The Naming
By Alison Croggon
The Second Book of Pellinor
Maerad is saved from a life of slavery by a mysterious man who appears in a cow shed, this man, Cadvan of Lirigon, becomes her mentor and best friend as she goes on the journey of discovering who she really is. But as she discovers more about herself and her dark history she has to flee from both the Light and the Dark, the opposing forces in her world. As well as trying to figure out what or who is at the source of the problems in the Seven Kingdoms.
From the moment I picked up this book I didn’t want to put it down. I found that I had to read the first chapter or two very carefully as there is a lot of background history of the Seven Kingdoms that you need to know contained in those pages. There is the history of the Light and the Dark and why the Seven Kingdoms are how they are: in dark times.
As both the Light and the Dark pursue Maerad and Cadvan, Maerad discovers the extent of her Bardic powers which, although very helpful, takes Cadvan, one of the most powerful Bards, by surprise.
The biggest question of this book is: can Maerad discover enough of herself to believe who she is so that she can help save Annar and the Seven Kingdoms? Can she save the ones she loves? Or, is she doomed to lose everyone who she loves?
Croggon pays attention to detail and as a result as I read I found that I could easily imagine myself in Maerad’s place. It didn’t take me long to empathise with all the characters as their emotions are portrayed very well. Maerad’s emotions are explored the most as she is the main character but Croggon pays attention to Cadvan’s emotions through Maerad, which is very hard to do as he tries to keep all his feeling to himself, but his emotions are still communicated very well.
As you follow the ups and downs in Maerad's new life lots of different characters appear in the story, from Sylvia and her husband to Dernhill and Enkir and a few others and I was easily able to imagine what kind of person they would be in the real world even though some of them are only in the story for a short amount of time.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Naming and I would recommend it to anyone over 13. A book for anyone who likes a bit of fantasy and adventure put together.
