A super fun book with interesting characters and a stand alone plot. Good stuff! ( )

A competent fantasy that manages to take place pretty much entirely in the city of Ciaron - but really doesn't give much of a feel for it or the people that live in it. For no presented reason the young Cilhar, Eleret Salven goes to Ciaron to collect her dead mother's kit - and it turns out that it contains, unknown to her, the family heirloom Raven Ring. Which seems to be the desired object of ha;f of the initial contacts she encounters in Ciaron. Fast paced, smooth, with a clever enough resolution, it didn't resonate much with me. ( )

This was certainly the best of the Lyra books: Eleret is a very well drawn character, and so is Tamm, her dead mother. The love interests are less defined: Damer is mainly “well-bred noble” with some hidden traits; Karvonen is a fairly standard Charming Thief. In the end, it’s Eleret who makes the book, Eleret and her clear love for her mother, which makes the sacrifice of the ring absolutely beautiful. ( )

A messenger comes and tells Eleret that her mother has died from battle wounds far from home. Eleret, the oldest, feels she must go personally to the dangerous city of Ciaron to get her mother's belongings. Leaving without fear, she finds that her journey is far more dangerous coming home than she had anticipated. Someone wants her mother's treasured Raven Ring. Fast-paced, good romp....with enough humor and action to keep one interested. ( )

I do love The Raven Ring. Eleret is wonderful, and I love watching her deal with Ciaron and Ciaronese - and them (trying to) deal with her. One reason I like this the best of the Lyra books, oddly enough, is that it's lower-level than the rest. There's a real threat - if he'd gotten the ring, it would have been nasty - but he never really had a chance at it once Eleret entered the story. So the major story centers around Eleret and culture clash, rather than a desperate battle to save/prevent/protect... It's much more enjoyable, and lets the characters shine through. I love Karvonen, and Daner's pretty good - good swordsman, way too custom-bound, though. I think it's pretty obvious how things will end from the start (though part of that may be that this is something like my fifth reading). And I like that Daner sees his own faults (eventually) - perception is the first step. Maybe he'll handle himself better the next time he deals with a Cilhar - I'd like to see that. Oh yes, and having just read Caught in Crystal, this time I noticed the wizard's name - the one who made the ring. I guess we do get to see a little more of Dara... ( )