The Cup of the World

by John G.H. Dickinson

Book Overview

With immense characters, this thrilling medieval fantasy, filled with moral complexity and vision, announces the arrival of a special new writing talent. Phaedra, the beautiful daughter of a baron,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385750250
• ISBN13: 9780385750257
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Starts like Mists of Avalon

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.

Fictional and Suspenseful

The Cup of the World is a great fictional, suspenseful novel. In a time of Princes and Princesses, Queens and Kings, Knights and Lords; there was black magic brooding. John Dickinson writes a tale of exceptional experience, of growing up and following ones heart instead of ones head. Truly a book that can be read and read, and still read again with out knowing everything The Cup of the World has hidden with in its pages. Based on one girl's, Phaedra's, time growing up and discovering herself along with others she thought she knew, this is a must read for any teenaged girl on the brink of insanity. Wishing not to marry just anyone who comes along, Phaedra, daughter of the Warden of Trant, trusts her life to a man she loves, a man she had only met inside of her dreams. She runs away and finds herself in the lands across the vast sea starting, a now evident, civil war in the face. But what she finds out about her love, her husband, is that he uses black magic, like she was warned his family did. Her Father, and a few other people she knows and cares for, used this black magic too, and every one of them used it and paid terrible prices over her. But there isn't safety anywhere, will she ever find a place to protect her son, and will she ever see anyone she loved again? Such excitement happens with in The Cup of the World's pages that it's a read that seems never ending. Accompany this book with its sequel, The Widow and the King, which is a must read if the mysteries still have a riveting effect after reading Phaedra's story. John Dickinson is a captivating writer, writing tales of heroines; tales of love; tales of why one shouldn't mess with things they don't understand; and how to over come some of the horrors a persons life could bring. So if a fantasy novel is a favorite, then this book will be up in the top 10. All and all, The Cup of the World is a book that could easily become a favorite that could be read over and over again.

Like the Curate's egg - good in parts.

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. ****

interesting book

at first i was hesitant with this book because of the limited blurb given and also the incredibly confusing introductary chapters. however, it did infact turn out to be a fairly good read once you get a feel for the characters. at times, it can be a bit vague and you really have to look for the true meaning of the words, but otherwise its a great choice if you are into fantasy with some romance ;]

One of the best Fantasy books I've read in years

Dickinson has a knack for description, and a grasp on the subtlties of characterization that will take your breath away. As the blurb says, this book hides a secret within itself, so I won't give away any of the plot here. You could take my advice and read it, or you could disregard this review and miss out. It's your choice.