... I grew up loving fantastical stories, and as a pre-teen, Joyce's Tredana trilogy were the first fantasy novels I ever read. "The Broken Citadel" and "Castledown" were both side by side on the shelves at the Public library. I checked them out, took them home, and fell in love with Sibby and Leron. I am 21-years-old now, and looking back, I remember it was always hard to find books for my age group that didn't talk down to me. It was so refreshing to read Joyce's novels about Sibby's adventures in a parallel existence. At that age, growing up so confused and awkward, all pre-teens feel out of place, and Sibby's adventures is a version of the story of the girl who takes a step out of the realm where she feels she doesn't belong, into the world where she feels she does. It took me almost ten years to track down a copy of "The Third Wheel", the last book in the series. I never gave up. I sent a fan letter to Joyce when I was 12, but was saddened to find out later that she had passed away. I definitely recommend this book to pre-teens who want to take a step in the door as a fan of fantasy lit. This author does an excellent job of introducing the genre to young adults. Even if you have been a fan of fantasy for awhile and want to try something new, I still recommend the Tredana trilogy. ...

First of all I am a biased reviewer since I am the niece of Joyce Gregorian. The Great Wheel is the third book in a trilogy of sophisticated fantasy fiction. Sibyl has visited the alternate world of Tredana twice in her life, once as a little girl in The Broken Citadel and once as a college student in Castledown. Now as a divorcee Sibyl slips into the alternate universe of her youth with no memory of ever having visited. She is taken up into the army of a Timerlaine conqueror who is threatening her friends (and the daughter she left behind) from her last visits. This book's framework is based on the zodiac, and allows the reader to examine the history of the conqueror as well as the conquered.

I was thirteen when I read _The Broken Citadel_. I'm 40, now. It hasn't lost its compelling beauty, although I've read it numerous times in the 27 intervening years. The abandoned house with the stained glass window and its door into magic still haunts my day dreams and my night dreams.

"Misfit child finds place in magical world" is a very common trope for YA fantasy, partly because it is so seductive for a misfit child with a streak of escapism. _The Broken Citadel_, however, satisfies not only the passions of a teenaged girl wanting to flee imminent adulthood, but the woman she will grow into. Gregorian has an intense compassion for that girl with an adult's insight.

The world and the story are compelling. Gregorian's world has the lights and shadows of a real place, complexities that many YA fantasy novels eschew for fear of confusing child readers. The whole glows like a stained glass window at sunset. Not only is there magic in the world, but the experience of reading it is magical.

This is a book that anyone who likes fantasy is likely to enjoy.

"The Broken Citadel" was my favorite book out of the series because I was around Sibby's age in the book when I first started reading it and it was so wonderful to read about her adventures. 12 is an awkward, confusing age. It seems like you belong in any other world than the one your in, and to actually read about a girl who finds the place where she really belongs... it was awesome. I loved the cliffhanger endings. They're what kept me searching for the "The Greath Wheel" for almost ten years. I'm a huge Gregorian fan. ...

Gregorian's book is a multi-layered gem, in which her young heroine's greatest gift is her empathy and caring for others, and the courage to be true to her own heart. I first read this book in 1978, and is it still my favorite fantasy, both because of the strength of Gregorian's writing, and because it is part of a unique trilogy that tells the story of its heroine as a young girl (The Broken Citadel), as a young woman (Castledown), and as a woman in her 30's (The Great Wheel).

The Broken Citadel introduces the heroine Sibby as a spunky and sensitive child. The book is illustrated with graphic designs by Gregorian herself, depicting the playing cards used in her book to predict the future.

Sibby, steps through a broken window from the world of Massachusetts into another world, Tredana, in which things are not always what they seem - including herself. The world is a heady blend of European and Middle Eastern culture, in which the rich past of by-gone temples, kingdoms

and religions is symbolized by the broken citadel. Using desert warriors, dying priests, dragons and phoenixes clad in their own unique cultural context, Gregorian manages to evoke potent archetypes without falling into cliche, as so many mass market fantasies do.

Sibby joins a questing prince, Leron, and his friends, who seek to rescue the princess Dastra from her tower, where she has been hidden by her mother, the power-hungry Simirimia. Simirimia was once worshiped with her sister Rianna as part of the Double Goddess in Ornat, but she cast down her sister and the temple in exchange for greater power. Now Simirimia threatens Tredana itself.

But nothing is precisely as it seems. In Tredana, Sibby discovers, nobility of the spirit matters more than nobility in name, although the former is much rarer than the latter.

Full of depth and dimension. Figuring out the game is as engaging as the plot of the novel itself. I read this as a teenager, and ten years later Ajibawr and the desert tribes Gregorian describes still intrigue and entice. Better than the first book - more complex. I haven't read the third in the series; I'm a little concerned that it will be a letdown...

I first read Broken Citadel when I was in Jr. High. I loved it then and have since been trying to locate my own copy. I finally found copies of both The Broken Citadel and Castledown. I, too, had to read the second book right away. I couldn't put it down! Now I am seeking a copy of the third book. If you know where I can locate one, PLEASE let me know!

First of all, I am the niece of Joyce Gregorian, the book is dedicated to me, and therefore I am a biased reviewer. Years after her first trip through a broken window in The Broken Citadel, Sibby unexpectedly returns to the alternate universe she thought was only a dream. No longer an elementary school student, she views her old friends differently. And someone from her own universe has followed her this time. A more mature version of The Broken Citadel, some inrigue and romance, but still geared towards the mature younger reader. (Or the escapist adult reader.) As The Broken Citadel was structured around Tarot, Castledown is structured around a chess-like game of Joyce's imagination. The fianl book of the trilogy, The Great Wheel, is structured around the zodiac.