Beyond Reality discussion

Post here to discuss Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip. Warning: spoilers ahead!

I loved this - just as beautifully written as all of the other books of Patricia A. McKillip that I've read. There is something dream-like about her novels - it always takes me a little bit to figure out what is going on, because she doesn't spell it out for you, but I do eventually get immersed in the world.

It was refreshing to read about a bastard prince who did NOT want to scheme to take the throne... in almost every other novel I've read where there's been a character who's illegitimate royalty, they are bitter and resentful that they don't get to inherit anything. Ducon just wants two things - to watch over his nephew, and to draw.

I loved the ending.

Ducon was my favorite character. I felt his love for his cousin and I loved his mysterious obsession with drawing shadows and where they came from.
I liked it and gave it three stars. Mostly because it is just not my type of fantasy. It read just like a fairy tale, which I have never been able to love. I like some darkness in my stories. What about the Black Pearl? I cant be worried about someone whose ear or nose is falling off. Even the beautiful language lulled me into thinking everything is AOK.
I did like the “following history” part of the Under City. I love the ambiguity of the tutor and the Sorceress, until they weren't. I love that for a few minutes there when Mag was stuck above ground away from her guardian, I got vibes of an inverted Persephone and Demeter.
I am glad that I read it. And I loved the ending also.

What a beautiful story! I totally agree with you, Shel, it was refreshing to have a non-scheming bastard prince. And Ducon was such a likeable character.

Like many of McKillip's stories, it is dreamlike and misty, with not every loose end tied up. We enter the world of the story, inhabit it for a while, then step back out again wanting a bit more.

My fifth Patricia A. McKillip book, and the first one I actually liked all the way through. The characters are strong, and the story is both lyrical and exciting, as is her forte.

But here I was also able to dive into the story itself, and for once, the ending is satisfying. It's extremely ambiguous, but at the same time, complete and final.