The Bell at Sealey Head

July 28, 2008
An unseen bell haunts a seaside town and a magical mansion in this delicate fable from World Fantasy Award winner McKillip (Od Magic
). Inside the baffling Aislinn House, young chambermaid Emma, opening an ordinary cabinet door, might find a rack of towels or encounter knights, crows and a lonely princess. As Lady Eglantyne, the ancient matron of the house, lies dying, her long-lost grand-niece is sent for. The townspeople are delighted by wealthy, city-bred Miranda Beryl, but suspicious of her eagerness to make herself at home and inherit the house—spellbound bell and all. Meanwhile, vacationing academic Ridley Dow's interest in Aislinn House hints at another motive for his visit to the village beside the ocean. Romantic intrigue and touches of this fantastic make this light mystery an easy and pleasant read.

September 15, 2008
The small seaside town of Sealey Head is home to a few families, an inn, and Aislinn House, an old mansion with a special powerits doors sometimes open onto the world of faerie, where princesses like young Ysabo occupy their time with a complex ritual and knights exist to marry the princesses. Each day at sunset, a bell sounds, heard by everyone, yet its whereabouts and the identity of its ringer remain unknownuntil a few strangers arrive to unlock an ancient past. McKillip ("Song for the Basilisk"; "Solstice Wood") weaves elegant modern fairy tales from simple themes, drawing the mythical and everyday worlds into an enchanted union. Elegant, deceptively spare prose and well-developed characters make this a good choice for adult and YA fantasy collections.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2008
McKillips latest is an elegantly written alternate-worlds tale set in Sealey Head, a small ocean-side town that exists in two worlds, in both of which a bell peals as the sun sets. The magnificent Aislinn House is the focal point, a domicile whose doors sometimes open to rooms in a castle in which the young princess Ysabo is among the females sworn to carry out rigid, unexplainable rituals to keep the world from coming to an end. This-world events are having a devastating effect on the other Sealey Head. While carrying out her duties, Emma, housemaid at Aislinn House, frequently finds herself peering into the other world. She comes to know Ysabo, but neither can cross into the others world. Meanwhile, the bell has haunted Gwyneth as long as she can remember, and she writes stories that look at possible explanations for the mystery of the bell, which no one can see. McKillips knack for vividly portrayed characters and fairy-tale ambience is evident in a story that includes some appealing romance and humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)