The Spirit Ring - Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!

Other books by
author Lois McMaster Bujold

"The Spirit Ring"
Message Board

Lois McMaster Bujold Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR: Debbie

SCHOLARS: ginnilee p. berger Pauline J. Alama

Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Review Summaries

"Fiametta Beneforte wants nothing more than to be a great mage like her father. Well, she would also like to be more beautiful and have the handsome Captain of the Guard Uri Ochs fall in love with her, but she really wants to be a master goldsmith/mage. Unfortunately, girls simply don't practice trades like men do and her father has never made her an official apprentice, though she does know quite a bit of metalworking. Her father just completed a beautiful engagement gift for the Duke of Montefoglia and Fiametta is thrilled to learn that she will be able to accompany her father to the feast where it will be presented. However, when Fiametta sees the Duke murdered by his soon to be son-in-law, Ferrante, her life suddenly changes. Prospero Beneforte, Fiametta's father, is able to get her out of the castillo and escape, but they are followed by some of Ferrante's soldiers and Prospero dies. Fiametta keeps heading to the border with her father's body, but she has no idea what she will do. Then she meets Thur Ochs, Uri's younger brother, and they contrive to return to Montefoglia and ask for Abbot Monreale's help. For, Ferrante is no ordinary soldier, he wears a spirit ring fashioned by the dark magic of Vitelli, where the spirit of his dead daughter resides and gives him power. Ferrante pursues Fiametta and steals Prospero's body to make a new, more powerful spirit ring. Fiametta is frantic to recover her father's body and have him buried in holy ground, but her face is well known in Montefoglia. So Thur goes in to the castillo as a spy to try and find out all the information that he can. There he finds much evil for, not only does the dark sorcerer Vitelli plan on making a spirit ring for Ferrante, but he plans on using Uri's spirit to make a ring for himself...

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout. "
Debbie, Resident Lois McMaster Bujold Scholar

Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review

Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - a powerful magician
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
magical powers: - bad magical powers hunting non/weaker magical(s) (fantasy)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - artist
Age: - a teen
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Earth setting: - 17th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey
Wizard's First Rule - Sword of Truth 1 by Terry Goodkind
The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan
Alosha by Christopher Pike
Instrument of Fate by Christie Golden

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here) or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion

Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!

Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!

Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game

Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Alien Hunter : Alien Hunter 8/28/2008 1:25:23 PM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 8/27/2008 6:32:04 PM

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 8/26/2008 8:21:36 AM

Charmed: What kind of name is Piper for a girl? 8/20/2008 5:34:24 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 8/14/2008 11:21:07 PM

The Mask: The Mask 8/14/2008 11:06:36 PM

Young Frankenstein: Young Frankenstein 8/10/2008 12:10:26 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 8/8/2008 6:19:08 AM

Xena: How could anyone like Joxer? 8/7/2008 3:37:46 AM

Space 1999: Silliest Episode 7/30/2008 2:49:34 PM

Newest slaves:
Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown) 12:24:47 AM
Barbara Bain (Cinnimon Mission Impossible) 12:24:41 AM
Diane Keaton 12:24:28 AM
Goldie Hawn 12:24:03 AM
Jennifer Grey 12:23:47 AM
Michelle Pfeiffer 12:23:24 AM
Demi Moore 12:23:05 AM
Meg Ryan 12:22:25 AM
Lisa Rinna 12:22:09 AM
Lucy Liu 12:21:57 AM
All slaves
(click here)

Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)