Like Ursula K. Le Guin and Jane Yolen, World Fantasy Award winner Patricia A. McKillip (author of Riddle-Master, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, and Ombria in Shadow) is one of the great fantasy authors working at the turn of the millennium. In her beautifully written novel In the Forests of Serre, McKillip again demonstrates her intimate understanding of the mysteries of magic and the human heart.

Everyone in the kingdom of Serre avoids the Mother of All Witches, an ugly, powerful, and dangerous woman who lives in the Forest of Serre. But then the grief-blinded Prince of Serre rides down the witch's white hen and earns her curse. Prince Ronan believes nothing can be worse than what he has already experienced: the death of his wife and their newborn. But soon the curse destroys what little the prince has left, and he wanders lost and half-mad through the Forest of Serre, pursuing a beautiful, elusive firebird that may be an illusion, or his doom. His only hope may be the young Princess Sidonie of Dacia, to whom his brutal father betrothed him against his will... and hers. But Princess Sidonie may have no interest in helping a man she's never met. And her powerful, mysterious magician-guardian, Gyre, has secret intentions and desires of his own. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly
In a twist on the Biblical adage "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," McKillip (Ombria in Shadow) presents a mystical, eerie fantasy about the flight from love-and the haphazard progress toward love. The efforts of a kingdom to prevent war by sacrificing its princess, Sidonie, to a loveless marriage are complicated by the refusal of the intended bridegroom, Prince Ronan of Serre, to cooperate. Sidonie obeys to save her country from sure destruction. Ronan flees from his fate with the magical interference of the Forests of Serre, the mysterious witch Brume and a firebird whose song becomes a pied piper-like enchantment. Meetings with Brume exact a dear price, and nearly every character encounters her at some point. To some, Brume can be death itself; others merely have to give her something of great value. Ronan offers "what of all such things he valued least, and would not miss if he did not return for it. `Take my heart.'" And indeed, Brume does take his heart. Ronan doesn't seem to miss what he felt he lacked to begin with, but Sidonie does, and so do his parents. This novel is similar in style and content to McKillip's World Fantasy Award-winning story, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld," which is not to say it's a rehash. A skillfully told adult fairy tale, it stands perfectly well on its own. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Prince Ronan is in serious trouble. Numb with grief and depression after losing his young wife and baby, he is returning from a border skirmish in which he unsuccessfully tried to get himself killed when his horse accidentally tramples the witch Brume's favorite white hen. Brume curses him, but Ronan doesn't think his life can possibly get any bleaker. Oh, how wrong he is! Upon reaching his home, he discovers that his unfeeling ogre of a father has arranged a marriage for him; moreover, the nuptials are to take place that very month. Standing at a window when his wedding day comes, the shattered prince glimpses a most wondrous creature, a firebird of unearthly beauty. Compelled by forces beyond understanding, Ronan follows the bird into the forest and a realm of twisted magic in which nothing is as it seems, and where a prince could lose himself for eternity. The ever-masterful McKillip weaves yet another powerful spell with this hauntingly beautiful tale. Paula Luedtke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
In the tales of World Fantasy Award-winning author Patricia McKillip, nothing is ever as it seems. A mirror is never just a mirror; a forest is never just a forest. Here, it is a place where a witch can hide in her house of bones and a prince can bargain with his heart...where good and evil entwine and wear each others' faces...and where a bird with feathers of fire can quench the fiercest longing...

About the Author
Patricia A. McKillip is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, and the author of numerous novels.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
In the magical forests of Serre lives a witch named Brume, the Mother of All Witches, an ugly, dangerous hag that everyone -- and every living thing -- avoids at all costs. Infamous for her knobby, callused feet that broaden to inhuman size when she picks up her house of bones and carries it, she is said to stew and devour anyone who enters the skeletal cottage.

When Prince Ronan, grief-stricken over the recent death of his wife and newborn child, accidentally tramples one of Brume's white hens with his horse, she lays a curse on him. Ronan will wander aimlessly through the forests for eternity until he captures a firebird, a breathtakingly beautiful creature indigenous to Serre, and returns it to Brume in a golden cage. But Ronan must find his way home as soon as possible. Sidonie, the youngest daughter of the King of Dacia, is betrothed to Ronan and awaiting his return. If Ronan doesn't come back, the innocent girl will be trapped in his evil warlord father's fortress forever. Even though he doesn't want to marry the princess, he feels compelled to save her￯﾿ﾽ.

Patricia A. McKillip just keeps getting better with every book. She has become an absolute master of the fairy tale. Like Ombria in Shadow, her previous release, In the Forests of Serre is a surreal mixture of fantasy, fable, and romance. And the truly wonderful thing about these novels is that their appeal is ageless; the stories can be enjoyed by adults and make great read-alouds for children as well. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Returning from war astride his horse, Prince Ronan of Serre accidentally tramples a white hen in the road - and his inattention earns him a witch's curse. It seems not much of a threat, though, to a man so shattered by grief that his life is worth nothing to him. What curse is worse than already having lost your wife and child?

But the witch's words come to pass when Ronan's homecoming is ruined by his father's pronouncement of an arranged marriage. Numbed by shock and despair, Ronan casts his gaze toward the forest and glimpses a wondrous sight: a firebird perched on a nearby branch. Filled with an unexplainable yearning, Ronan follows the firebird - and slips into a sideways world where the palace no longer exists. But his intended, the beautiful Princess Sidonie, is on her way to that palace. And her fate depends on Ronan wanting to find his way home...

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In a twist on the Biblical adage "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," McKillip (Ombria in Shadow) presents a mystical, eerie fantasy about the flight from love-and the haphazard progress toward love. The efforts of a kingdom to prevent war by sacrificing its princess, Sidonie, to a loveless marriage are complicated by the refusal of the intended bridegroom, Prince Ronan of Serre, to cooperate. Sidonie obeys to save her country from sure destruction. Ronan flees from his fate with the magical interference of the Forests of Serre, the mysterious witch Brume and a firebird whose song becomes a pied piper-like enchantment. Meetings with Brume exact a dear price, and nearly every character encounters her at some point. To some, Brume can be death itself; others merely have to give her something of great value. Ronan offers "what of all such things he valued least, and would not miss if he did not return for it. `Take my heart.'" And indeed, Brume does take his heart. Ronan doesn't seem to miss what he felt he lacked to begin with, but Sidonie does, and so do his parents. This novel is similar in style and content to McKillip's World Fantasy Award-winning story, "The Forgotten Beasts of Eld," which is not to say it's a rehash. A skillfully told adult fairy tale, it stands perfectly well on its own. (June 3) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal