THE NAMING

Too many unnecessary scenes and details. We are treated to a description of nearly every landscape the characters come across. We learn about many different traditions different cultures had. While it helped with the world-building and created a storng fictional world, I think some of this information could have been conveyed without an info-dump. As an extra bonus, readers also get a scene describing Maerad's first period!

Maerad was okay at first, but she quickly became a cliche "Chosen One. Yes, she's sixteen, but she became annoyingly whiny. While not unlikable or annoying like Maerad, he simply didn't feel original or interesting. I liked Hem's character. While his whole view spoiler [being related to Maerad thing hide spoiler ] was completely predictable, he was still one of the most interesting and well-rounded characters in the book.

One thing that bothered me was how the whole "Chosen One" thing played out. While it was blatantly obvious that Maerad was the Chosen One since no good fantasy book was ever about the Non-Chosen One , it was handled poorly. Cadvan spends most of the book speculating that Maerad might be the Chosen One and then it's revealed that she is. We all ready knew she was going to be the Chosen One.

It wasn't a moment of, "Oh, cool! Can we move on now? I've read Croggon is a poet and it shows. She definitely wrote some very beautiful descriptions and lines in this book and the poetry was, for once, not painfully cheesy. However, she would sometimes get waaay too into the whole Ye Old Medieval Tymes talka and it got annoying. Overall, The Naming is not a book I recommend. It was slow-going, plodding, and lacked likable characters. The pace is not too slow, but not too quick. The characters are not too bland, but not too unique. The writing is good but not great. But instead of being the baby bear of fantasy novels, this one ended up being very run of the mill.

I felt like I'd read the story before the danger of reading too much in one genre , with nothing in this book making it really stand out. I eventually got bored with it and stopped reading about two thirds through. Jan 31, Mekerei rated it it was amazing.

The Naming(The Gift)

She is unaware that she possesses a powerful Gift, a Gift that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. Now, she and her teacher Cadvn must survive a perilous journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with st "Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in ar. Now, she and her teacher Cadvn must survive a perilous journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with stem from the deepest recesses of other worldy terror.

I was looking for something new to read and had never heard of Alison Croggon and thought that if I liked it I would go to the library and borrow the rest of the series. I was only at the end of Chapter 1 when I knew that I had to own the series. I was transported into her world and held riveted.

The language used conjures skillful imagines and believable characters. Can't wait to start the next book "The Riddle" I greatly loved reading this one, I kept it on hold for a little while, but now I'm glad I decided to finished it! Now, this is what I call High Fantasy!

The Naming

We follow our protagonist, Maerad, a very helpless slave desperately trying to stay alive in the world of evil, with lovely hidden talents. Then comes Cadvan, who's character is the most inspiring in the entire book! He comes and rescues her from all the slaves who'd like her dead, also tells her about the great gift she possesses. I loved how he decided to take her to his own hometown, and keep her secure He's one of the most generous character's I've read of, as he also agrees to take a boy they meet in a not-so-abandoned house with him, although he gets a bit irritated, who wouldn't?

There was a long way to be traveled in this book, it felt real slow-paced, but I still enjoyed it pretty much, considering all the interesting challenges they come up to on there incredible journey!

Not only was I seduced by the pretty uk version cover of this book which i listened to in a pricey audio format but it came highly recommend, so I really wanted to like this book and its fair to say I did like this book I liked this book very much at the start. The setting in particular. One cant help but wonder how our young Maerad, will escape and what clever way she will find to do so. I found myself imagining the slave settlement a bit like the setting in the Not only was I seduced by the pretty uk version cover of this book which i listened to in a pricey audio format but it came highly recommend, so I really wanted to like this book and its fair to say I did like this book I found myself imagining the slave settlement a bit like the setting in the 90's Amiga game- "another world" But meh - that's how geeks roll.

My first disappointment was the escape scene. I Can't help but feel it could of been done in a more dramatic way, with more imagination. Even the dogs, who could of at least then added the thrill of the chase got closed down just as it got I Would loved to of scene the author really show us something with more depth, or with a bit more edge. Perhaps she does later on in the book? I couldn't finish it. Another negative which is reserved only for the audiobook was the narrator, who did a fine job until they started singing!

Getting back to the story, I found it very unoriginal - "Yawn. You are the chosen one. You happen to own the most priceless musical bard equipment that only legend talks of She saves the world? Mar 25, Ryan rated it liked it. The Naming is from the "coming of age" genre, but is more the "I've gotten through puberty and now am trying to figure out who I am and it would be easier if I were someone magical or famous or something other than I am now". I suppose it is a book of self-discovery, though that isn't quite right either.

The story is fairly straightforward and Potterian. Maerad is an orphan slave girl with some unusual qualities that have kept her from being victimized as most of the young female slaves are. The The Naming is from the "coming of age" genre, but is more the "I've gotten through puberty and now am trying to figure out who I am and it would be easier if I were someone magical or famous or something other than I am now". Then she meets a man in the cow barn who no one else can see - again, she has unusual qualities and they become more and more obvious and important - and he helps her escape.

They face a perilous journey through dark lands together.

Pellinor - Wikipedia

She learns about the Light, the Dark, and a host of other things, that lead her to the discovery of her own place in this world. She is, it turns out, the One of a prophecy and her fate is to save the world. The book is well written and the mythology, language and culture of this world are convincing.

The author deals well with the loss of the security of the known that all young adults must cope with as they move from childhood to adulthood. The loss is all the more difficult for Maerad because she was late to discovering the security that childhood should provide. Simply adjusting to the new perspective of adulthood is difficult enough without having bills and broken cars and other responsibilities thrown at you - or being the fated savior of the world. A bit too much romance for me - but well done and not desperate and negating. I am sad when a young woman can't simply be friends with men - in real life or in literature.

Maerad comes into her powers gradually and fairly believably. It is part of a series and it seems worth reading the next one. May 03, Rusty's Ghost Engine also known as This book was very well written with incredible world building and even an appendix at the back explaining the history of the world further. Which I liked as I always love to get into a good fantasy world, but I felt things could have been edited down a bit. Like the descriptions, I felt this book described non-magical everyday situations in far too much detail when only a brief description was needed. I also felt the characters could have h 2.

I also felt the characters could have had more depth to them as they each had very colourful backgrounds but it didn't feel like there was anything exciting about them personality-wise. The action scenes could have been more suspenseful not to mention more frequent. However on saying that I really did love all the revelations about the characters and world as the story moved along.

I will read the next book but since this one felt like a long haul I won't hurry to the next one. Aug 04, Catherine Ford rated it really liked it Shelves: This book had a very old-fashioned feel to it. By that I mean it was written in a similar fashion to Lord of the Rings. I quite enjoyed it. Full review to come! Nov 30, Shoujo85 rated it did not like it Shelves: Gave it up as not worth reading; couldn't understand why everyone likes it so much?!?

Is there a Happy Ending? But I do recall it kept going on about her period pains and at one point he had to explain the mysteries of womanhood to her… Romance Rating: This was an interesting series to me when I read it. It contained intriguing characters and despite having been set in the YA fiction section it read more like it was targeted at a slightly older readership. Its monsters, its world, its villains and its prophecies were like The Lord of the Rings but were their own creature. I still remember the creatures that were so well described.

And the idea of how the titular character's gift worked was fascinating compared to magic systems I've encountered This was an interesting series to me when I read it. And the idea of how the titular character's gift worked was fascinating compared to magic systems I've encountered since. It was well written and still haunts my imagination. One day I'll reread them because of their magnificence. Jan 13, Nafiza rated it it was amazing Shelves: Mar 07, TheBookSmugglers rated it it was ok Shelves: I was glad when this showed up in the OSW recommendations. The Naming was a weird book for me to read.

It had tons of potential: That said, The Naming was an important read for me because it served to highlight and reinforce what I kind of already knew: This is a book I frequently see lurking on shelves at my local bookstores and across the interwebs, and until recently, it has been one of those pick-it-up-read-the-blurb-put-it-back kind of books love the cover and title, but there was never anything particularly OOMPH-y about the book that compelled me to buy it in the past.

When this book surfaced on our OSW readalong poll list, I was thrilled because finally I had a reason to get into the Pellinor series. I enjoyed certain aspects of the novel and the story, when it is moving along and not just focused on the mind-numbingly mundane minutia of walking through the countryside and eating biscuits and berries and such.

That said, the book is needlessly protracted, the main character is obviously unparalleled in terms of abilities and power, and the story is a little bit reductive and familiar. Did this heavy reliance on traditional fantasy work in your opinion? I think this book was far too derivative, the world-building far too close to that of Tolkien I mean, there is even an honest-to-Goddess Galadriel replica for me to be able to enjoy it.

Discuss the tropes in this book — what worked? Are you a fan? Well, there is not only the Chosen One trope, but also its ultra familiar packaging — i. I think that my apathy toward the novel was somewhat mitigated because the Chosen One happens to be a girl here. The potential was immense especially considering how there were attempts to talk about it within the story. Maerad is always questioning her role as a Chosen One as well as her background.

One of the few positives was how the enemies of the Chosen One completely overlooked Maerad because to their minds the prophecy could not be about a girl. So in a way, the fact that the main character is a girl is not an accident — I feel there is definitely a feminist point being made here and I wonder if this aspect will be more developed in further installments.

It seems then that I am not a fan. Like most fantasy standbys, when it is done well, this trope is a beautiful thing see everything from Harry Potter to Star Wars. Like Ana says, the fact that Maerad is a young woman and the Chosen One is, on its face, a good thing. Of course, this is exacerbated by the fact that Maerad is not just the Chosen One, BUT she possesses unparalleled magical powers, she has the sweetest most beautiful singing voice and bardic abilities, she is effortlessly beautiful and everyone except those that are Evil loves her instantly.

She learns how to read in a single lesson, she thwarts unbeatable evil with a single phrase, and… well, you get the picture. THIS to me is the most irritating part of the book. I like Maerad as a considerate, questioning, intelligent heroine which humanizes her character , but I hate the fact that she is so exceptionally powerful and perfect which de-humanizes her character and reduces her to a stock character.

What are your thoughts on the world of Annar? Well developed or underdeveloped? But again, it is so derivative and familiar and concerned about descriptions of random things and scenery that it ends up being forgettable. I love the idea of a society of magical Bards and the power of music and stories in The Naming and this fantastical world. The idea of that the world of Annar has different cultures and competing schools of Barding is a little Harry Potterish, but in a good way.

That said, all of these different worldbuilding nuances are lost in a bloated story and the more derivative, familiar aspects of the book. On the character front, how does Maerad stack up as a heroine? How about Cadvan, her teacher and companion? I am conflicted on this point: When you separate Maerad from her awesome abilities and powers, I appreciate her more as a heroine. She has a sharp, inquisitive mind, and I like that she questions the people around her and her own role in this great future of saving the land and whatnot. I generally liked the supporting characters in this book, although they all seem to fall into helpful generous benefactor roles — the motherly Sylvia and smitten scholar Dernhil fall firmly into this category.

The tortured Cadvan is an interesting mentor to Maerad — I do like that others question their relationship, and that you never really know what Cadvan is thinking although his frequent patriarchal exasperation with Maerad is annoying, especially in the early chapters. And, most importantly, will you continue with the series? Hummm…I am sorry to say I was not enthusiastic about anything. I was bored out of my mind and do not plan on reading the series any further.

I do have one last question I want to throw out there: Talk about overkill and an entirely jarring experience. This book is entirely too similar to other fantasy books that did it first and did it better. Mar 31, Alicia Huxtable rated it really liked it. While I enjoyed this book, I found it didn't hold my attention like I thought it would. The story was great, the characters were well written but in places it felt like the book dragged a bit.

I know that occasionally it needed to so the finger details could be intended with the story but the are the parts where my attention waned. Still a good book and I will continue the rest of the series. Dec 25, Shaun Duke rated it really liked it. The Naming is the beginning of Alison Croggon's well received Books of the Pellinor, a young adult fantasy trilogy centered around the land of Edil-Amarandh. Reading through the appendices reveals that Edil-Amarandh precedes Atlantis as a mythical continent that simply disappeared presumably, of course, this is all Croggon's creation, but at least it's an interesting way to bring the Books of the Pellinor to the real world.

As the first book in a trilogy it does a fine job establishing the plo The Naming is the beginning of Alison Croggon's well received Books of the Pellinor, a young adult fantasy trilogy centered around the land of Edil-Amarandh. As the first book in a trilogy it does a fine job establishing the plot and the world, giving us a clear view of all the basic things we need to know in order to continue through the second and third books. The Naming follows Maerad, a slave girl with an extraordinary musical talent who accidentally discovers a man named Cadvan.

Except, she's not supposed to be able to see through Cadvan's spell-induced invisibility It soon becomes clear that Maerad is more than just a lowly slave girl and outside of her prison she finds that darkness is returning to Edil-Amarandh and the brief glimpse of joy she had after having escaped will be short lived indeed. Croggon is quite the world builder, to say the least. Edil-Amarandh is almost as richly detailed as Tolkien's Middle Earth.

That's saying something here. Few books can have that sort of detail and succeed; Croggon's novel passes with flying colors on this front. Everything from the lay of the land to the hierarchy of the bards, even a little on the personal aspects of characters one might not expect in a book in the first place; all these things are delved into by Croggon so we get a good sense of what this place is like. There's a good amount of dialogue and narrative devoted to establishing this world and for the most part it works. The characters in this novel are fairly easy to be sympathetic towards.

This is a young adult novel, yet it reads very much like a novel meant for adults. Maerad, however, does deal with issues of pertinence to the teenage community, particularly issues of "growing up" as a woman, mind you and coming into her new found power, whilst dealing with the past she never knew. Cadvan acts the part of mentor, in a way, but has a fair amount of depth to take him over the hump from the cliche.

It should also be mentioned that Croggon's narrative style is stunning. She writes with superb skill, which I find tremendously refreshing in this modern age of commercial fantasy. Her prose is beautiful and alluring, fluid and surprisingly poetic. It's not perfect, but she certainly can weave a good sentence. I had two problems with Croggon's writing in this novel. The first was the seeming necessity for dialogue that reads somewhat Shakespearean though, thankfully, not so Shakespearean that I wanted to drop the book.

The second problem was the very obvious "Tolkien" feel. The names and even certain elements of the world itself feel almost as if they were lifted right out of Lord of the Rings. I doubt this was intentional. It wasn't enough to prevent me from finishing the story it's an entertaining read after all , but it should be noted nonetheless.

I think one thing that could be improved is injecting a deeper and more creative feel to Edil-Amarandh. Other issues were the slightly simplistic plot line, particularly where Croggon tried to be rather clever in regards to a riddle, only I saw through it almost immediately. Perhaps there are strange twists in the next two books, however, that make my current assumptions quite wrong I actually hope so, because I like being proved wrong in fantasy. Also, I'd hope that in future books there is less of Cadvan telling Maerad things. I get that the characters are bards, who are known for telling tales and what not, but he doesn't have to explain in great detail everything.

Some things can be left for Maerad to discover or perhaps Maerad could learn them by furthering her interests in the subject of lore. Overall, the novel was actually quite good. It was entertaining, dealt with some tough issues that I've not seen done well in fantasy, or anything for that matter particularly certain things with Maerad, which I won't spoil here, as you should read the book to understand. I did enjoy the richness and depth of her world, despite some flaws I saw with it.

I am quite fond of fantasy that is capable of making a world feel lived in, as opposed to just randomly created so the author could write a novel. Croggon gives me the impression that she didn't create this world overnight, or even over a year. It feels like a decade in the making. Maerad is a great character to center on, too, and I found myself deeply interested in what happened to her. To add, the action and pacing were relatively flawless.

Basically, this is a darn good book for fantasy readers young and old. It's a great introduction for younger folks who find Tolkien's windy prose too "classic" feeling, and a welcome treat for adult readers looking for something with a little classic adventure with depth. Apr 18, Lindsay Stares rated it did not like it Shelves: Girl has never known anything but the life of a slave. This is only sort of a review. I didn't finish this book. I was skeptical from the start, when the prose lurched awkwardly between too cliche and too purple.

The mixed metaphors made me wince.

It seemed okay for a while, I mean. Sure there are suspicious characters working against the self-evidently good protagonists, and she sucks at swordplay, but the impression of unending wish-fulfillment was too hard to shake. I just had to stop, finally. Plus if I wanted to read a badly disguised reworking of Tolkien I have other options.

It was when Cadvan mentioned that his horse was from a race of magic horses and had come to his call that I had to put the book down and move on to something else before I flung my Kindle at something. There's just not enough hours in the day for truly boring books. Jul 28, Sheena rated it really liked it Recommends it for: I found this book by chance at the university book store and cannot express how happy I am that I did!

I have been craving a good series since the end of Harry Potter and this book definitely got me hooked. However in this series you have the young Bard, Maerad, as the heroine who follows the classic plot line of a "diamond in the rough" destined to save her world from the utter destruction of the Nam I found this book by chance at the university book store and cannot express how happy I am that I did!

However in this series you have the young Bard, Maerad, as the heroine who follows the classic plot line of a "diamond in the rough" destined to save her world from the utter destruction of the Nameless One. The only thing that I didn't like about this book was the seemingly endless tarrying in the wilderness. It seems Croggen could have cut out a bit the monotony of Maerad and Cadvan's journey by hurrying them along a bit quicker to their destinations.

However, I enjoyed her landscape descriptions and if you can let yourself become emmersed in imagining the vivid landscapes Croggen so intricately describes then you can easily overlook the slight dullness of a few parts in the book. Overall, I completely enjoyed the First Book of Pellinor and have already finished the second one see my review of The Riddle. Jan 08, Jillian rated it really liked it.

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Basically every fantasy owes its existence to Lord of the Rings, but some take it to a whole new level. Most of the characters and settings have direct parallels to LOTR, and not even in the archetype-way. Cadvan and his friend Dernhil the poet must then track down and vanquish the Bone Queen. The Gift begins with Maerad , in "Gilman's Cot" as a slave, where she has been for most of her life, with few memories of her former life, her mother having died several years before. She is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great mystics known as Bards , who reveals to her that she too has "the Gift" shared by all of these, by which she is able to command nature to do her will.

Cadvan soon discovers that her mother was Milana of Pellinor, the leader of the First Circle of the sacked School of Pellinor, of whom it was previously assumed that there were no survivors. Knowing this, Cadvan decides to help her escape, believing that it might not be random chance that he came upon the only known survivor from Pellinor. Cadvan finds that Maerad's Gift is unusually powerful for one never formally taught; he begins to suspect of her more significance than he had before. Cadvan takes her to the School of Innail, to make the presence of a survivor from Pellinor known and to establish Maerad a Minor Bard of Pellinor.

During their time there, Maerad obtains a long-forgotten prophecy concerning the Foretold One who will defeat the Nameless One.

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This Nameless One is a corrupt political leader, formerly called Sharma, who discarded his own truename in order to become immortal. Twice has he attempted to conquer the land of Edil-Amarandh, and he has twice been vanquished. His last bid for power is the one in which the Foretold One, Elednor, Edil - Amarandh na or Fire Lily of Edil - Amarandh, will defeat him, leaving him dead or helpless forever.

Maerad's own history, being coincident with that of the Foretold One, implies that she is Elednor, although Maerad does not immediately embrace the idea. After their brief but enjoyed stay at Innail, Cadvan takes Maerad across the country of Annar to the city of Norloch, intending to have her instated as a full Bard and given her Name, and also to see his old teacher Nelac. Ardina happens to be known by many names: When Maerad and Cadvan, who has become her tutor, reach Norloch, they discover that corruption has penetrated even here, in that the First Bard of all Annar, Enkir, has fallen under Sharma's influence.

He is revealed as the one who had Pellinor destroyed and who sold Maerad into slavery. Largely as a result of this, though also because of his own misogyny , this Bard refuses to admit that Maerad is the Foretold One, or even to let her be instated as a Bard. Driven out by their enemy's hostility, Cadvan and Maerad flee. Maerad's brother is sent to another place for safety. The Riddle begins where The Gift left off, with the main characters fleeing Norloch.

The Riddle sees Maerad and Cadvan continue the search for Maerad's destiny , which takes them to the lively island School of Busk, which is a Hellenistic community; north to the realms of the Pilanel, who are Maerad's kin through her father Dorn; and finally to the very heart of the realm of the Winterking, Arkan, another Elidhu, who is a glacial spirit allied with the Nameless One.

As in Innail, Maerad settles in Busk and feels very much at home — more so than previously, perhaps because she is no longer accustomed to expect bullying — while Cadvan continues the search for the mysterious "Treesong", with the help of Nerili, First Bard of the School of Busk, the key to Maerad's destiny. Maerad also begins to explore her powers and their full potential , producing some humorous outcomes.

Their peace is shattered by dark events at the annual "Rite of Renewal" and the news that they have been named traitors to the White Flame after the shocking revelations of The Gift , which causes them once again to flee. Their journey is constantly blighted by setbacks, and by the constant threat from both Arkan and other Bards. Maerad also begins to fear the " darkness " within her own heart , as she begins to wonder about herself, her powers, and her place in Edil-Amarandh's destiny.

This fear resolves itself into a constant tension between herself and her mentor, Cadvan, and leads Maerad into an almost unforgivable act that may threaten their relationship and Maerad's wellbeing forever. The Crow follows the journey of Maerad's brother, Hem , as he begins his training as a Bard in the southern School of Turbansk, where he was taken by the Bard Saliman.