Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would recommend this book to people who really enjoyed Peake's Titus Groan or the whole line of the Gormenghast novels. Both are slow, gothic, and obsessed with language and timing.

There were some quite beautiful passages and overall, I did enjoy the story. It wasn't my favorite KIND of story, however, and I wasn't always as engaged in the tale of the magical usurper/regent and her charges as I probably should have been. It was a case of the details carrying the weight of the plot more than the characters.

I can definitely see why quite a few people fell in love with this, however. It brings Fantasy back to the old days where kingdoms were besieged from within. Where history is more of a villain (or something else) than anything.

I think it's pretty well designed to be a quiet, thoughtful read.

Me, however... I didn't really get into it as much as it probably deserves, having won the World Fantasy Award.

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