By Kate Forsyth
Read: Sept-Oct 2009
Rating: Nostalgic
Number four, in what was meant to be a trilogy. I had always liked this one because it stars one of my favorite characters: Finn.
Fionnghal was born a princess, heir to the MacRurach clan, but was kidnapped by Maya’s regime to use as a tool. The MacRurachs have the gift of finding–magical bloodhounds. Plucky little thing that she is, Finn escaped and survived on the streets of the capital, with no memory of her birthplace. She eagerly joined Lachlan’s crew in the previous books, and we catch up with her some years later (I believe she’s about 17 here). Finn hates being a princess. She’s a wild, bawdy creature, and she has no interest in sitting still or being polite. Lucky for her, Lachlan needs her. Dide and the other jongleurs escort her from Ruraich to begin a long and dangerous quest. Back her element, Finn’s happy as a pig in shit. …even if her prissy cousin does have to come along.
This book is about two things. Finn growing up, and the overthrow of Eileannan’s only non-Pagan country: Tirsoillear.
Tirsoillear is the only nation in Eileannan to have a form of Christianity. The people attend kirk, they believe in one god, and fear Old Clootie, the devil. In past books, Lachlan’s army played into their belief in a dark-winged angel. Now they’re taking that ruse a step further. They need to save the life of a ‘prophet’ who the corrupt Tirsoillerean leadership are going to burn as a heretic.
I couldn’t be as satisfied on this read through. The religious themes raise questions. Mainly, is it moral to use the tropes and stories of a religion to manipulate its people, even if it’s to the benefit of all? To their credit, the Witches are happy to let the Tirsoillerean continue to practice their religion so long as they do no harm to anyone with it. Unfortunately, it all rather smacks of ‘the good guys are enlightened and perfect cuz they’re GOOD.’ There are plenty of times when both sides look at the other askance, but every time they end up laughing about the misconceptions. It would’ve been nice to have some characters really battle with it–who weren’t going to be the obvious traitors.
As for Finn, she comes off as rather selfish. And a bit stupid. She may be able to climb and tumble, but she can’t read people for beans. Not her mother, not her cousin, not Dide, not even the fiddler boy who loves her… Essentially, the book follows her pigheaded teenage years, and she only really starts to wake up toward the end, when she must push herself to great physical and emotional extremes to save everyone.
Sigh. Here lies the death of one of my heroines?
[...] The Skull of the World follows Isabeau’s ultimate quest in her attempt to learn more about her faery heritage. She will always be treated as a child by the Khan’cohban, her father’s people, until she survives a Naming Quest. Every child of thirteen must traverse the mountains to the Skull of the World, an imposing mountain full of caverns and molten rock. This period occurs at the same time as the events in Book #4. [...]