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Title: Riddle-Master of Hed, The Author: Patricia A McKillip Copyright Date: 1976 Publisher: Ballentine Books

Plot
"THREE STARS OF DESTINY "Long ago, the wizards had vanished from the world, and all knowledge was left hidden in riddles. Morgan, prince of the simple farmers of Hed, proved himself a master of such riddles when he staked his life to win a crown from the dead Lord of Aum. "But now ancient, evil forces were threatening him. Shape changers began replacing friends until no man could be trusted. So Morgan was forced to flee hostile kingdoms, seeking the High One who ruled from the mysterious Erlenstar Mountain. "Beside him went Deth, The High One's Harper. Ahead lay strange encounters and terrifying adventures. And with him always was the greatest of unsolved riddles - the nature of the three on his forehead that seemed to drive him toward his ultimate destiny."
Setting
As far as I can tell, the world or continent is not given a name. Most kingdoms have simple names like Hed and Herun but an Osterland is thrown in for some flavor. There is nothing imaginative about the landscape and it bares a strong similarity to Middle-Ages Europe. I did enjoy the occasional ancient city that was mysteriously abandoned long ago.
Characters
Morgon, Prince of Hed, wants to defy his destiny and return to his kingdom of simple farmers. Deth, a traveling harpist visiting the world and carrying out the orders of the High One. Hign One, God Incarnate concerned with the health of the land and rarely interferes with human affairs.
Overall
This was a fun read but it had its share of problems. The beginning almost finished the book before it could start. Throw in a dash of unnecassary amnesia and it cooks up fairly trite. However, it had two redeeming traits for me: One: The Characters are believable. The fact that certain characters have been alive for thousands of years is hard to swallow but their motivations and personalities rang true. Two: This book is as old as I am. The age of a book influences me quite a bit. I have read a lot of books over the years and it makes it hard to be original with the same basic plot lines. An older book isn't trite but original. Need an example? Let me share a story... A friend of mine worked with someone that LOVED Dungeons & Dragons. She suggested he read the Fellowship of the Ring and he did. Can you guess his response? If you said "Boring!" you would be half right. The other half? "That was such a rip-off of D&D! The Elves and Dwarves were such stereotypes, Hobbits are nothing more that Halflings, and Gandalf was such a template wizard!"