Giant Bones

From Barnes & Noble

Peter Beagle's followup to The Innkeeper's Song is a collection of longish fantasy stories set in that same universe. The stories range from adventurous to introspective, humorous to suspenseful, but all share Beagle's gift for language and his ability to bring his characters to life.
—Don D'Ammassa

VOYA - Diane Yates

Beagle revisits the unnamed land that provided the setting for The Innkeeper's Song (NAL/Dutton, 1994), although only one story features any characters from the earlier book. These six novellas represent a tour de force of the writer's craft. Written in the first person, they give readers the feeling of listening to master storytellers. The Last Song of Sirit Byar is the poignant tale of the large, white-haired itinerant bard whose songs spoke to people's hearts but who could not sing the madness out of his own beloved's soul, until the day he sang his last song. Because The Magician of Karakosk, this entry's title character is too good at his trade, he attracts the wicked Queen's attention and is forced to teach her all he knows so that she can take over the world. Was it her fatal flaw or his cunning that enables him to outwit her in the end? The Tragical Historie of the Jiril's Players is the hilarious story of how all the sons of the Jiril visit the head of a troupe of players one at a time to demand that he alter the lines in the play to give the signal for their particular group to attack the Jiril on the knight of their performance. The palace cook, however-who is in love with the Jiril's only daughter-has found his way into the hearts of the palace guard through their stomachs, and he has the last laugh. Lal and Soukyan continues the tale of two old mercenaries, first seen in The Innkeeper's Song, who have to take care of some unfinished business. Choushi-Wai's Story is of a fish that helps a maiden escape from an unwanted marriage to the king. In the title story, a small boy learns through a bedtime story why all his family is unusually tall. The whole range of human emotions is expressed in these wonderful tales. The images Beagle creates are so clear, you can easily see them in your mind's eye as you read. Beagle is a writer who has continued to grow and mature, until reading him is pure pleasure. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Broad general YA appeal, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Beagle writes in his foreword that he doesn't do sequels; nevertheless, the world he created in The Innkeeper's Song (1993) continues to tickle his storytelling instincts: hence, the setting for this collection of six substantial tales, though only one, "Lal and Soukyan," features characters from the novel. Elsewhere, the legendary bard and musician Sirit Byar sings his last song to the gods; the evil Queen of Fors na'Shachim compels Lanak of Karakosk to teach her magic; the Jiril of Derridow's troupe of actors takes to the road; Choushi-Wai relates the tale of Tai-Sharm and the Singing Fish; and the title piece reveals how Grandfather Selsim's descendants became giants.

A treat for browsers and Beagle aficionados alike.