Destiny's child

Random quote of the day:


“We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours."

—Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings, 1964





(Thank you, mnfaure.)




( Illustrated version. )

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Black Ships by Jo Graham

I loved this book. It has everything I most like: crisp, evocative writing, action/adventure, a love story, mystical and fantastical goings on. And something else I really appreciate—a solid grasp of the history behind the magic tale. Ms. Graham has done her research, but she hasn't let it overwhelm the story. The pacing and the writing move beautifully, and she does a wonderful job of bringing the ancient world to vivid life. I was hooked, first to last.

The story follows Gull, a child born to a woman taken and enslaved during the fall of Troy and brought to the city-state of Pylos. Gull has no idea who her father is—one of the Achaian (Aegean) soldiers who destroyed the city. Later, when circumstance and her gift for prophesy brings her to the attention of the local Pythia, the seeress guided by the Goddess of Death, Gull becomes her acolyte and a free woman. But Gull's future doesn't lie in Pylos or with the Achaians. She's always thought of herself as a daughter of Troy (Wilusa in her native tonue), and one day, black ships show on the horizon…

I was hooked, as I said, first to last. The ending did seem a bit anti-climactic with all that had happened before, but I think it was the correct ending. I certainly felt satisfied that I had read a stirring, well-written, and memorable tale.