thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
A ripping good fantasy, complete with dimensionally displaced human, wise turtle, wisecracking otter and Marxist dragon. Also a fair bit of testosterone, with the two female characters described as fiery beauties. The biggest problem with the book it stops well short of the end of the story, which continues in the next book. Not satisfying.
First read this book and it's sequel when they were written, back in the early 80s. I don't remember how the second book ended, but I'm fairly sure the third wasn't available at the time, and I read no further. The first six books were published over three years, so Alan Dean Foster was really cranking them out. He published two more in the early 90s.
First read this book and it's sequel when they were written, back in the early 80s. I don't remember how the second book ended, but I'm fairly sure the third wasn't available at the time, and I read no further. The first six books were published over three years, so Alan Dean Foster was really cranking them out. He published two more in the early 90s.
simply_sam's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those books that I read as a teen that I totally forgot about until I saw the title. Then I was like, "SPELLSINGER! I LOVED that book!," although I can't recollect why I loved it. It's just the feeling I got when I saw the title. If a book title alone can make me smile 20+ years after reading said book then there must have been something about it worth remembering.
tarana's review against another edition
4.0
Finally got the first audiobook for the Spellsinger series by Graphic Audio (I had the rest already). A Pre-law student is transported to a world that consists of anthromorphacized animals. He discovers by accident that he has magician skills through music. It's kindof fun with certainly different things happening. Very introductory and clearly continued in next book as their quest does not complete.
This was not intended as a YA but I think appropriate for 16 or 17 year old on up. Has some cussing and occasional sexual reference (young male yearning), but it was written in the 80s and pretty mild.
The audiobooks are no longer sold at Audible, but Graphic Audio still sells them as downloads/streaming. CDs can only be found on secondary market as they clearanced them in 2018.
This was not intended as a YA but I think appropriate for 16 or 17 year old on up. Has some cussing and occasional sexual reference (young male yearning), but it was written in the 80s and pretty mild.
The audiobooks are no longer sold at Audible, but Graphic Audio still sells them as downloads/streaming. CDs can only be found on secondary market as they clearanced them in 2018.
shirezu's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know why I decided to reread this but I'm glad I did. I forgot how much I liked some of Alan Dean Foster's work.
Spellsinger is the first in a series about a law student/amateur musician, nicknamed Jon-Tom, who is transported to a world of magic and talking animals that is seriously not Narnia. Unless Narnia is now inhabited by alcoholic, fornicating, foul-mouthed, violent creatures.
Jon-Tom discovers that his fledgling musical talents have now manifested themselves as magical with the ability to conjure items via song.
Unfortunately the book stops before it really gets into the meat of why Jon-Tom was transported but it's still worth reading. I look forward to finally reading the rest of the series.
Spellsinger is the first in a series about a law student/amateur musician, nicknamed Jon-Tom, who is transported to a world of magic and talking animals that is seriously not Narnia. Unless Narnia is now inhabited by alcoholic, fornicating, foul-mouthed, violent creatures.
Jon-Tom discovers that his fledgling musical talents have now manifested themselves as magical with the ability to conjure items via song.
Unfortunately the book stops before it really gets into the meat of why Jon-Tom was transported but it's still worth reading. I look forward to finally reading the rest of the series.
ameliafrog's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
nikolawannabe's review against another edition
3.0
This seems more of a children's book to me, at least as far as depth.
joanarcherknight's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
angrywombat's review against another edition
4.0
Wow... its been a LONG time since these were published - '83 and '84 (so if you are under 35, these count as "before you were born"!), and I cant believe that it hasn't got a lot more hype around r/Fantasy... These were an awesome read!
This is basically a single story split over two books... so you need to get the pair of them to get the whole story - but damn it is worth it! At first whiff it seems Mr Foster has done the classic fantasy trope of "chosen one" to vanquish the big bad evil, but this whole story is a happy subversion of most fantasy tropes!
Our main PoV character is Jonathan Thomas Meriweather - a pre-law student who is a bit of a stoner and amateur musician... and he finds himself drawn into a strange fantasy world populated by anthropomorphic animals... about to be invaded by the "plated folk" who have a new evil magic brought across from our world...
The setup and antics of the book are quite funny as it is a contrast of a "fantasy world" but the main character (and general tone) is straight up realistic... so the lack of plumbing, technology, social mores etc are played straight... and our poor PoV Jon-Tom has a really hard time of it. Mr Foster plays with the "chosen one" in that the wizard Clothahump was searching out for a magician of our world - an En'giniear - and Jon-Tom as a part time job at the university as a janitor (sanitation engineer...) I love that Jon-Tom is just your average university student... and really has no useful skills for a medieval-style world - in fact he is almost killed numerous time and desperately wants to get home! The only "skill" he finds by accident is that his music acts as a magical focus... he summons magical effects based on the song he sings... given that he only really knows a bunch of rock/jazz from the 60's and 70's - and that the magic tries to interpret the song based on the surroundings - the effects are usually quite different from expectations!
I loved his attempt to summon riding water-salamanders by singing "yellow submarine" by the Beatles... his companions get worried by the lyrics - rightfully so when he summons a river-dragon big enough to eat them all whole!
Given that Clothahump the wizard summoned Jon-Tom to counter an evil invasion... and cannot cast such a taxing spell for a long time - Jon-Tom gets dragged along for the ride of going to warn the inhabitants of the capital city... and then on a mad treck to gain allies (of sentient spiders!!!) and infiltrate the Plated folk country to try to stop the evil magics from our world... a military computer ala war-games
This reminds me of Discworld actually - using a fantasy world to comment on and satirize many real-world issues.
Definitely get this book and read it!
This is basically a single story split over two books... so you need to get the pair of them to get the whole story - but damn it is worth it! At first whiff it seems Mr Foster has done the classic fantasy trope of "chosen one" to vanquish the big bad evil, but this whole story is a happy subversion of most fantasy tropes!
Our main PoV character is Jonathan Thomas Meriweather - a pre-law student who is a bit of a stoner and amateur musician... and he finds himself drawn into a strange fantasy world populated by anthropomorphic animals... about to be invaded by the "plated folk" who have a new evil magic brought across from our world...
The setup and antics of the book are quite funny as it is a contrast of a "fantasy world" but the main character (and general tone) is straight up realistic... so the lack of plumbing, technology, social mores etc are played straight... and our poor PoV Jon-Tom has a really hard time of it. Mr Foster plays with the "chosen one" in that the wizard Clothahump was searching out for a magician of our world - an En'giniear - and Jon-Tom as a part time job at the university as a janitor (sanitation engineer...) I love that Jon-Tom is just your average university student... and really has no useful skills for a medieval-style world - in fact he is almost killed numerous time and desperately wants to get home! The only "skill" he finds by accident is that his music acts as a magical focus... he summons magical effects based on the song he sings... given that he only really knows a bunch of rock/jazz from the 60's and 70's - and that the magic tries to interpret the song based on the surroundings - the effects are usually quite different from expectations!
I loved his attempt to summon riding water-salamanders by singing "yellow submarine" by the Beatles... his companions get worried by the lyrics - rightfully so when he summons a river-dragon big enough to eat them all whole!
Given that Clothahump the wizard summoned Jon-Tom to counter an evil invasion... and cannot cast such a taxing spell for a long time - Jon-Tom gets dragged along for the ride of going to warn the inhabitants of the capital city... and then on a mad treck to gain allies (of sentient spiders!!!) and infiltrate the Plated folk country to try to stop the evil magics from our world... a military computer ala war-games
This reminds me of Discworld actually - using a fantasy world to comment on and satirize many real-world issues.
Definitely get this book and read it!
ambermarshall's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't too impressed with this one, to the point where the book ends mid-scene and I don't really care (at 88% on my Kindle, might I add). It turns out the next book, previewed at the end, starts at that same scene, revealing that this is one of those series written like one big book and just chopped up into individuals. It's like when I'm watching something on Hulu and their commercial algorithm pops one in the middle of someone's sentence.
Nothing about this book was particularly bad, it just didn't grab me, or couldn't hold me. The plot wasn't too exciting, none of the characters particularly appealed to me, and I felt like spellsinging should be cooler than it was (or that Jon-Tom should at least be smarter about it. You need a boat and you don't think of "Rollin' On the River"?)
Jon-Tom himself disappointed me a little. I guess he was a realistic (?) college guy but he had a lot of vacillations between "I want to go home" and "this is my world now." Also way too much attention paid to what was going on in his pants whenever the gals were around. The women characters were kind of weak too. Talea starts out brusque and then seems to fall for Jon-Tom for NO REASON, and Flor, while at least breaking the pretty girl stereotype by going for the badass route, still comes off ditzy and (no offense, anyone) like a closet furry or something?
I feel like good anthropomorphizations (is that a word?) make you forget the animals aren't people, like the animal characters in cartoons. That never seemed to happen here, though I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's easier with a visual medium, paradoxically (because with a visual medium you always see that it's an animal, so you think it'd be harder to reconcile).
I don't know, I pretty much finished the book just to finish it and have no plan to read the rest of the series, cliffhanger or no.
Nothing about this book was particularly bad, it just didn't grab me, or couldn't hold me. The plot wasn't too exciting, none of the characters particularly appealed to me, and I felt like spellsinging should be cooler than it was (or that Jon-Tom should at least be smarter about it. You need a boat and you don't think of "Rollin' On the River"?)
Jon-Tom himself disappointed me a little. I guess he was a realistic (?) college guy but he had a lot of vacillations between "I want to go home" and "this is my world now." Also way too much attention paid to what was going on in his pants whenever the gals were around. The women characters were kind of weak too. Talea starts out brusque and then seems to fall for Jon-Tom for NO REASON, and Flor, while at least breaking the pretty girl stereotype by going for the badass route, still comes off ditzy and (no offense, anyone) like a closet furry or something?
I feel like good anthropomorphizations (is that a word?) make you forget the animals aren't people, like the animal characters in cartoons. That never seemed to happen here, though I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's easier with a visual medium, paradoxically (because with a visual medium you always see that it's an animal, so you think it'd be harder to reconcile).
I don't know, I pretty much finished the book just to finish it and have no plan to read the rest of the series, cliffhanger or no.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish