Product Description

A reissue of classic backlist titles from the author of the best selling Farseer Trilogy and The Liveship Traders books. The fourth book in the Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb) backlist. LUCK OF THE WHEELS is the fourth and final book in THE WINDSINGERS series, following HARPY'S FLIGHT, THE WINDSINGERS and THE LIMBRETH GATE, which introduced her popular gypsy characters, Ki and Vandien. Ki and Vandien should've known the money was too good to be true. Three georns and a full orn to be paid on arrival -- just to transport cargo to Villena! The cargo, however, was human, a boy called Goat, and his family seemed just a little bit too anxious to be rid of him. It smelled like trouble. And it was. Not to mention a few other problems Ki and Vandien never imagined!like a lovesick stowaway, an army of rebels and road bandits and a magical detour with death itself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #396003 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
Praise for Megan Lindholm: 'A bright new talent in the fantasy field' Charles de Lint 'Lindholm has created a refreshingly different magic' Locus 'Fascinating, absorbing and well written' Fantasy Review

About the Author
Megan Lindholm was born in California in 1952 and majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado. A winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Award, she wrote a number of successful fantasy novels, including Cloven Hooves, The Windsinger trilogy and Wizard of the Pigeons before taking the name, Robin Hobb. Assassin's Apprentice was Robin Hobb's first novel, and was followed by the equally successful Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. She lives outside Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Great stuff from a writer who really knows what she's doing
I'll admit that, as Robin Hobb, I've always believed that this writer didn't know how to finish a trilogy. With this one -- and okay, it's a quartet -- she's really proven me wrong.
Anybody who's come to love Ki and Vandien through the earlier adventures in this series will be absorbed in this one right from the start. The sluttish Willow is easy to hate, and when at one point it seems that she'll seduce Vandien right out from under Ki's nose my blood literally boiled.
I struggled with the difficult Goat right from the start. Despicable, yes. Pitiable, yes. Dangerous, yes. It seemed that there was no choice but that he tangle our duo up in something they really didn't want a part in.
A fun adventure, an exploration of racism, the human condition, the bond between two people, the concept of personal honour and self respect. This book has everything.
Damn but this writer's good.

Ki and Vandien, you'll be sorely missed.....
Despite drawing to a close this enchanting series `Luck of the Wheels' is yet another uniquely original and well-plotted story, colourfully bringing to life a small group of characters and their navigation of beautiful, yet increasingly danger-ridden lands. However, this happens to be a stand-alone story in many respects, just as I felt the previous book (`The Limbreth Gate') in the `Ki and Vandien' series had also been. Themes explored in the first book (`Harpy's Flight') such as the relationship between Ki and the harpies, and in the second book (`The Windsingers') such as Ki's kinship with that particular group are not addressed at all in this story. I hadn't felt there had been as much resolution of those issues as there could have been in the previous books and now with this concluding part it seems there never will be. This is however the best book in the series in my opinion since `Harpy's Flight' and that's reason enough to celebrate.

It's the only disappointment I have with this series and admittedly, it's a small one and it's made even more insignificant when you consider that the other riveting theme of this series is stepped up yet another gear in this story. It is of course the relationship between Ki and Vandien themselves. In finishing this book I realise that this series has been less about flesh, feather or feminine demons, as it has been about the inner demons of Ki and Vandien and their unspoken love for one another.

An emotion that Lindholm is particularly adept at inspiring in her readers is a fury for those characters who are almost the antithesis of our heroes. There are two characters who join Ki and Vandien on their final journey into the untravelled and unfriendly southern lands and they are the volatile Goat and whirling-dervish-like Willow, both of whom I found equally infuriating, but who nonetheless contributed to my speedy consumption of this story.

Another quality you've probably come to expect of this author's writing is that as often as she's able Lindholm pulls on the heart-strings of her readers by subjecting her beloved characters to ever-increasing danger and this story is no exception- there's quite a bit of heartache in this story, which I won't spoil for you by going into here. Suffice to say that although the finale came far too soon for me, I found it an appropriate way to end the series. The `Ki and Vandien' quartet is one I'll very likely read again, I enjoyed it that much. Thanks Megan.