koalathebear's review against another edition
4.0
We've all heard the tale before in young adult fiction. Cloistered young girl filled with curiosity and yearning for the outside world ends up being the Chosen One, destined to save the world as we know it. Along the way, she does a lot of travelling, makes a lot of friends, enemies and might even get a love interest along the way.
Even when it's a well-known storyline, as long as the writing is good I don't mind. Constable's writing is at times a little clunky, weirdly enough at times she seems to skip almost too quickly from one moment to the next and doesn't sufficiently build up context between characters. As the book progresses, though, she improves and you genuinely start to feel interest in what happens to Calwyn and her friends. A weakness for me in this novel is that I usually like the almost chaste and heroic romance between the heroine and her designated love interest. Darrow's a bit ho hum for me - not very interesting and the tension isn't sufficiently built up. Nonetheless, he has two more books to prove himself.
I particularly enjoyed two of the secondary characters, being Trout a strong-minded and quirky young inventor from Mithates who joins Calwyn and her friends. I also liked Mica, a young wind worker (magician capable of controlling movement of wind) who works for pirates but eventually joins the gang.
I know I'm generalising, but like most Australian authors of fantasy, Constable has a very nice and light touch to her fantasy. She's able to have dialogue that's matter of fact, her characters don't speak forsoothly and the names aren't too outlandish and ridiculous.
Even when it's a well-known storyline, as long as the writing is good I don't mind. Constable's writing is at times a little clunky, weirdly enough at times she seems to skip almost too quickly from one moment to the next and doesn't sufficiently build up context between characters. As the book progresses, though, she improves and you genuinely start to feel interest in what happens to Calwyn and her friends. A weakness for me in this novel is that I usually like the almost chaste and heroic romance between the heroine and her designated love interest. Darrow's a bit ho hum for me - not very interesting and the tension isn't sufficiently built up. Nonetheless, he has two more books to prove himself.
I particularly enjoyed two of the secondary characters, being Trout a strong-minded and quirky young inventor from Mithates who joins Calwyn and her friends. I also liked Mica, a young wind worker (magician capable of controlling movement of wind) who works for pirates but eventually joins the gang.
I know I'm generalising, but like most Australian authors of fantasy, Constable has a very nice and light touch to her fantasy. She's able to have dialogue that's matter of fact, her characters don't speak forsoothly and the names aren't too outlandish and ridiculous.
stonecrow77's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.5
Calwyn is a priestess in training who lives in the icy land of Antaris. One task that she’s learning to undertake is the fortification of the ice wall surrounding her town. The wall has so much residual magic that anyone who touches it instantly freezes.
One day while tending to her duties, she finds a wounded man (Darrow) on the ground - Antaris has no men. After tending to his wounds she learns that there are other lands outside the wall and that an evil sorcerer (Samis) is travelling to those lands and gathering magic with hopes to be the most powerful sorcerer in the land (The Singer of All Songs).
When Samis finds his way into Antaris and begins causing terror, Calwyn and Darrow escape from Antaris and try to find a way to stop Samis, along the way, Calwyn learns about the magic that surrounds her.
This is the first book in the trilogy written by new author Kate Constable. I saw these books in the ‘used’ section in the local library. When I was told that they were $1.50 (total for all three) I couldn’t pass it up. Fantasy is one of the genres that fits my mold perfectly so I gave it a shot.
The first thing that I’ll mention about this book is the magic system. Almost every fantasy world has its own form of magic - it’s almost always traditional mages doing magic spells. Nothing wrong with that but I feel that it can get a bit boring at times - not the stories, but the magic use.
The magic here (as proclaimed by the title) is done in song. Both the Spellsinger Cycle (Alan Dean Foster) and the Spellsong Cycle (L. E. Modisett) have a system involving magic as song, but this takes it a step further.
Only those born with the gift of chantment can be chanters. Chanters control one of nine powers:
1) A mysterious unknown power
2) The Power of Ice which commands everything that is cold and all that is dark; And it is the power of all that is dead
3) The Power of Fire, which commands all that is light and all that is hot
4) The Power of Becoming, which holds the secrets of quickening and growth and change
5) The Power of Iron, which commands any object that belongs to the earth, excepting any living thing, or air, or water, or fire
6) The Power of Winds, which governs winds and waves and weather
7) The Power of Seeming which makes illusions visible and hides what is real
8) The Power of Beasts which commands all animals that creep and run and fly
9) The Power of Tongue which commands all speech and language and song
Each song has its limitations - Only people born of the islands can be Wind Workers; only people born in the land of Merithuros can be Iron Workers; Only women can be Ice Workers, etc.
This magic system sets up a very specific set of rules that I just loved. I feel that untraditional magic use in books raises the dynamic a bit. The world doesn’t become restricted by the norm and gets a bit more creative.
I feel that the character development is done well here as well. I read some reviews stating that Calwyn is a poor protagonist and doesn’t do much for the story. This is completely untrue. Calwyn lives in Antaris for the first sixteen years of her life. EVERYTHING about the world is new to her and she’s scared of everything that she’s unfamiliar with. It’s not until she puts her trust in the friends that she meets that her confidence starts to grow. It takes a little while for her to come into her own, but she eventually does.
The plot is almost really tightly knit. There are times when she tries to be a little too descriptive which takes away from the story a little bit. That’s probably the biggest problem with this novel. She tries to fit an awful lot into it. Maybe if she made the book just a bit longer would have taken away some of that burden but it’s not overly bad...it’s just a lot.
For a first effort, this is really, really good. It opens up a beautiful world full of wonder and excitement all the while keeping the characters likeable and realistic.
If you like fantasy, I’d definitely recommend this.
onewinternight's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars.
Beautifully written fantasy, but too New Age-y dreamy for me. Like a yoga class or soymilk, it has great qualities. The world and the magic were fascinating,the characters were standard fantasy fare, and the villain was boring.
Overall: relaxing,easy read.
Beautifully written fantasy, but too New Age-y dreamy for me. Like a yoga class or soymilk, it has great qualities. The world and the magic were fascinating,the characters were standard fantasy fare, and the villain was boring.
Overall: relaxing,easy read.
a_verthandi's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I read this like, less than a year after it was published, because I have distinct memories of this entire conceit and talking to my mom about it. I had to re-read it because while my memory is good, it is not that good.
Surprisingly, I liked it pretty well despite being ten years older this time! Sometimes, it reads a little too much like old high fantasy in dialogue choices and word usage, but the constructed world is an interesting one.
I read this like, less than a year after it was published, because I have distinct memories of this entire conceit and talking to my mom about it. I had to re-read it because while my memory is good, it is not that good.
Surprisingly, I liked it pretty well despite being ten years older this time! Sometimes, it reads a little too much like old high fantasy in dialogue choices and word usage, but the constructed world is an interesting one.
aurodon's review against another edition
Too angsty, but I liked the characters, the angst was all realistic, and it had a redeeming ending.
lisimerk's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
flovvergirl's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book when I was in middle school more than anything else. It holds up relatively well. It's an enjoyable magic system, especially for those who like to sing and though the characters are sometimes petulant and immature, it fits their ages and they are generally likeable. However, I don't think that the romantic relationship is well developed. The characters have some chemistry at the beginning, but after they begin their journey, they seem to spend more time not speaking than speaking. It's also one of those books that I'm happy stands alone even though it's part of a trilogy as I really didn't enjoy further books in this trilogy.
catholicamanda's review against another edition
4.0
I love books with magic and when that is combined with music, I have to read the book. A magic system based on traditionally passed on songs just sounds pretty cool. And then there are the different cultures that Calwyn and her friends travel through, the people they meet. It starts with just Calwyn and Darrow. Then Xanni and Tonno, Trout and Mica. They are all, eventually, trying to stop Samis from becoming the Singer of All Songs, the master of all the chantments.
There are parts of the book where the descriptions of locations seem very detailed with depth and such. Then there are parts that I don’t feel like I fully understood. For instance, the Doryan islands. Calwyn and Mica have a part where they are on one of the islands. Despite the fact that Calwyn was there, I don’t really feel like I know anything about the islands. And Spiridrell. I would love to know more about Spiridrell.
Calwyn’s motivation for leaving Antaris is mainly curiosity. Then it becomes this giant quest to save the whole of Tremaris from Samis. I’m just not sure a girl from the mountains would really travel with people she barely knows and then get involved in what is basically a war between Samis and Darrow that she does not understand.
Then there is Darrow. Darrow is a complex character. You don’t really get a lot of his back story in this book but, from the beginning, you know it has something to do with Samis and Merithuros. He is the mysterious characters. I was okay with that.
Mica, I just love Mica. She is a girl from the Firthana islands taken captive by Doryan pirates because she is a windworker. She is spunky and I feel that I can relate better to her than to Calwyn.
A good book geared towards the younger end of the young adult spectrum. A quick, easy read that keeps you interested and asking What next?
This review first appeared on CatholicAmanda.com
There are parts of the book where the descriptions of locations seem very detailed with depth and such. Then there are parts that I don’t feel like I fully understood. For instance, the Doryan islands. Calwyn and Mica have a part where they are on one of the islands. Despite the fact that Calwyn was there, I don’t really feel like I know anything about the islands. And Spiridrell. I would love to know more about Spiridrell.
Calwyn’s motivation for leaving Antaris is mainly curiosity. Then it becomes this giant quest to save the whole of Tremaris from Samis. I’m just not sure a girl from the mountains would really travel with people she barely knows and then get involved in what is basically a war between Samis and Darrow that she does not understand.
Then there is Darrow. Darrow is a complex character. You don’t really get a lot of his back story in this book but, from the beginning, you know it has something to do with Samis and Merithuros. He is the mysterious characters. I was okay with that.
Mica, I just love Mica. She is a girl from the Firthana islands taken captive by Doryan pirates because she is a windworker. She is spunky and I feel that I can relate better to her than to Calwyn.
A good book geared towards the younger end of the young adult spectrum. A quick, easy read that keeps you interested and asking What next?
This review first appeared on CatholicAmanda.com
mollywollydoodleallday's review against another edition
4.0
I remember loving this book when I was in school! I was glad to see it held up under a reread many years later. I love the richness of the world and the idea of singing as magical. Thoroughly enjoyed!
anne_abundantcolors's review against another edition
2.0
I thought the story was boring and colorless. The ideas-(the magic, the theme) were not original either.