The Riddle-Master of Hed is the first book in the Riddle Master trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip. It tells the story of young Morgon, the land ruler of the island of Hed, and a young man who had studied at the college for riddles in Caithnard on the nearby mainland. One day it is revealed that he won an old crown from a dead king in a riddle contest and that in doing so he seems to have also won the hand of Raederle, the second-most beautiful woman in the land, in marriage. Traveling to the mainland to meet Raederle and her family, Morgon ends up instead going on a long circuitous adventure when it is revealed that he is the mysterious star bearer. A name only given to him by the three stars on his face that he was born with. However, Morgon resists both the name and the adventure every chance he gets as he wants nothing more than to marry Raederle and go back to being the land ruler of Hed. Something that seems to be more and more impossible the farther he goes.
This book was definitely unusual in that it had a rather unusual premise. I mean the idea of a young man who was forced into a destiny and a path that he didn’t want is not that unusual but him continually denying it and wanting nothing more than what he already had was a little odd. It showed the main protagonist, Morgon, as being rather reluctant and humble about who he was, who he wanted to be and what he was capable of being. Morgon had multiple opportunities for various achievements but refused several of them, some multiple times. It was a nice and refreshing change from the more typical slightly arrogant and cocky hero that we normally see. While I did like the character and the way he was portrayed, especially how that influenced the plot development, there were a few things that I am not entirely sure I liked. A big one was the slight lack of explanation throughout the story. Morgon is searching for what it means to be the star bearer and all he is really finding is more questions. There doesn’t really seem to be any actual resolution about what that means. I know there are some minor hints at times but not as much is revealed as I would like which really only helps set the stage for the continuation. This is probably done for that exact reason but I personally would have liked to learn a little bit more about what was going on. For the same reason I felt like there was little detail provided about the history of the world the story was based in. There are continual references to the history and events of this world but they are not always explained well enough to satisfy my curiosity. Now none of this actually creates a huge impact on the story as that is extremely well written and well developed, I am just hugely curious and always wanting to know more. What was provided seems to indicate a pretty interesting and unique world with some rather entertaining history that I hope to learn more about in the later books. Overall, a good book and one that I am giving four out of five stars.
This is a good example of a fantasy novel so if you enjoy that genre you should consider it. If you don’t you might consider it anyway because you never know if you will enjoy it. The book is primarily aimed at an adult audience as the main protagonist is an adult. However, there is nothing in the book in terms of content that would potentially make it unsuitable for teens or young adults who wish to try it out. There is some slight violence but nothing overly graphic or extreme so it should be fine for that age range. I would recommend caution for readers younger than that though if not outright stating they should probably wait to read it. Like I said before, it is a good book so if it sounds interesting I hope you will consider it. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.