Like several million people, I read 'The Last Unicorn' when it was the big thing (probably around when the movie came out; not when it was first published - I'm not THAT old) - still, it was years ago, I don't remember it that clearly, but it just didn't really strike me for whatever reason. Since then, Beagle's writing hasn't really been on my radar - but I'm going to have to change that.I got this book after reading Beagle's short story 'Chandail' in the anthology 'Salon Fantastique,' and lovi...

Honestly: I'm not quite sure how to sum up my feelings for this books...or just say anything about it. I found it awesome. I also think many people might find it terribly dull, which I somehow also understand but I still think it's awesome.Well what's it about? There is a boy who sets out to save his true love (turns out she doesn't want to be rescued), there are two very beautiful and very misterious women, one of which has a name that reads like someone's been sick over a scrabble-board (it ju...

When three strange women (one black, one brown, one white) arrive at a wayside inn called The Gaff and Slasher, Karsh, the innkeeper, takes them in against his better judgment. Two of the women—Lal and Nyateneri—are searching for their former mentor, a powerful magician who has summoned them to save him from destruction and worse at the hands of his most powerful pupil, Arshadin. The third, Lukassa, is a village girl whom Lal resurrected after she drowned and whose childhood love, Tikat, pursues...

Because Goodreads doesn't allow a half star, I'm placing this one at three stars, though I think it's more like 3 1/2. I am a big Peter Beagle fan, but this book just didn't hit the mark for me. He tells it from the perspectives of at least 6 different characters, and there just wasn't enough difference in some of the voices to keep me from getting confused. Also, the one thing Beagle does best in some of his other works is create a world that draws you in. I never got that here until just about...

I quite enjoyed the shifting perspectives of this book -- for some reason, though, I wanted every chapter from a new person's point of view. (Perhaps this was because the initial discovery of each character's distinct persona through a first-person lens was so exciting and entrancing, I just wanted that to keep going!)Once I adjusted to that, and what all was going on plot-wise, it became a somewhat more introspective, at times almost mystical, fantasy. More creative than most, I dare say (this

I was brought to this book by a song. The German progressive metal band Blind Guardian, which is one of my favorites, wrote a song called Road of No Release and I could not stop listening to it. I looked up the lyrics, which is habit for me when it comes to music, and saw that almost every verse was a telling of a character. So I had HAD to see what story they were from and found this book and knew it was a must read.I'm glad I did read this and would recommend it but only to those who like both...

Buddy read with Laura Hoping this chases away my five day slump

3.5 starsThis isn't a perfect book; what bothered me most was a (view spoiler)[deception used by one character to have sex with another (dub-con) that is somehow never reckoned with as anything serious (hide spoiler)]. It takes place between two of the main characters, which left me with some serious, ongoing cognitive dissonance in terms of how I felt about the characters and their relationship.But what is there to do, when an author makes sentences like "Death is a nowhere lined with lightning...

The Innkeeper's Song tells the tale of three woman who come to an inn while in search of their injured teacher, who has been injured by a fellow wizard and now faces his death and the deaths of everyone around him.You don’t actually get to see the lyrics to The Innkeeper’s Song (written long after the events of the book), which is a shame since the story is told as though the characters are being asked to explain their parts in it. The innkeeper goes on for about a page and a half about the

Isn't it annoying when a book ends that you don't want to end? Then, you sort of feel weird because a world has closed. You can reread it, reenter the world, but you'll never be the you that you were when you first read it, so it won't be the same. That's how I feel about The Innkeeper's Song just like I do about The Last Unicorn. Beagle is a magician, a good Arshadin, someone you know immediately is a master who you'll never surpass. But you don't mind because you get to experience the magic. T...

"The Innkeeper's Song" is a wonderful addition to Peter S. Beagle's astounding repertoire of fantastical stories. It deserves to be remembered with his classic works such as "The Last Unicorn" and "A Fine and Private Place."The story starts with death. Lukassa and Tikat are very much in love. They grew up together in their small fishing village, sharing joys and sorrows their entire young lives. Until by cruel twist of fate, Lukassa falls into the river, and though Tikat valiantly tries, he ulti...

I've loved The Last Unicorn for years, but never read another Peter S. Beagle book - till now. I enjoyed this story, but it's a very different book from The Last Unicorn, though both deal with wizards and magic and quests. The Innkeeper's Song has at its heart the intersection of many lives and quests - a young boy who watches his lover drown in a river, only to be resurrected by a mysterious woman; that mysterious woman and her traveling companion, both past students of a powerful wizard; the s...

This isn’t so much a DNF as a “set aside for now.” I admire the writing, but the plot and the characters aren’t really landing with me. I think it may have a bit to do with the rapid shifts in POV. I usually like multiple-POV stories, but here I felt it had a distancing effect.There are just so many books I want read.

i read Giant Bones quite a few years ago and loved it. for those unfamiliar, Giant Bones is a collection of short stories. why i mention it here.. at least two of the characters in The Innkeeper's Song are in the book Giant Bones as well. Lal and Soukyan - i immediately fell in love with the old warriors in that book and started wondering if they appeared elsewhere in one of Mr. Beagle's novels. when i discovered The Innkeeper's Song, i was THRILLED to pieces. it was like being reintroduced to a...

A plot summary of this book might go something like this: A wizard and his former students fight against another former student who has traded his life to the darkness for power. It would be accurate, but totally misleading. So what was the book really about? Stories. Singing. Love. Hate. Obligations. Responsibilities. Death. Rebirth. Redemption....If I had to describe The Innkeeper's Song in a word, it would be this--chewy. Some books are like milkshakes. You just drink them down easily and go

the story and the people and the writing needs time to completely enjoy, i was thought about of not continuing when i was in the third or fourth chapter and my confidence in the author and the reviews nudged me on and then after a while i was not reading a book but living a story, an amazing story.i will never doubt mr beagle again!

One of those amazing experiences that come along every now and again was hearing Peter Beagle read from scraps of this book before it was published. And when it was published, what a novel! Nobody has ever kept so many point of view characters dancing in such an elaborate and intricate tale, with it all ending as it should, something only a true master of the art could pull off.

A fantasy book for those that don't particularly like fantasy (like me). Beagle, also a songwriter, actually wrote the song (excerpted below) and then several years later, he wrote this book because he wanted "to find out what the hell the song was really about." "There came three ladies at sundown:one was brown as bread is brown,one was black, with a sailor's sway,and one was pale as the moon by day.The white one wore an emerald ring,the brown led a fox on a silver string,and the black one carr...

I found the unusual writing style of this author a little difficult to get used to for the first couple of chapters, but then I became engrossed in the story and ended up really appreciating the way he portrays his protagonists in an almost poetic, strangely enchanting way. All written in first person narrative, each chapter is a monologue related by different characters describing their experiences as the drama unfolds. I particularly enjoyed the fox, who surreptitiously steals the limelight an...