Karen Tableiou reviews the latest release from Patricia McKillip.
World Fantasy Award-winning Patricia A. McKillip’s newest novel, “The Bell at Sealey Head,” is the tale of a seaside fishing town that is haunted with the ringing of an ethereal bell at sunset and the people who become wrapped up in discovering the truth.
Ridley Dow, a mysterious scholar from the big city, comes to Sealey Head in search of the bell and sets up a series of events leading to the destruction of an ancient ritual and discovery of a magical world inside the ancient Aislinn House at the outskirts of town.
Along for the ride is Judd Cauley, son of the local innkeeper, Gwyneth Blair, bookish daughter of a local merchant, Emma Wood and her mother Hesper who work in Aislinn House and the strange and somewhat uptight Lady Miranda Beryl, heir to Aislinn House.
McKillip has a unique style of writing; she’s descriptive but not in the usual cliched way. Her plots are captivating and her characters always multi-faceted.
After reading several of her other works, I have to say that this is the weakest one yet.
Source: Western Courier