The Birthgrave

The Birthgrave by Tanith Lee is a rich, rewarding fantasy novel that shades over into something a bit different and unexpected by story's end. Filled with grand vistas and rich barbaric splendor, Birthgrave is nonetheless different from much fantasy fare, at least in this reader's experience, in that the story is told from a distinctly female perspective. There is a central mystery surrounding the narrator of the tale that lasts throughout most of the book; this mystery is resolved by story's end, in a way that is not entirely gratifying, containing elements of deus ex machina and a bit of an info-dump. The ending is certainly not horrible, it's just my least favorite part of the tale, which overall is magnificent. Lee writes in a dense, stately prose that captivates and absorbs and demands that time be take to savor the words, the descriptions, the beautiful metaphors. The protagonist is ethereal yet earthly, female yet sometimes brutal, a goddess, a mother, a warrior, a healer, a killer, compassionate sometimes and sometimes vengeful. She is a complex character, fully realized, thoroughly intriguing. The Birthgrave is a very good book.