| By Phyllis Eisenstein.
New York: A Del Rey Book Fantasy, Ballantine Books 27642. 1st Edition, 1st printing April 1979. Copyright 1979 by the author. A paperback original. (viii)+1-387(392) pp. Approx. 4 ¼" by 7". 1.95 cover price. Cover art by Darrell Sweet. Part of the Del Rey Sign of the Griffin Fantasy series. I consider this one of the best fantasies published in the 70’s and contributed to the boom in Fantasy fiction during the 1980’s. |
| Fine copy, square, tight, unread with some very hard to see indentations on the front cover; a great copy. See scans, which are extra large to allow you to see condition details. Note: There are NO names or store stamps on the books unless otherwise indicated. |
| This book was published in 1979, a few years after the
original Ballantine Adult Fantasy series had ended and right before the
amazing fantasy fiction boom of the 1980's. As a result I've always
considered this book a major transitional work in Fantasy fiction. The
story of Cray (the son of the title) is a great coming of age story and
shows how an author can create a Fantasy novel that does not require huge
armies or huge casts of characters but focuses on a boy trying to find out
something about himself. The love between son and mother is also
heartwarming and quite a feel good. The writing is clean and descriptive
with no false dialog or emotions. The ending is satisfying and touching (I
love to re-read the ending). A book on a small scale that grows into a
large wonderful read.
Gildrum came to Castle Spinweb as a wounded knight, to be succored by the Lady Delivev. But neither she nor Cray, the son she bore, could know that Gildrum was a demon, enslaved by the evil sorcerer Rezhyk. |