her difficult early years have left her bearing the burden of a lot of emotional trauma, and she’s far from perfect in any ways. Maerad is a great heroine, filled with reluctance to accept who she is, and fighting against the difficulties of being in a woman in a world that’s not always woman-friendly. Alison Croggon has clearly put massive amounts of thought and work into creating a world which is complex and well-developed, with characters who have believable motivations and interesting personalities. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to these two books. But what is the true nature of those enemies, and of the Riddle? And is Maerad herself the greatest riddle of all?

This mysterious Riddle holds the key to restoring peace to her ravaged kingdom and defeating the enemies she is fated to battle. Now she and her mentor Cadvan, pursued by both the Light and the Dark, are seeking the Riddle of the Treesong. Maerad is a girl with a tragic and bitter past, but her powers grow stronger by the day. Now she and her teacher, Cadvan, must survive a punishing and uncertain journey through a time and place where the dark forces they battle with stem from the deepest recesses of other-worldly terror. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfolds. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful gift, a gift that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child when her family is destroyed in war. The Riddle (Pellinor #2) – Alison Croggon There’s also a prequel novel, The Bone Queen, which I’ll also probably read (or listen to), as I’m enjoying Cadvan and Maerad’s story, and I’d like to know more about Cadvan as a young lad! I’ll definitely keep going with them, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed The Gift and The Riddle. So I listened to the first two (of four) books on Audible. I had never even heard of them before, but having read the blurbs, they definitely sounded like the kind of thing I would like. When discussing with my friend Sally a few months ago what our favourite fantasy series from when we were young were, she mentioned the Pellinor series, or the Riddle of the Treesong.

The riddle by alison croggon