Product Description

Lud-in-the-Mist, the capital city of the small country Dorimare, is a port at the confluence of two rivers, the Dapple and the Dawl. The Dapple has its origin beyond the Debatable Hills to the west of Lud-in-the-Mist, in Fairyland. In the days of Duke Aubrey, some centuries earlier, fairy things had been look upon with reverence, and fairy fruit was brought down the Dapple and enjoyed by the people of Dorimare. But after Duke Aubrey had been expelled from Dorimare by the burghers, the eating of fairy fruit came to be regarded as a crime, and anything related to the Fairyland was unspeakable. Now, when his son Ranulph is believed to have eaten fairy fruit, Nathaniel Chanticleer, the mayor of Lud-in-the-Mist, finds himself looking into old mysteries in order to save his son and the people of the city.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183658 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-22
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Hope Mirrlees (1887-1978) was a British author of novels and poems, whose three novels are Lud-in-the-Mist, Madeleine, and Counterplot, and a book of poetry, Moods and Tensions: Poems. She counted among her good friends T. S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats and Virginia Woolf.

Customer Reviews

Sorry
I had to stop reading very early on. This is an amateurish concoction. If some imagination was revealed later on in the book, then...God bless. But I can't spend my time reading such poor prose style.

An interesting read, if not in everyone's taste
I purchased Lud-in-the-Mist based on a review that compared it with Neil Gaiman's Stardust graphic novel. After reading it, I can see how Gaiman could have been inspired by Mirrlees' work, but I slightly prefer Stardust - as a diehard Gaiman fan, and perhaps because I read his story first. Mirrlees' book is best read slowly, and with a sincere attempt to immerse oneself in the world she created. That world may not interest those who prefer high-action fantasy. Some parts were repetitious or dragging, and I felt like the book was a middle draft rather than a polished version whenever I hit one of those spots. Otherwise, I have nothing but praise for Lud-in-the-Mist. I never knew what was going to happen for certain, and half my suspicions were wrong. I liked the ambiance she created, and the book felt like there was more material covered than possible for its actual length. I reccommend it to anyone who thinks they might enjoy a slow-paced fantasy.

Doesn't live up to the Neil Gaiman Hype
The intro by Neil Gaiman about just how great this book is left me disappointed, when, by the end of the book I was still waiting to be swept away like I expected based on the glowing review by Gaiman. Enjoyable but in like a B-/C range.