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Dickinson, Peter
10 Reviews
(2)
YA
Dickinson completes the series of "elemental" tales he began with his wife Robin McKinley (Water; Fire). Though links to the theme can be tenuous, these six new stories are provocative in both variety and ideas. Suspenseful, frequently violent, sometimes comic, and with Dickinson's usual command of imaginative imagery and beautifully tooled language, this is a fitting capstone to the series.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2012
(2)
YA
As in Water, Dickinson and McKinley each contribute fantasy short stories united by an element, this time fire. The two writers' talents are well matched, creating a volume that's even in tone and quality while introducing novelty with every story opening. Dickinson's offerings are notable for their sophisticated magical thinking and subtlety of expression; McKinley's for down-to-earth truths and emotional resonance.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2009
(2)
YA
In a land dominated by soulless Watchers, Maja searches for a magician with the power to disband them. Her only clues come from a story (told in The Ropemaker). Dickinson keeps readers engaged with his original variation on how magic works, political complications, and Maja's developing romance. The author's command of language treats readers to robust descriptions and rolling narration.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2007
(2)
4-6
In this believable family story, stroke-victim Grandad gives Gavin's hand a faint squeeze each time he hears the word selkie. Gavin wears himself out trying to build on that reaction, culminating in a remarkable interior portrait of Grandad's utter confusion, as Gavin finds his consciousness fused with the old man's. Their intimate inner negotiation--possibly facilitated by a selkie--enables Grandad to make a first step toward recovery.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2004
(2)
4-6
Alfredo's family has just perished in a catastrophic fire, and the cathedral priests are pressuring the boy to preserve his singing voice by submitting to castration (acceptable in eighteenth-century Italy). Instead, mysterious Uncle Giorgio spirits him away to the ancestral home where much is amiss. With its dramatic, beautifully described setting, intricate supernatural mystery, and hairsbreadth escapes, the story is mesmerizing.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2003
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Ian Andrew.
Dickinson's Kin series, Suth's Story, Noli's Story, Po's Story, and Mana's Story, novels about four prehistoric children, are published here in one edition. Interspersed among the chapters of these survival stories are pourquoi tales that provide a folkloric heritage and belief system for the Kin and also explain character motivation.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
(2)
YA
In this collection of alternating short fantasies, the stories take their directive loosely enough (oceans, a tidal river, a desert pool) to present a diverse and satisfying whole. Both writers' tendency to luxuriate in the conventions of fantasy is a strength in many of the stories. Readers versed in these writers' work will recognize familiar themes and references; newcomers will find scope for imagination; and all will be richly rewarded.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2002
(2)
YA
For twenty generations, Tilja's family has performed a ritual to renew the forest sickness that protects their valley from invasion. When the magic begins to fade, Tilja and three others begin a journey to find the magician Faheel and ask him to renew his original spell. Dickinson provides the travelers with a wealth of adventure that keeps the narrative moving; the conclusion matches the promise of the ambitious framework.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2001
(3)
4-6
The Kin series.
In two prehistoric survival stories, Suth and Noli are children belonging to the Kin, a two-hundred-thousand-year-old human society. When their group of Kin abandons four recently orphaned young children, Suth and Noli decide to go back and rescue them. Pourquoi stories that alternate with the chapters provide a folkloric heritage and belief system for the Kin and also explain character motivation.
Reviewer: Daniel Brabander
(3)
4-6
The Kin series.
In two prehistoric survival stories, Suth and Noli are children belonging to the Kin, a two-hundred-thousand-year-old human society. When their group of Kin abandons four recently orphaned young children, Suth and Noli decide to go back and rescue them. Pourquoi stories that alternate with the chapters provide a folkloric heritage and belief system for the Kin and also explain character motivation.
Reviewer: Daniel Brabander
10 reviews
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