Lord of the Changing Winds

The Griffin Mage – Book I

By Rachel Neumeier

       When the desert winds blow hot over the land of Feirabiand, the griffins come. They turn the earth to sand, creating deserts wherever they fly. But this is a land of farms and grass, and its king, Iaor, naturally does not want this to happen and wants the griffins gone. Maybe reasoning with them can do this, or maybe force will be required to send them packing. In the village of Minas Ford, young Kes has other ideas and wants to be friends. When she gets her wish she finds out why the griffins have come, and what they are escaping from.

If you enjoy stories where people bond with animals then this one is for you. I think that the main strength of this book is in the writing style, which is rather more lyrical than expected and which raises the tale from the ordinary into something rather better. Another thing that does this are the characterisations, and the fact that instead of dragons or horses this is a story about griffins. We learn quite a bit about the people and griffins and aspects of this imagined world are very well realized. Other parts get glossed over somewhat, but this book gives one the feeling that it is supposed to be an antidote to epic militaristic fantasy and is about both getting back to simpler times in one way and offering something different in another. In a world of trilogies of fat tomes this is a rather slim volume, part one of only a pair of books so even in this it’s determined to be different. Ultimately although there is nothing groundbreaking here this wee paperback manages to be very much its own book. No vampires either…