part in the story. She's a simple woodskeeper, originally, and that comes through in how she thinks, what she chooses to do, and she remains deeply committed to her role despite all her worries and barriers.
I say this every time, but I originally gave the book just three stars. But it stuck in my mind, and I returned to increase the rating to 4 without even reading it again. Every reread since has been five stars, simple as that. It's a book that feels like hope and comfort, something sweet to set against everyday concerns and complaints.
A tall order, you'd think, and especially so because normally a Chalice has training... but due to the circumstances, Mirasol has not. Worse, most people who take up the role have an affinity with water, or wine. Blood or milk are known as well. But Mirasol holds her Chalicehood in honey, because she's a beekeeper.
The book follows Mirasol as she tries to fit into her role, and help the new Master fit in as well. He has his own set of problems: he was sent away to become a priest of fire, meaning that he's literally become fire in some ways. He risks hurting people when he tries to touch them, his senses are changed, and it's difficult for him to walk and move like ordinary people. Mirasol thinks he's the best possible choice for the demesne, but the people are frightened of him, sometimes even the people who are meant to work right beside him.
The magic of this book for me is that Mirasol's own magic is homely. She mixes a little honey into water, uses honey with different properties to cure things like headaches, sprinkles a little honey into a great gaping crack in the land to help it close through the blessing of the Chalice's honey... She works with and thinks about her bees constantly, and they play a huge part in the story. She's a simple woodskeeper, originally, and that comes through in how she thinks, what she chooses to do, and she remains deeply committed to her role despite all her worries and barriers.
I say this every time, but I originally gave the book just three stars. But it stuck in my mind, and I returned to increase the rating to 4 without even reading it again. Every reread since has been five stars, simple as that. It's a book that feels like hope and comfort, something sweet to set against everyday concerns and complaints.