[Becks]

Thats no fault!!!!

Ever heard of suspence????

[firelily]

agreed!

and i like the books because they're dang good!

[owleye]

an intresting and da best

[jediprankster]

I just liked them because they grabbed my attention right from the start and didn't let go. I even imported The Riddle for about twice the cover price, when you count shipping (it's not out in the U.S. yet as the U.S. version of The Gift, called The Naming over here, just came out in April).

[Becks]

Unlucky you.....well at least you can ship them in....

[jediprankster]

Yep, I don't even know exactly how much I paid for it. 13.37 in Pounds. But we use U.S. dollars here (you know, in the U.S.). I think it was around 24 dollars but that is just an estimate.

[whitesilkbreeze]

These characters are not perfect "Mary Sues", but are very flawed, very realistic and believable human characters with human emotions. Every single human being has flaws and these flaws just make the characters more likable, in particular Maerad. I don't remember meeting quite such a human character before. These characters are complex and have depth to them, just like any other human.

That is the single most important reason to me why I like The Gift. If everything else was brilliant -- beautiful prose, wonderful descriptions, gripping plot -- and the characters were one-dimensional, bland and not in the least bit realistic or believable, I wouldn't like it. As long as characters are really human, I can like a book (even if I complain about every other aspect). Fortunately, everything else is brilliant.

I'm still trying to think up a flaw. The only one may be that the first chapter of The Gift didn't grip me immediately; I managed to put it down after the first chapter and continue with my work instead of procrastinating. It might just be that I had an exceptionally strong will. My work was rather neglected by the time I read the second chapter.

[Aras]

I've only read The Gift/The Naming recently and I loved it! The characters are so lovable and I was immediately drawn to Maerad. The poetry was fabulous and it seemed like the history was real. I ordered 'The Riddle' on amazon and I can't wait to read it! :p

[Mrs. Cadvan]

Jediprankster, I did kind of the same thing with the Riddle. I ordered in November 04 from Australia because it wasn't out in the UK until May this year, and I was so desperate to read it. Ended up spending the same amount on air postage as the book actually cost!! But it was worth it. :D

[Gemini]

*Ahem* so.... back on topic. I don't know what a truly love about Alsion's writing, more than likely it's the poetry (What else from a poet :D ) that goes into the narrative.... that and the food, man every time i read a paragraph about food my stomach starts rumbling... :D