The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I talk about books I got over the last week – old or new, bought or received for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

This week I just got one book, a late Christmas present from my husband. Yes, it’s another signed book by Patricia McKillip, and that makes me very happy!

Cygnet (Cygnet #1-2) by Patricia A. McKillip

Even better than one book by Patricia McKillip is an omnibus containing two books by her. Cygnet includes both books in the Cygnet Duology, The Sorceress and the Cygnet and The Cygnet and the Firebird. These two books were originally published in the early 1990s.

From what I’ve heard, these books aren’t the easiest to read but are really good. After Christmas, I seem to have a pretty good start to the McKillip book collection so I can continue my recently begun quest to read all her books! (Not that I will read them all immediately since there are a lot of them, but that’s okay since all the unread McKillip books give me something to look forward to.)

In the realm of fantasy, one name stands out from the crowd. For many years, Patricia A. McKillip has charmed readers with her “unique brand of prose magic” (Locus). Now, for the first time in one volume, she offers two of her classic tales-The Sorceress and the Cygnet and The Cygnet and the Firebird-which delve into the fate of the Ro family and an otherworld rich in myth and mayhem, magic and adventure

Have you read Cygnet or the first book in the duology? If so, what did you think?