The Golden Key - Melanie Rawn

This is a collaboration by three female fantasy authors. I wanted to read it because I had greatly enjoyed Kate Elliott?s other books. This is very different, and at first I found it difficult to get into. However, by the last chapters I was reading it in preference to all other activities. The story spans hundreds of years and is the tale of the Grijalva family, who are gifted artists. Some of the men of the family have magical power, and their culture has developed over the years to foster both the artistic and magical elements. All events are recorded in pictures rather than in writing, and so the family is important to the life of their country, Tira Virte. ...  Read the complete review

This is a fine work of art, and no pun intended. It conveys great depth, clarity of thought (particularly evil thought) and nicely crafted expression, especially of the magical variety. Essentially this book has been written by Melanie and two co-authors (of which I have sadly forgotten their names, since they also deserve a mention). You may think that that is cheating but anyone familiar with Rawn can see that she had control of the central characters and the essential aspects of the book (particularly the first and last sections) and this comes through very clearly. The story concerns the use of pictoral art and its expression through the ages, ...  Read the complete review