Chalice

I read Chalice, a 263 page book by Robin McKinley. This story is about Mirasol. She lives in this kingdom were there is a ruler, known as the master, the Chalice, and the Circle. Together they rule the kingdom of Willowlands. The master rules Willowlands and it is the Chalice's job to magically bind him to Willowlands and keep the country together. The Circle is representatives from the people and help the Master rule, each member of the circle has certain duties to help rule. Mirasol is an ordinary beekeeper who has the magic of being able to in a sense communicate with the land. This is not that unusual, but then she is chosen in a sense by Willowlands, to be the new Chalice since the old Chalice and Master had died. The country is in turmoil and Mirasol does the best she can to help it, however she has no training to be a Chalice. Normally, the Chalice will choose an apprentice to take over after they die, however the previous Chalice did not have an apprentice. This makes it so that Mirasol has hardly any idea how or even what she is supposed. She learns most of it by reading books in the library. There is also the problem of the new Master, when a new bloodline of masters is brought in, there are usually disasterous consequences. This forced the Circle to send message to the old Master's younger brother, who has been in service of the mysterious Fire temple for several years. The Priests reply that the brother would come, but anyone who has been in Fire so long is no longer completely human. The new Master comes and everyone is apprehensive of him because he no longer look human and seems to be extremely weak. Originally Mirasol is a little scared of the new Master, but then she ends up liking him. Unfortunately, there is the need to announce an heir since nobody wants more turmoil if the new Master suddenly died. The Circle chooses a greedy man named Horuld. Mirasol knows that Horuld is the wrong man to be heir, unfortunately there is nothing she can do. However it gets worse, Horuld is greedy and challenges the new Master to a duel to decide who should be the Master. Mirasol is really worried because she knows that the Master is in no shape to duel. At the duel when it looks like the master will lose Mirasol's bees come and swarm over the combatants. In the end Horuld is dead with his body burnt and the new Master is fine and human again. Most of the Circle quits and Mirasol and the new Master decide to get married.

I have enjoyed reading other Robin McKinley books. Besides Chalice, I have enjoyed reading The Hero and the Crown and Spindle's End. I thought that it was interesting how Robin McKinley wrote this novel. She deliberately starts the book off in the middle of Mirasol trying to become a good Chalice, this makes the reader feel confused and so understand how Mirasol is feeling. Mirasol has no previous Chalice experiences and is confused and unsure of how to do a lot of things that Chalice's are supposed to do. Robin McKinley also does not explain much of the Priests of Fire or about the Circle and other magical things, this keeps the reader in the dark and so the reader is able to just know what Mirasol knows. It allows the reader to better understand Mirasol and realize how brave she is. Mirasol tries her hardest to be a good Chalice even though she does not understand what to do. Unfortunately, Mirasol's lack of knowledge does get her in trouble when she went on a walk with Horuld, thinking she was only being polite, only to find out later that that meant that she supported Horuld. It is easy to forgive Mirasol for making that mistake because she is still unsure of all of these ceremonial gestures. I would have liked a little more introduction to the story, but I did think it was clever to just start off in the middle of the story, creating some confusion in the reader.