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The Cup of the World John Dickinson Books

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The Cup of the World John Dickinson Books

A subtle love story that develops in the undercurrents of the page. Events unfold entirely through the perspective of the main character, leaving you to surmise as she does.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Cup of the World (9780553494891): John Dickinson: Books,John Dickinson,The Cup of the World,Laurel Leaf,0553494899,Action & Adventure - General,Fantasy fiction.,Fantasy.,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy,Fantasy & Magic,Juvenile Fiction General,Science Fiction Fantasy (Young Adult),YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Action & Adventure General

The Cup of the World John Dickinson Books Reviews

This book is the type of book you want to read if you are looking for plot quality alone. This plot is beautiful, and well defined. The writing is a gem, though at times a bit confusing. The reasons that I couldn't give this lovely book a higher rating, is because of the characters. These characters weren't drawn out, and you never got to know them. At the end of the book, I knew as much about Phaedra as I had at the beginning of the book. Because of this, as well as because of the fact he never truly opened Phaedra up, I found myself not caring overmuch for Phaedra, or for the other characters. This was a shame because they were really lovely characters. Yet they were like china dolls-lovely to look at, dull to play with.

I also thought that this author could have switched around narratives. This author is a very powerful one- he has the ability to switch around narratives, yet he doesn't. Because of this, we never got a lot of good insite to other characters thoughts and personalitys, except for from Phaedra one-sided, slightly biased view.

Overall, this book is great, especially, if you want to see what a rich fantasy plot looks like. In the way of personalities however-I would look to someone else for a good read in this area, such as JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Books, or Juillet M. author of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, the first (and best) book being Daughter of the Forest.
The story starts off in a rather stilted manner, but gradually becomes more flowing and thus more enjoyable as the book progresses, although halfway through it gets a little bogged-down and I felt as though in a dream, with something just out of reach - almost understanding, but not quite - until we discover exactly what the cup is and does.

Unusually, the story is told only from the central character's viewpoint; so wars happen and coups take place, but we only hear about them as and when Phaedra does, which can be a little disconcerting until one gets used to it. Aimed at the early teen audience, it is nevertheless enjoyable to the older reader.

An apparently simple plot; the teenage daughter of a powerful lord attends her coming-out presentation at court, only to spurn all advances in favour of her dream prince - literally, she has never laid eyes on him until he abducts her. Seemingly oblivious to the war she has just started she marries him and embraces her new existence with hardly a thought for the pain and turmoil she has left behind her, or for the strange society she now lives in. And, like a typical willful, insecure child, nothing suits her, everyone and everything conspires against her - you just want to give her a good smack!

But then, seemingly disparate threads come together with a sense of trepidation and foreboding to create a complex, compelling mediaeval tale in the old fantasy tradition. ****
This book is set in a King-Arthur type age. There is one kingdom and several regions each with a baron leading them. The main character is a baron's daughter, Phaedra. Phaedra comes of age and has several suitors. She marries someone her father dislikes, and she moves to his region.

After Phaedra moves to the castle, the storyline becomes dark. She starts seeing shadows and people close to her die. She feels aliented from the servants and accosted by the ghosts/demons/whatever in the castle. She begins to question what dark powers exist in the castle and if her husband plays a role in them.

I haven't reached the end of this book (about 20 pages left to go,) but I really like this book because it's different than ones I have read. My favorite books are romantic fantasy with a female lead (Sharon Shinn - Angelica, Angel Seeker, Samaria; Robin McKinley - Blue Sword; Garth Nix - Abhorsen, Liriel, Sabriel.)

This book is different. It's not an overt fantasy. The "shadows" that Phaedra is seeing seem to be madness. Not only is the fantasy played down, but romance is not a large part of the story. The story displays the ups and downs of marriage as in Mists of Avalon. Phaedra suffers when her husband is gone at war for months. Friendships become important when her husband leaves and they eventually end up saving her.

Overall, the writing is good and the story is great. It's a realistic fantasy that becomes more and more fantastic at the end. I loved the friendships and relationships in this book.
Phaedra, only child of the Warden of Trant, refuses all suitors, both for fear of dying in childbirth and for love of a man she has met only in dreams. When the king's son courts her, her dream-lover comes to take her away, and proves to be the mysterious and ill-famed lord of the province across the inland sea. Her elopement is the trigger for war, and she hardly knows who to trust, who will betray her, or who she must betray next.

Not an ordinary fantasy. The world setup is fairly standard - a continent with an inland sea, ringed with provinces & city-states, unstable politics and a king holding on by the fingernails. But the rulers came in ships, and there were aboriginal people, so there's a conflict rarely examined in fantasy. The hillmen (shades of Kipling perhaps?) have a mythology involving a Great Mother, quite different from the near-Christianity of Phaedra's people.
Phaedra is not an entirely sympathetic character, somewhat cold and self-centred (also only 15 in the first chapter) but with an inner core of toughness and endurance. What really stands out is how much of the story is what happens at home while the battles and raids and treaties are happening elsewhere, and how much of the intrigue and discovery is Phaedra's story and coming of age.
A subtle love story that develops in the undercurrents of the page. Events unfold entirely through the perspective of the main character, leaving you to surmise as she does.