Fifty years ago, author Patricia A. McKillip penned the tale of an iron-willed young sorceress…
We’re thrilled to share the details of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld 50th Anniversary Special Edition, forthcoming February 29, 2024 from Tachyon Publications.
Fifty years ago, the soon-to-be celebrated young author Patricia A. McKillip (the Riddle-Master trilogy) penned the tale of an iron-willed young sorceress. Brought vividly to life by McKillip’s gorgeously lush prose, Sybel, with her captivating menagerie, is powerful and resourceful, yet headstrong and flawed. Sybel and The Forgotten Beasts of Eld continue to enrapture new generations of readers, and they continue to inspire generations of new fantasy writers.
This lovely 50th anniversary hardcover special edition of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld features cover art by World Fantasy Award-winner Thomas Canty and an original introduction by bestselling fantasy author Marjorie Liu (Montress, The Tangleroot Palace).
The powerful young wizard Sybel requires the company of no man. In her exquisite stone abode, she is attended by exotic, magical beasts: Riddle-master Cyrin the boar; the treasure-starved dragon Gyld; Gules the Lyon, tawny master of the Southern Deserts; Ter, the fiercely vengeful falcon; Moriah, feline Lady of the Night. To complete her menagerie, Sybel only desires the mysterious Liralen, which eludes even her strongest enchantments.
But Sybel’s solitude is shattered when a desperate soldier arrives with an endangered child. Soon she will discover that the world of men is full of love, deceit, and the temptations of vast power.
Patricia A. McKillip was the bestselling author of more than thirty much-beloved fantasy novels, including The Riddle-Master of Hed, Harpist in the Wind, and The Sorceress and the Cygnet. She received the World Fantasy Award for The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Ombria in Shadow, and the Mythopoeic Award for Solstice Wood. McKillip also received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. She lived in Oregon with her husband, the poet David Lunde.
Quick correction: Solstice Wood did not win a WFA; it wasn’t even nominated. It did win McKillip a Mythopoeic Award (she actually holds the record for most Mythopoeic Award nominations (15) and most Mythopoeic Award wins (4).
Regardless, this is great news about a great novel!
@1 – Thanks, the post has been updated accordingly.
Did she pass? The past tense in the last paragraph fills me with anticipated grief. She is one of my all time favorites
@3 – Unfortunately, yes, she passed away last year (though I think I only saw it reported early in 2023). It’s a big loss. :(
@3: she was a wonderful writer, and a great loss, but at least we are fortunate to have so many great books to re-read
_Forgotten Beasts_ was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, back when she was a little known children’s author, losing to the best-selling _The Hollow Hills_. McKillip received the MFA for _Something Rich and Strange_, _Ombria in Shadow_, and _Kingfisher_, in addition to _Solstice Wood_.