Waters Luminous & Deep: Shorter Fictions

by Meredith Ann Pierce

Book Overview

A spellbinding collection of short stories by the author of the Darkangel and Firebringer trilogies. Meredith Ann Pierce's acclaimed novels are the proof of a remarkable imagination. Here is more... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670036870
• ISBN13: 9780670036875
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Quick Review

The stories are not as well polished as Pierce's other work, but for those of you who are huge fans I would still say it's worth it. Enjoyable read while waiting (hoping!) for her to write some more of her wonderful stories! If you are considering buying any of her other works I would say it is unquestionably worth it. Meredith Ann Pierce is an amazing author!

Beautiful stories!

This thoroughly enjoyable book highlights Meredith Ann Pierce's amazing writing talent with short stories that all follow the theme of water. Each story is radically different, though Pierce's magical way with words is evident in each one. There were none that I did not enjoy.

"We Shall Go a Voyaging - Call the Boat..."

Meredith Ann Pierce is definitely one of my favourite authors: her style, her narrative voice and her subject matter all appeal to me at the highest level, and after devouring all her other books I was incredibly thankful to find that she'd been published once more. Then I discovered that it was an anthology of short stories: if you've read any of my other reviews you'll know that I am not that fond of short stories: novels are more meaty and interesting to me. But in Pierce's hands, I had nothing to worry about. In "Waters Luminous and Deep" she presents eight pieces of writing that all surround the element of water, whether it be sea water, rain water, ice, snow, tears, or the still deep water at the bottom of a well. With her rich, beautiful imagery and her ability to take old fairytales and reshape them into something new and original, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves fantasy, folklore, legends or just storytelling at its best."Night Voyage" is the prelude to the book - a dreamy and quiet fragment that sets the mood and the theme of the rest of the book, of two children's experiences with the sea and moon."The Fall of Ys" is Pierce's retelling of the legend of Ys, a kingdom that sunk due to the sorcerous evils of the King's daughter (in some versions called Dahud, but here Myramond) and her father's noble/tragic decision to let her drown. Pierce takes a different slant on the story however, suggesting that King Gralond was the antagonist, his daughter the innocent, and the sea working not as a ravaging force of nature, but as an act of justice. Pierce also melds old tales of drowned suitors in the wave's crests and the Avalon-like priestesses of the sea-isles."Where the Wild Geese Go" is based on five pen-and-ink drawings (sadly not included) that touched Pierce's imagination and formed a story. A story reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen", given that it concerns a young girl on a quest through a wintry landscape. Truzjka is sent by her grandmother into the wild in order to ease her heart's desire to know where the wild geese fly, and in Pierce's hands the usual fairytale obstacles and characters that Truzjka meets on the way become fresh and original."Icerose" fits in the "Snow Queen" element that was missing from the previous story with the inclusion of a figure known as the Icewitch. In order to return summer to the world Gunther and Demian set forth to retrieve the Icerose from the terrible Icewitch's frigid grip. Pierce melds stunning imagery (a swan frozen in the midst of taking flight) and her eye for detail: as the heroes sit by the fire, tiny black salamanders scuttle through it and into the night. This is one of my favourites, and brilliantly showcases Pierce's ability to tell new stories that *feel* like ancient tales."Rafiddilee" was written when Pierce was only fourteen years old: it was the story that told her she was a writer, and tells of a mute dwarf that comes into the service of his be

a wonderful collection of stories

This is a marvelous collection of shorter works by a writer who is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. The title is nicely evocative, as all of the stories have to do with water (or ice or snow) in some way, and "luminous" is an excellent description of Pierce's beautifully clear and expressive writing. The stories range in length from just a few pages to novella-length, and in tone from the utterly charming "The Frogskin Slippers", a witty take on the fairy tale of "The Frog Prince", to the more serious "Rampion", a novella of two half-sisters, their lives on an isolated island, and the very different ways in which they rebel against their unscrupulous father. I find Pierce's longer fiction even more engrossing, but these shorter pieces still show off her wonderful imagery, strong heroines, and lovely writing.