Description: War ravages Leira and the Song has fallen silent.
Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, and Ky, a street-wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety.
Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran's fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?
My Thoughts: Though this is the second book in the series, this is the first book of Gillian's that I have read. I found the story world very well developed and was able to pick up what had been happening without much issue. Though I didn't care much for the odd way Amos spoke, I was drawn in by the well developed characters, particularly Ky who was by far my favorite. So much so, that I could have read a book just about him.
One aspect I wish could have been drawn out a little longer was the time spent with the Saari. The lion riders had a culture I would have loved to have seen explored more in depth, particularly the relationship between Dah Inali and his sister.
What held me back from fully adoring this book is as other reviewers have mentioned: the ending. The gruesome violence is something that most readers have noted (it does get pretty disturbing), though my reason is a little bit different. Though Birdie comes out at the end with a personal victory which proves her strength of will, <spoiler> the main goal of the novel fails. Utterly. </spoiler> I'm not a fan of this way of ending novel. Particularly not after having gone through so much with the characters.
Because I never read the first in the series, I have no idea how that ended or how to predict the next novel. Since I believe that the next book is the last one, I really don't think it will end as disappointingly as this, though it may be just as gruesome. Still, I think the book over all deserves a high rating. Most of the book was really good and, so long as you begin the story with some foreknowledge, you can be prepared for the way it unfolds.
I have provided an honest review of this novel after having received a copy for review.
No comments:
Post a Comment