So I’m getting close to the endgame now with my re-read of The Obernewtyn Chronicles. As a reminder, the first book in the series, Obernewtyn , was published in the late eighties, while the book that I initially thought was going to be the final installment, The Stone Key, was published in 2008.
The Stone Key, as it transpires was not the last book at all—in fact, very little page-time had been spent on Elspeth’s final quest to disarm the Sentinel. Instead, it was more heavily focused on the plight of The Land and the Misfits. When I picked up The Sending in 2011, I had only had a three year wait since the last book, which was a relief! Sadly., it only took me until a third of the way through The Sending to realize that there was no resolution fore-coming then either.
The Sending, as it turns out, is an extremely frustrating book.
At the end of The Stone Key, Elspeth was summoned back to Obernewtyn by the Agyllians, with ominous suggestion that this may be the last time she can return. Her final quest is approaching. Elspeth has done a lot to help the cause of the Misfits in the last few books; she’s participated in a rebellion that removed the council, and she’s removed the Herder Faction out of Herder Isle. Now she’s working on having Obernewtyn’s status as a Shire confirmed while preparing for an expedition to the Red Land. This, we are lead to believe, is what will kick off Elspeth’s quest shut down the Beforetime Weaponmachines. But Elspeth doesn’t have all the tools she needs to progress yet.
In the first part of the book, a significant portion of the narrative is dedicated to Elspeth’s connection to her found family at Obernewtyn and the challenges she faces on her journey to the Red Land; the emotional weight of her departure and the profound impact it will have on her. Additionally, Elspeth finally has a chance to spend some intimate time with her boyfriend, a moment long overdue given how Carmody has spent so much time keeping them apart in the last few books. Their reunion is well-deserved; I can’t begrudge them that.
While I understand that this period is meant to be emotionally taxing for Elspeth, everything is excessively drawn out. We spend so much time with Elspeth trying off little loose ends that don’t seem relevant to what’s ahead of her. Some of which—I thought—had already been resolved. Furthermore, there is an overemphasis on Elspeth’s inner turmoil, as she incessantly overanalyzes her situation. Although this internal struggle is intended to convey how difficult things are for her, it becomes tedious. Fast
I can’t believe I’m going to take a page out of the notoriously unempathetic Maruman’s book here, but Elspeth–quit gnawing! Please, just stop masticating over your internal thoughts.
And then, despite all of the set up, Darga returns to call Elspeth away. She’s not going to be boarding one of those ships to the Red Land after all. Instead, she’s taking a long winding route through the mountains with just her animal companions for company. A route that gets bogged down with Tolkien-esque descriptions of blackened, radioactive scenery. And more of Elspeth’s inner thoughts.
Lovely.
We had been pushing through the wet dank undergrowth under the close-growing trees at a snail’s pace for over an hour when I ventured a shielded question to Gahltha.
As the reader, I too, thought we were going at a snails pace. I mean, I don’t mind a little descriptive flair. But I feel maybe 100 or so pages could have been ruthlessly edited out of an over 700 page book without any great loss. It’s also completely at odds with the original Obernewtyn as well, whose writing was rather tight. And I have had trouble reconciling that.
What is interesting here though is there are signs that Elspeth is not without agency. She did something very drastic at the end of The Stone Key that was set to have knock on effects, and now we are getting some hints of what those effects might be. They’re not spelled out explicitly, but some parts of the Agyllians’ tightly wound up prophecies are not playing out as we were told they would. I don’t think this is an inconsistency; this is Elspeth having a little victory against the fates.
Also regarding the Agyllians: I made a lot more progress on my ‘birdwatching’ in The Sending that I think is possibly going to change my thoughts concerning the final book. I cannot discuss them now, but significant whiteout may be applied in my last review concerning what the hell is actually going on with these birds.
But we do get a lot more Beforetime backstory, which is very welcome. And things do pick up closer to the end of the book. But that’s when The Sending deals one last surprise.
A cliffhanger.
2011-me was quite upset, I can tell you.
But maybe not as upset as the Americans. The Sending was split into two there, with the first volume keeping the name, and the second titled as The Waking Dragon. I have no idea where in the narrative they decided to make the split, but I cannot see anyone happy with that choice.
For cbr16bingo, this is Dun-dun. Very fitting for a cliffhanger.
(For some minor housekeeping, previous reviews can be found here: Obernewtyn, The Farseekers, Ashling, The Keeping Place, The Stone Key)
