The Harpist in the Wind

Infobox Book
name = Harpist in the Wind
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
author = Patricia A. McKillip
cover_artist = Michael Mariano
country = United States
language = English
series = The Riddle Master Trilogy
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Atheneum Books
release_date = 1979
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages = 256 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-689-30687-3
preceded_by = Heir of Sea and Fire, (1977)
followed_by =

"Harpist in the Wind" is a fantasy novel by Patricia A. McKillip. It is the concluding book of the Riddle Master Trilogy, the first two books being "The Riddle-Master of Hed" and "Heir of Sea and Fire". It was published in 1979, and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1980.

Morgon of Hed and Raederle of An set out to discover the answers to the questions: who are the shape changers who pursue them and where is the High One, the source of the land law binding the realm together. Along the way they are helped by the wizards of the realm, recently released from the bonds in which Ghisteslwchlohm had held them, and by the land rulers. After confronting Ghisteslwchlohm in the city of Lungold, where the wizard once had ruled, Morgon is imprisoned by the shape changers within Erlenstar Mountain. He escapes with the help of Raederle and the High One. Seeking refuge in the far north, he begins to learn the land law of each kingdom. Only when he has learned the land law does Morgon discover that the High One had journeyed with him as Deth and the wizard Yrth. Morgon is the High One's land heir. When the High One is killed by Ghisteslwchlohm, now possessed by the shape changers, Morgon learns to use the winds to overcome them and bring peace to the land. He is the new High One with Raederle as his partner.

In the trilogy, land law resides with the land ruler of each of the kingdoms within the realm. Land rulers are aware of all of the entities within their kingdom. They can sense, it seems, each creature, each plant, each rock. The High One, in McKillip's creation, seems to have the same relationship with the entire realm. When the land law passes on, the land heir suddenly becomes aware of everything in his or her kingdom, or in the entire realm.

All three books were collected into the volume "" in 1999.

Bibliographical note: The first UK paperback edition precedes the first US paperback.

External links

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