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The Wild Hunt #1
Die Lieder der Erde
Das Geheimnis der Magie liegt in den Liedern der Erde
Das heilige Buch von Eador lässt keine Zweifel aufkommen: Wer die Lieder der Erde hören kann, soll brennen! Bereits seit tausend Jahren befolgen die Ritter der Kirche dieses Gebot und verfolgen jeden, den sie der Magie verdächtigen. Dabei machen sie auch vor ihren eigenen Reihen nicht halt: Als der Novize Gair zum ersten Mal die ebenso schöne wie schreckliche Melodie vernimmt, ist ihm klar, dass dies sein Ende bedeutet, sollte sein Geheimnis gelüftet werden. In einem unbeobachteten Moment gelingt Gair die Flucht, doch die Kirche ist ihm auf den Fersen, und in sich spürt er die Kraft der Erde heranwachsen, so mächtig, dass sie ihn zu zerstören droht. Einzig die Hüter des Schleiers können Gair jetzt noch helfen ...
Das heilige Buch von Eador lässt keine Zweifel aufkommen: Wer die Lieder der Erde hören kann, soll brennen! Bereits seit tausend Jahren befolgen die Ritter der Kirche dieses Gebot und verfolgen jeden, den sie der Magie verdächtigen. Dabei machen sie auch vor ihren eigenen Reihen nicht halt: Als der Novize Gair zum ersten Mal die ebenso schöne wie schreckliche Melodie vernimmt, ist ihm klar, dass dies sein Ende bedeutet, sollte sein Geheimnis gelüftet werden. In einem unbeobachteten Moment gelingt Gair die Flucht, doch die Kirche ist ihm auf den Fersen, und in sich spürt er die Kraft der Erde heranwachsen, so mächtig, dass sie ihn zu zerstören droht. Einzig die Hüter des Schleiers können Gair jetzt noch helfen ...
559 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
93 people are currently reading
3029 people want to read
About the author
Elspeth Cooper
10 books197 followersAuthor of The Wild Hunt Quartet (SONGS OF THE EARTH, TRINITY RISING, THE RAVEN'S SHADOW and the forthcoming THE DRAGON HOUSE). Reader, writer, tea drinker, sword owner, cat slave.
I'm not here often, so if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website
I'm not here often, so if you need to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews
July 18, 2011
I’ve only been reading fantasy for about five years now. I did read all of Tolkien’s works and The Chronicles of Narnia when I was younger, but it wasn’t until I read Christopher Paolini’s Eragon that I got into the genre. Then I read books like Naomi Novik’s Temeraire, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, James Clemens’ Banned and Banished, and Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar. Very different titles, yet all of them have two things in common: they are all epic stories, and all have a very clear division of good and evil with straightforward protagonists to love and identify with.
Conventional fantasy
It’s been a while since I last read one of this type of book I used to love so very much. Until I came across Elspeth Cooper’s debut Songs of the Earth, first in a trilogy titled The Wild Hunt, that is. The premise promises an interesting and original novel about a young man named Gair who lives in a Holy City and hears music with magic power. Because of this, the church calls him a witch and he is sentenced to death. When his situation seems hopeless, he hears of a secret order of magicians who may take him in… If only he can manage to escape his execution.
While I wouldn’t call this premise inaccurate, Songs of the Earth soon takes a turn to the conventional epic fantasy genre. The promised hopeless execution never happens. Instead, Gair is banished early in the story and meets a mysterious man, Alderan, who takes him on a journey to the secretive order called the Guardians of the Veil. From there, the story evolves in a predictable fashion. The Veil that the order guards is a magic wall holding back a nation of evil creatures, and Gair is nothing less than a super magician who will need to learn how to use his magic in order to save the world.
Lack of substance
As I said, I used to love books like Songs of the Earth. I used to marvel in the conventions of the epic genre, loving a good prophesied hero who would save his world from certain doom and would challenge the evil gods themselves. I still do like those kinds of stories, and Songs of the Earth was a particularly easy read. Cooper’s style of writing is very compelling and her prose is of high quality. However, I found myself longing for more depth. If anything, Songs of the Earth is a shallow book, lacking substance.
This lack of substance is evident in all aspects of the story, but it is most poignant in Cooper’s world building. Or rather, in the lack thereof. From the very start, with the introduction of the church, it is clear that we are dealing with an organization highly inspired by medieval Catholics, and Cooper does nothing to lead us away from this. Places visited on Gair and Alderan’s journey are described but lack the detail to set them apart from each other, and with the lack of other types of world building, I was left with the impression that this world is nothing but medieval Europe with different names and magic.
Undefined magic
With the lack of world building, this magic is the only interesting element of Cooper’s world. It also seems to be a promising and original magic system: music that comes from the earth itself and can be used to perform magic. Unfortunately, it soon turns out that the magic is just your regular power or force, and the music is nothing but a way for magicians to perceive that force. What’s more, though the magic at first seems like a more scientific system like that of Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson, I had the distinct feeling that Cooper didn’t want her magic to be subject to any rules. In the middle of the book, as Gair’s abilities are tested, he suddenly shape shifts into a bird and flies away. These scenes of flying were some of the best written scenes in the book — along with the amazing swords-fighting scenes — but that use of the magic came as a complete surprise and makes no sense whatsoever compared to anything Cooper previously established about the magic. While I understand that the surprise of it might add to the appeal of the story, to me it displays a lack of foreshadowing and direction. That’s unfortunate, because a musical force of nature magic system holds great potential.
Stereotyped and awkward
Another element that had much potential but was poorly executed are the characters in Songs of the Earth. Articles on writing good characters often mention that your characters should be very identifiable individuals, but should do something unexpected and out-of-character every now and then. I’m quite certain Cooper has read these articles as well. Her characters are stereotyped to the point that they become dull. Of course, if you put a bunch of different stereotypes together, they are all quite unique. However, they lack anything to make them interesting. The out-of-character things that I mentioned were very blatant. For example, Gair would spend the entire journey hating the church for what they did to him, but then he would suddenly and randomly quote scripture to Alderan. On top of that, the dialogue in Songs of the Earth felt stiff and awkward.
Why should you read this book?
With Songs of the Earth, Cooper has proven she knows her way around words. The action scenes and pacing were extraordinarily good. Unfortunately, Songs of the Earth lacks the substance to set it apart. This book shows promise, but I found it lacking in most areas. I expect fans of Christopher Paolini or Terry Goodkind might enjoy this read, but fans of George R.R. Martin, Steven Erikson and Joe Abercrombie probably won’t.
Conventional fantasy
It’s been a while since I last read one of this type of book I used to love so very much. Until I came across Elspeth Cooper’s debut Songs of the Earth, first in a trilogy titled The Wild Hunt, that is. The premise promises an interesting and original novel about a young man named Gair who lives in a Holy City and hears music with magic power. Because of this, the church calls him a witch and he is sentenced to death. When his situation seems hopeless, he hears of a secret order of magicians who may take him in… If only he can manage to escape his execution.
While I wouldn’t call this premise inaccurate, Songs of the Earth soon takes a turn to the conventional epic fantasy genre. The promised hopeless execution never happens. Instead, Gair is banished early in the story and meets a mysterious man, Alderan, who takes him on a journey to the secretive order called the Guardians of the Veil. From there, the story evolves in a predictable fashion. The Veil that the order guards is a magic wall holding back a nation of evil creatures, and Gair is nothing less than a super magician who will need to learn how to use his magic in order to save the world.
Lack of substance
As I said, I used to love books like Songs of the Earth. I used to marvel in the conventions of the epic genre, loving a good prophesied hero who would save his world from certain doom and would challenge the evil gods themselves. I still do like those kinds of stories, and Songs of the Earth was a particularly easy read. Cooper’s style of writing is very compelling and her prose is of high quality. However, I found myself longing for more depth. If anything, Songs of the Earth is a shallow book, lacking substance.
This lack of substance is evident in all aspects of the story, but it is most poignant in Cooper’s world building. Or rather, in the lack thereof. From the very start, with the introduction of the church, it is clear that we are dealing with an organization highly inspired by medieval Catholics, and Cooper does nothing to lead us away from this. Places visited on Gair and Alderan’s journey are described but lack the detail to set them apart from each other, and with the lack of other types of world building, I was left with the impression that this world is nothing but medieval Europe with different names and magic.
Undefined magic
With the lack of world building, this magic is the only interesting element of Cooper’s world. It also seems to be a promising and original magic system: music that comes from the earth itself and can be used to perform magic. Unfortunately, it soon turns out that the magic is just your regular power or force, and the music is nothing but a way for magicians to perceive that force. What’s more, though the magic at first seems like a more scientific system like that of Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson, I had the distinct feeling that Cooper didn’t want her magic to be subject to any rules. In the middle of the book, as Gair’s abilities are tested, he suddenly shape shifts into a bird and flies away. These scenes of flying were some of the best written scenes in the book — along with the amazing swords-fighting scenes — but that use of the magic came as a complete surprise and makes no sense whatsoever compared to anything Cooper previously established about the magic. While I understand that the surprise of it might add to the appeal of the story, to me it displays a lack of foreshadowing and direction. That’s unfortunate, because a musical force of nature magic system holds great potential.
Stereotyped and awkward
Another element that had much potential but was poorly executed are the characters in Songs of the Earth. Articles on writing good characters often mention that your characters should be very identifiable individuals, but should do something unexpected and out-of-character every now and then. I’m quite certain Cooper has read these articles as well. Her characters are stereotyped to the point that they become dull. Of course, if you put a bunch of different stereotypes together, they are all quite unique. However, they lack anything to make them interesting. The out-of-character things that I mentioned were very blatant. For example, Gair would spend the entire journey hating the church for what they did to him, but then he would suddenly and randomly quote scripture to Alderan. On top of that, the dialogue in Songs of the Earth felt stiff and awkward.
Why should you read this book?
With Songs of the Earth, Cooper has proven she knows her way around words. The action scenes and pacing were extraordinarily good. Unfortunately, Songs of the Earth lacks the substance to set it apart. This book shows promise, but I found it lacking in most areas. I expect fans of Christopher Paolini or Terry Goodkind might enjoy this read, but fans of George R.R. Martin, Steven Erikson and Joe Abercrombie probably won’t.
August 6, 2013
The problem with being a poor book hoarder is that the library eventually wants their book back. I still hadn't managed to get into it and all my the renewals were used up. It was make or break time. I sat down determined to get lost in Songs for a night.
100 pages later and I realized why I hadn't been able to get into it. There's nothing particularly wrong about Songs. There's also nothing right either. It's like a whole bunch of tropes went out for lunch and forgot to pay the check. Everything in Songs has been done by someone else, usually better.
It did answer a question of mine. Yes, it is possibly to have bunches of new to the reader description and still be boring. Good to know.
100 pages later and I realized why I hadn't been able to get into it. There's nothing particularly wrong about Songs. There's also nothing right either. It's like a whole bunch of tropes went out for lunch and forgot to pay the check. Everything in Songs has been done by someone else, usually better.
It did answer a question of mine. Yes, it is possibly to have bunches of new to the reader description and still be boring. Good to know.
March 19, 2013
On Amazon they like this book to Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, all I have to say to this is; not even close.
In Name of the Wind the beautifully written words jump out at you and the dialog flowed smooth, here in Songs of the Earth...not so much.
Don't get me wrong, Songs of the Earth did have some sun through the clouds moments where a sentence shined or the dialog was witty but it's missing something.
I am a huge fan of British authors with Kate Griffin's Madness of Angels getting a five star rating and I loath to say it but I missed the crispness, the sharp wit that I find in British writing.
In Name of the Wind the beautifully written words jump out at you and the dialog flowed smooth, here in Songs of the Earth...not so much.
Don't get me wrong, Songs of the Earth did have some sun through the clouds moments where a sentence shined or the dialog was witty but it's missing something.
I am a huge fan of British authors with Kate Griffin's Madness of Angels getting a five star rating and I loath to say it but I missed the crispness, the sharp wit that I find in British writing.
March 7, 2013
I am at a loss here. No book has ever prompted me to join a website to write a review. I am the type of person that never walks out of a movie no matter how bad. Being an avid reader since grade school I can honestly say I have never read a book that has made me want to put it down.Elspeth Cooper has a beautiful writing style that I found very engaging it was easy to get lost in her writing. I had no problems with the premiss or characters of the book. I can forgive bland characters, poor world building and formulaic plots but I have NEVER read a book that was so poorly edited! Every time I would slip into the book I would be jarred out by characters entering scenes and then seemingly disappear from said scene only to reappear when exiting said scene. Or to have scenes and characters disjointedly jump around, and scenes end abruptly from one paragraph to the next. One example that just left me dumbfounded was having our protagonist playing chess with his new friend ( whom lives in the room next door) in one paragraph and the next paragraph finds said friend locked outside the school at night in the rain. We then spend a page following said friend on his quest to get back inside, hey there's a door I will go in it, the end.!?! Really? He's inside playing chess where he lives, then he's just locked outside with no explanation, spends a few paragraphs trying to get back inside, easily succeeds in doing so, end of meaningless side bar that has nothing to do with anything? Just thought we'd take a break from what was JUST happening to randomly skip through time and space to watch people do random things that have no connective threads to any of the surrounding story?!? Oh hey we are out frolicking, oops now we're playing chess and I bet you think my silent monologue is in response to the chess game I'm playing and being asked about but nope I'm thinking about the frolicking I just abruptly stopped doing which you will realize in two paragraphs when my monologue stops making sense in relation to my situation and I directly refer to the frolicking I was just doing! I don't understand how people have absolutely no problem with this. Most of the negative reviews have to do with characters or world building or predictability of the plot, all of which I have no problem overlooking. Bad editing on the other hand.... yet another bad editing choice is the constant switch between characters first names and races. It might not be bad if you didn't use both for your protagonist before even establishing the races, leaving the reader to assume they are using a characters last name until they use it on another person ten pages in causing you to suddenly wonder if the writer is talking about the protagonist and you just somehow missed them changing clothes and locations.... nope completely different person, maybe it's a rank or nickname or body type or character trait, oh it's a race of people well thanks for the unnecessary confusion. Oh and please make sure you switch from given names to race names every sentence so I have to backtrack to make sure I know whom your talking about! This book could have easily been a great read,and I really wanted it to be as I loved the premise and the writing style, not to mention the fact that my bar isn't set too high when it comes to fun fantasy reads. But bad editing to the extent of constant confusion does NO author any good. And there you have it, my first and probably last book review written out of my frustration at the inexplicably confusing editing choices of a potentially great book.
September 7, 2014
Menuda decepción de libro. En la portada de mi edición pone que es el mejor debut de fantasía de 2011, lo mejor que se ha publicado después de "El nombre del viento"... Si esto es lo mejor, ¡apaga y vámonos!
Es un cliché con patas continuo. Innovación cero.
Cuando empecé a leerlo la primera vez no me enteré de una papa, así que lo abandoné en la estantería. Este verano decidí hacer de tripas corazón y darle una segunda oportunidad.
Al principio me estaba pareciendo interesante. No era la repanocha ni nada nuevo, pero al menos era interesante. Un joven juzgado por "brujo" por la Iglesia (del libro), y un sabio le rescata de la calle e inician un viaje juntos. Bien, lo dicho, no es la lectura más innovadora de mi vida del género fantástico pero es el principio, no juzguemos... Hasta que te habla de la escuela. ¿En serio, joder? ¿Una escuela? ¿Qué mierda es esto, Hogwarts? A partir de ahí el libro para mí lo único que hizo fue decepcionarme, mostrarme un cliché tras otro y aburrirme.
El protagonista es uno de esos tíos perfectos que tiene mucho poder (pero él no lo sabe, claro) y por lo visto tiene que estar bueno porque todas las tías guapas del libro pierden el culo por él. Por supuesto, tiene un archienemigo que era el más poderoso de todos hasta que llegó el prota a su vida. El malo (de nacimiento, para demostrarnos lo supermalo que es y que nada justifica su actitud) quiere matarlo por algo que sólo él sabe (y que nos revelarán en el último libro fijo). Al prota el malo le resbala al principio, pero de repente se carga a alguien que quiere y, hala, ya tenemos venganza para cuatro libros.
Luego, el universo creado por la autora... Pues cogió un mapa de Europa y le cambió los nombres a los países y a las religiones. Ya está. Tampoco se ha matado. Cogió los conflictos típicos de la Edad Media y ahí lo lleváis.
En resumen, no pienso seguir con la serie. Paso de leerme cuatro libros iguales. Me da igual si mejora en el segundo libro, me perdería leyendo porque todos los malditos nombres de todos los personajes son iguales ya que la autora sólo sabe usar tres puñeteras vocales: a, e, i (Gair, Savin, Darin, Aysha, Alderan, Tanith, etc). Casi que prefiero que coja un calendario y saque nombres al azar de ahí...
No le doy una estrella de puro milagro.
Es un cliché con patas continuo. Innovación cero.
Cuando empecé a leerlo la primera vez no me enteré de una papa, así que lo abandoné en la estantería. Este verano decidí hacer de tripas corazón y darle una segunda oportunidad.
Al principio me estaba pareciendo interesante. No era la repanocha ni nada nuevo, pero al menos era interesante. Un joven juzgado por "brujo" por la Iglesia (del libro), y un sabio le rescata de la calle e inician un viaje juntos. Bien, lo dicho, no es la lectura más innovadora de mi vida del género fantástico pero es el principio, no juzguemos... Hasta que te habla de la escuela. ¿En serio, joder? ¿Una escuela? ¿Qué mierda es esto, Hogwarts? A partir de ahí el libro para mí lo único que hizo fue decepcionarme, mostrarme un cliché tras otro y aburrirme.
El protagonista es uno de esos tíos perfectos que tiene mucho poder (pero él no lo sabe, claro) y por lo visto tiene que estar bueno porque todas las tías guapas del libro pierden el culo por él. Por supuesto, tiene un archienemigo que era el más poderoso de todos hasta que llegó el prota a su vida. El malo (de nacimiento, para demostrarnos lo supermalo que es y que nada justifica su actitud) quiere matarlo por algo que sólo él sabe (y que nos revelarán en el último libro fijo). Al prota el malo le resbala al principio, pero de repente se carga a alguien que quiere y, hala, ya tenemos venganza para cuatro libros.
Luego, el universo creado por la autora... Pues cogió un mapa de Europa y le cambió los nombres a los países y a las religiones. Ya está. Tampoco se ha matado. Cogió los conflictos típicos de la Edad Media y ahí lo lleváis.
En resumen, no pienso seguir con la serie. Paso de leerme cuatro libros iguales. Me da igual si mejora en el segundo libro, me perdería leyendo porque todos los malditos nombres de todos los personajes son iguales ya que la autora sólo sabe usar tres puñeteras vocales: a, e, i (Gair, Savin, Darin, Aysha, Alderan, Tanith, etc). Casi que prefiero que coja un calendario y saque nombres al azar de ahí...
No le doy una estrella de puro milagro.
January 12, 2012
http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2...
I've read some crazy good debuts over the last twelve months, including two of the best novels I read last year. It's not the norm, however, for a debut author to spring forth like Athena, fully grown and ready to kick some ass. And Elspeth Cooper's (can we agree that Elspeth is a cool name?) Songs of the Earth is more the norm, a well conceived and well written novel that suffers from debut hiccups.
Cooper's protagonist is Gair, a holy-knight-in-training who's been exiled and branded by the Church for witchcraft. Starved and battered, he finds help from a mysterious man who can teach him to control the magical song in his mind. The man, Alderan, is a member of an ancient order of Guardians, charged with protecting the barrier between the world and something akin to Hell. What follows is the 'magical school' plot device that's so widely applied across the genre, and for the most part it's well done, although the focus remains more on Gair's romance with an older woman than education.
While Gair's journey is the primary story line, other plots are afoot, including Church politicking as Preceptor Ansel prepares for a coming conflict. Coming conflict I say? Can I provide more details? Well, not really, which caused some consternation. Maybe Cooper is being too subtle, or maybe I'm dense, but Ansel spends a great deal of time researching, plotting, and executing (maybe?) something. 460 pages later, it's not clear at all what that is. I might have a guess about the ultimate goal, but the methods he's laying out to accomplish them? I've got nothing.
For me, Ansel's sequences were far more compelling than Gair's. Populated by interesting characters with blurred morality, it's unfortunate they function more like an extended epilogue, as none of it felt relevant to the main arc. Of course, it whet my appetite for the next book, the obvious intent, but interspersing it throughout the novel slows the narrative, leading to a novel with inconsistent pace.
There is one other niggle that bears mentioning. A moment occurs about halfway through the novel where Gair demonstrates a capability with no groundwork to support it. It seemingly comes out of nowhere and somewhat impeaches what is in my mind a tremendous first half of a novel. In fact, had I written this review based solely on the preceding pages, I would be stringing together a series of superlatives. All of which goes to say, Cooper absolutely has the talent to succeed.
Despite some bumps in the road, I found Songs an enjoyable read. The characters are well drawn, some exceptionally so (Alden), and Cooper demonstrates a knack for believable dialogue. Her descriptive prose flows well especially in action sequences where her familiarity with swordplay is apparent. Also, some of the novel's most impressive moments come in the aforementioned romance. What could have come off awkward and stilted, always felt sweet and natural.
Given what I know about Cooper, and what she's shown in Songs of the Earth, I have a strong feeling the Wild Hunt series will be more well regarded as a whole, than the first installment on its own. Numerous fantasy series have started slow before catching fire. With a little more polish and experience, I can see Elspeth Cooper doing just that.
I've read some crazy good debuts over the last twelve months, including two of the best novels I read last year. It's not the norm, however, for a debut author to spring forth like Athena, fully grown and ready to kick some ass. And Elspeth Cooper's (can we agree that Elspeth is a cool name?) Songs of the Earth is more the norm, a well conceived and well written novel that suffers from debut hiccups.
Cooper's protagonist is Gair, a holy-knight-in-training who's been exiled and branded by the Church for witchcraft. Starved and battered, he finds help from a mysterious man who can teach him to control the magical song in his mind. The man, Alderan, is a member of an ancient order of Guardians, charged with protecting the barrier between the world and something akin to Hell. What follows is the 'magical school' plot device that's so widely applied across the genre, and for the most part it's well done, although the focus remains more on Gair's romance with an older woman than education.
While Gair's journey is the primary story line, other plots are afoot, including Church politicking as Preceptor Ansel prepares for a coming conflict. Coming conflict I say? Can I provide more details? Well, not really, which caused some consternation. Maybe Cooper is being too subtle, or maybe I'm dense, but Ansel spends a great deal of time researching, plotting, and executing (maybe?) something. 460 pages later, it's not clear at all what that is. I might have a guess about the ultimate goal, but the methods he's laying out to accomplish them? I've got nothing.
For me, Ansel's sequences were far more compelling than Gair's. Populated by interesting characters with blurred morality, it's unfortunate they function more like an extended epilogue, as none of it felt relevant to the main arc. Of course, it whet my appetite for the next book, the obvious intent, but interspersing it throughout the novel slows the narrative, leading to a novel with inconsistent pace.
There is one other niggle that bears mentioning. A moment occurs about halfway through the novel where Gair demonstrates a capability with no groundwork to support it. It seemingly comes out of nowhere and somewhat impeaches what is in my mind a tremendous first half of a novel. In fact, had I written this review based solely on the preceding pages, I would be stringing together a series of superlatives. All of which goes to say, Cooper absolutely has the talent to succeed.
Despite some bumps in the road, I found Songs an enjoyable read. The characters are well drawn, some exceptionally so (Alden), and Cooper demonstrates a knack for believable dialogue. Her descriptive prose flows well especially in action sequences where her familiarity with swordplay is apparent. Also, some of the novel's most impressive moments come in the aforementioned romance. What could have come off awkward and stilted, always felt sweet and natural.
Given what I know about Cooper, and what she's shown in Songs of the Earth, I have a strong feeling the Wild Hunt series will be more well regarded as a whole, than the first installment on its own. Numerous fantasy series have started slow before catching fire. With a little more polish and experience, I can see Elspeth Cooper doing just that.
did-not-finish
January 27, 2024I have a few complaints:
1 - Isn't the author female? Why have there only been three (three!) named female characters, and only one other that warrant a mention? And no, I'm not gonna take "but the society she created is patriarchal" bullcrap. She mentions that there are other female character but never talks about them, while naming and giving importance to more male characters than I can count on my hands. If there's something I can't stand, it's saying "we're all equal and 50-50 here!" and then not showing any women. (maybe she should've read this article)
2a - No map. You're tossing out names and places and directions but there's no map. I have no idea of all the places you're referencing. I don't know the geography or anything.
2b - Wordbuilding 101: don't make parallels to our world if this is your first time creating a fantasy world. More specifically, don't create an obviously Christianity-based religion, and please, please don't make the desert-dwelling fanatical people the terrorists.
3 - Gair is an idiot. I can't stand Aysha.
1 - Isn't the author female? Why have there only been three (three!) named female characters, and only one other that warrant a mention? And no, I'm not gonna take "but the society she created is patriarchal" bullcrap. She mentions that there are other female character but never talks about them, while naming and giving importance to more male characters than I can count on my hands. If there's something I can't stand, it's saying "we're all equal and 50-50 here!" and then not showing any women. (maybe she should've read this article)
2a - No map. You're tossing out names and places and directions but there's no map. I have no idea of all the places you're referencing. I don't know the geography or anything.
2b - Wordbuilding 101: don't make parallels to our world if this is your first time creating a fantasy world. More specifically, don't create an obviously Christianity-based religion, and please, please don't make the desert-dwelling fanatical people the terrorists.
3 - Gair is an idiot. I can't stand Aysha.
August 5, 2019
RTC
Just binge read a series and started on this one.
I have no life...only books ;)
This is an excellent book and I strongly suggest it to those who like fantasy, murder, mayhem, and majick !
Oh and really intense characters. Especially the characters one loves to hate !
Kill them allllll Gair...all of them !
Just binge read a series and started on this one.
I have no life...only books ;)
This is an excellent book and I strongly suggest it to those who like fantasy, murder, mayhem, and majick !
Oh and really intense characters. Especially the characters one loves to hate !
Kill them allllll Gair...all of them !
December 12, 2011
Songs of the Earth is another great 2011 debut. Harkening back to a more traditional fantasy feel, it made me feel warm and comfy in its pages. It felt both familiar and new, as there is a sort of 'Chosen One' feel about its protagonist Gair, but nobody comes out and says it. There is no prophecy he has to follow, no magical McGuffin to help him complete a quest. It really isn't a prophecy-driven book; instead it's just good old-school epic fantasy, in my opinion.
The world building in Songs of the Earth is fantastic. What really stood out for me were the pieces of scripture Ms Cooper created for the Eadorian Church. They give an authentic and well-rounded feel to at least the Church-side of this culture and through some of the chapters featuring Ansel and some of Gair's discussions with Darin on Church history we get an even more well-rounded view. The same can be said of Ms Cooper's magic system. This too is well-rounded, though still mysterious, with little of the actual 'mechanics' of the magic revealed. All we really know it's song-based – everything has its own musical signature – and not everyone gifted with the ability to hear the Song, has the same aptitudes or strength in the powers at play. I'd love to see some more details on the mechanics, but that's just because I love that sort of thing. Another strong point is the different nationalities and races found in the book. While the world of Songs of the Earth seems in a large part Western-European inspired, with its Northmen and Leahn, who feel somewhat Scandinavian in appearance and a religion which seems to have some familiarity with the Christian one, there are other cultures out there, such as the Southern desert peoples where Aysha came from, the sea elves Masen encounters and the Astolan people, with their White Court and long-lived people. And before you say, oh no elves, let me stress that what I particularly loved about the Astolan is how they are introduced into the narrative—without even any emphasis on any link to elves. Ms Cooper even has Tanith joke about it, when they discuss – inaccurate – Astolan descriptions in literature, telling Gair about Astolan ears: "Completely unpointed, as you can see". That line definitely made me chuckle out loud.
Besides great world building, Cooper also manages to people her book with interesting characters. Gair is a great protagonist, somewhat naive, but definitely not stupid or too innocent for his age. I really liked his development; he grows up over the course of the novel from a somewhat naive young man to someone who has accepted the blows life has dealt him and risen above them. By the end of the book, Gair has a purpose and goal he wants to reach with his life and, though it might not be the wisest or most rational desire, I'm sure following him as he tries to attain his goal is going to be interesting. As stated above, there is a hint of the Chosen one about Gair and Alderan is the wise one to Gair's Chosen one. He is the character who knows where Gair needs to go and what's next, but at the same time he is shown to be fallible and admits it ungrudgingly. I liked the school setting of Chapterhouse where Alderan takes Gair, though we see remarkably little of Gair's education. Instead of focusing on Gair's lessons, Ms Cooper chooses to focus on Gair's interactions and relationships with his fellow students, such as Darin, Arlin and Sorchal, and some of the Masters, such as Aysha, swords master Harlan, and Tanith, one of the healers. I loved the friendship Gair forms with Darin and the rapport he builds with Tanith. But I loved his relationship with Aysha the most. Both because I'm an incurable romantic and because, like Gair himself at first, I kept getting the feeling that it wasn't right, that it would mean trouble, but at the same time seeing how he made Aysha blossom, it was hard to resist the pairing.
A storyline completely separate from Gair's was that of Preceptor Ansel and Chaplain Dalinor. In their scenes we get to see some of the machinations within the Church and perhaps some of the motivations of its key players as well. They made me think the Church wasn't all bad; especially in the latter part of the book where Church politics came to the fore Ansel's and Dalinor's scenes were very enjoyable. These are very clever and devious men, who need to defeat even more devious opponents. I truly adored the last scenes where we see them and I hope we will see more of them in the next book along with the Lord Provost and Selsen.
If I have to have one complaint, it's a minor one: some elements were a little telegraphed. For example, the trinket used by the bad guys to get an in inside Chapterhouse. While I didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, I did know there was something wrong with it and so its ultimate role didn't come as a surprise. Similarly, I knew Aysha's and Gair's relationship wouldn't end well, even if I didn't know why wouldn't end well. In any case, the way this was resolved had me crying my eyes out, so knowing that something will probably happen, doesn't mean it won't have impact. Besides, I can't help but think that part of the telegraphing is due to that sense of familiarity I mentioned before; Songs of the Earth fits in a long-standing fantasy tradition and as such some elements and tropes are bound to be familiar. And this isn't a bad thing, as long as tropes don't become cliché, but, for me, Ms Cooper never crossed that line.
Songs of the Earth is a book which made me both laugh and cry. It made for compelling reading; I whipped through it in sessions of 100 pages a sitting and just couldn't put it down. The morning before I finished it I was bemoaning the fact I had to go to work as I wanted to finish the book. I came home sat down and didn't emerge until I'd finished. While I may have been late in reading this first instalment of The Wild Hunt, I'm sure I won't be as tardy with book two, Trinity Moon. Its release date in April is too far away! If you haven't done so yet, be sure to pick up a copy of this wonderful début – Christmas presents are just around the corner! – as it's one of the stronger ones of the year.
The world building in Songs of the Earth is fantastic. What really stood out for me were the pieces of scripture Ms Cooper created for the Eadorian Church. They give an authentic and well-rounded feel to at least the Church-side of this culture and through some of the chapters featuring Ansel and some of Gair's discussions with Darin on Church history we get an even more well-rounded view. The same can be said of Ms Cooper's magic system. This too is well-rounded, though still mysterious, with little of the actual 'mechanics' of the magic revealed. All we really know it's song-based – everything has its own musical signature – and not everyone gifted with the ability to hear the Song, has the same aptitudes or strength in the powers at play. I'd love to see some more details on the mechanics, but that's just because I love that sort of thing. Another strong point is the different nationalities and races found in the book. While the world of Songs of the Earth seems in a large part Western-European inspired, with its Northmen and Leahn, who feel somewhat Scandinavian in appearance and a religion which seems to have some familiarity with the Christian one, there are other cultures out there, such as the Southern desert peoples where Aysha came from, the sea elves Masen encounters and the Astolan people, with their White Court and long-lived people. And before you say, oh no elves, let me stress that what I particularly loved about the Astolan is how they are introduced into the narrative—without even any emphasis on any link to elves. Ms Cooper even has Tanith joke about it, when they discuss – inaccurate – Astolan descriptions in literature, telling Gair about Astolan ears: "Completely unpointed, as you can see". That line definitely made me chuckle out loud.
Besides great world building, Cooper also manages to people her book with interesting characters. Gair is a great protagonist, somewhat naive, but definitely not stupid or too innocent for his age. I really liked his development; he grows up over the course of the novel from a somewhat naive young man to someone who has accepted the blows life has dealt him and risen above them. By the end of the book, Gair has a purpose and goal he wants to reach with his life and, though it might not be the wisest or most rational desire, I'm sure following him as he tries to attain his goal is going to be interesting. As stated above, there is a hint of the Chosen one about Gair and Alderan is the wise one to Gair's Chosen one. He is the character who knows where Gair needs to go and what's next, but at the same time he is shown to be fallible and admits it ungrudgingly. I liked the school setting of Chapterhouse where Alderan takes Gair, though we see remarkably little of Gair's education. Instead of focusing on Gair's lessons, Ms Cooper chooses to focus on Gair's interactions and relationships with his fellow students, such as Darin, Arlin and Sorchal, and some of the Masters, such as Aysha, swords master Harlan, and Tanith, one of the healers. I loved the friendship Gair forms with Darin and the rapport he builds with Tanith. But I loved his relationship with Aysha the most. Both because I'm an incurable romantic and because, like Gair himself at first, I kept getting the feeling that it wasn't right, that it would mean trouble, but at the same time seeing how he made Aysha blossom, it was hard to resist the pairing.
A storyline completely separate from Gair's was that of Preceptor Ansel and Chaplain Dalinor. In their scenes we get to see some of the machinations within the Church and perhaps some of the motivations of its key players as well. They made me think the Church wasn't all bad; especially in the latter part of the book where Church politics came to the fore Ansel's and Dalinor's scenes were very enjoyable. These are very clever and devious men, who need to defeat even more devious opponents. I truly adored the last scenes where we see them and I hope we will see more of them in the next book along with the Lord Provost and Selsen.
If I have to have one complaint, it's a minor one: some elements were a little telegraphed. For example, the trinket used by the bad guys to get an in inside Chapterhouse. While I didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, I did know there was something wrong with it and so its ultimate role didn't come as a surprise. Similarly, I knew Aysha's and Gair's relationship wouldn't end well, even if I didn't know why wouldn't end well. In any case, the way this was resolved had me crying my eyes out, so knowing that something will probably happen, doesn't mean it won't have impact. Besides, I can't help but think that part of the telegraphing is due to that sense of familiarity I mentioned before; Songs of the Earth fits in a long-standing fantasy tradition and as such some elements and tropes are bound to be familiar. And this isn't a bad thing, as long as tropes don't become cliché, but, for me, Ms Cooper never crossed that line.
Songs of the Earth is a book which made me both laugh and cry. It made for compelling reading; I whipped through it in sessions of 100 pages a sitting and just couldn't put it down. The morning before I finished it I was bemoaning the fact I had to go to work as I wanted to finish the book. I came home sat down and didn't emerge until I'd finished. While I may have been late in reading this first instalment of The Wild Hunt, I'm sure I won't be as tardy with book two, Trinity Moon. Its release date in April is too far away! If you haven't done so yet, be sure to pick up a copy of this wonderful début – Christmas presents are just around the corner! – as it's one of the stronger ones of the year.
May 7, 2012
***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA&Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and News!
Exquisite. A near perfect blend of fantasy, action, adventure and magic. Finely imagined and beautifully told, Songs of The Earth by Elspeth Cooper is one greatly enjoyable and entirely captivating debut fantasy novel. I had a wonderful time reading it. Thanks to Cooper's excellent and engaging storytelling, it didn't take long for me to become totally immersed in the plot. All the characters were carefully depicted, with a mixture of qualities and flaws that really made them jump off the page. The settings were vivid and painted with an exceptional care for details. I could almost feel the cold wind on my skin and hear the glorious song of power and magic. And it felt amazing. And it made me crave more. Mesmerizing - that would be the word. But also adventurous, at times scary and disquieting, thematically poignant, moving, even slightly philosophical. Beautiful. It was, in every sense of the word, an epic story and an exciting beginning to a promising new series.
Suffer ye not the life of a witch and shun ye all works of evil lest they imperil thy soul.
Gair can hear the Song. Which basically means he is a witch. He can touch the songs of the earth and weave magic. Unfortunately, the world he's been born into is a cold and unforgiving one, where practicing magic equals besmirching the sanctity of the Suvaeon Order and is punishable by death. And no one cares about Gair's loyalty to the Lady and his many years of service to the Church. All that matters is that he has performed acts of witchcraft for which he must be punished. Burned. While Gair is doing his best to stay alive, the magic inside him is breaking free and he has to do something with it, has to learn how to embrace it and get it under control, otherwise he'll burst. His only hope lies in the Guardians of the Veil, a secret and well-hidden society that holds the knowledge of the Song. In order to learn how to master his gift, he has to find them, and he has to do it quick. And that's only just the beginning of the many dangers and adventures he'll have to face.
This was, hands down, one of the most wonderful fantasy books I have read in the past few years. I wasn't even 50 pages into this book before it downed on me that I am beginning something truly extraordinary. And the feeling stayed with me all the way to the end, leaving me impressed, amazed, slightly dazed and ultimately satisfied. Cooper's writing style is nothing short of spellbinding. It draws you in, holds your attention, gets you emotionally involved in the characters' story and leaves you breathless. And begging for more. There's no denying the fact that this lady have nailed her debut in a way that you really don't see very often. For that, and for the way she she brought all her characters to life and made me care about them, I am giving her a well-deserved standing ovation.
I'm not even sure what I loved more about this book - the way the story was driven by the beautifully fleshed out, convincing characters, or the way the events smoothly unfolded, allowing me to take pleasure in exploring all the intricacies of the plot. Or maybe it was the whole new concept of magic that won me over, or perhaps the chilling witch hunts and inquisition. Or maybe I'm just a total sucker for thrilling adventures and epic quests, sprinkled with danger and occasional humor. Whatever it was, it was good.
Gair's journey to self-discovery and self-acceptance was also very interesting to read about. His whole life he's been taught that magic is a sin. Every prayer he has learned was meant to steer him away from it. But when he heard the music, he couldn't resist opening his heart to it, it felt too good, too euphoric not to give in. And he struggled with that a lot. When we meet him, he's still not entirely sure whether he's a sinner, well-deserving of the punishment he's about to receive, or just an innocent victim with a gift. He has to face the cruelty of the world around him, all the while battling demons of his own. Trying to find his place in the world. And it was absolutely fascinating to be able to accompany him on this journey and see him transform from a scared, confused man with not much hope for the future, into a strong, confident, powerful character, ready to take on whatever new challenges are thrown his way.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Songs of The Earth and I hope you realized by now that this is a title that simply must be on your shelf. I can't wait for the next installment!
Exquisite. A near perfect blend of fantasy, action, adventure and magic. Finely imagined and beautifully told, Songs of The Earth by Elspeth Cooper is one greatly enjoyable and entirely captivating debut fantasy novel. I had a wonderful time reading it. Thanks to Cooper's excellent and engaging storytelling, it didn't take long for me to become totally immersed in the plot. All the characters were carefully depicted, with a mixture of qualities and flaws that really made them jump off the page. The settings were vivid and painted with an exceptional care for details. I could almost feel the cold wind on my skin and hear the glorious song of power and magic. And it felt amazing. And it made me crave more. Mesmerizing - that would be the word. But also adventurous, at times scary and disquieting, thematically poignant, moving, even slightly philosophical. Beautiful. It was, in every sense of the word, an epic story and an exciting beginning to a promising new series.
Suffer ye not the life of a witch and shun ye all works of evil lest they imperil thy soul.
Gair can hear the Song. Which basically means he is a witch. He can touch the songs of the earth and weave magic. Unfortunately, the world he's been born into is a cold and unforgiving one, where practicing magic equals besmirching the sanctity of the Suvaeon Order and is punishable by death. And no one cares about Gair's loyalty to the Lady and his many years of service to the Church. All that matters is that he has performed acts of witchcraft for which he must be punished. Burned. While Gair is doing his best to stay alive, the magic inside him is breaking free and he has to do something with it, has to learn how to embrace it and get it under control, otherwise he'll burst. His only hope lies in the Guardians of the Veil, a secret and well-hidden society that holds the knowledge of the Song. In order to learn how to master his gift, he has to find them, and he has to do it quick. And that's only just the beginning of the many dangers and adventures he'll have to face.
This was, hands down, one of the most wonderful fantasy books I have read in the past few years. I wasn't even 50 pages into this book before it downed on me that I am beginning something truly extraordinary. And the feeling stayed with me all the way to the end, leaving me impressed, amazed, slightly dazed and ultimately satisfied. Cooper's writing style is nothing short of spellbinding. It draws you in, holds your attention, gets you emotionally involved in the characters' story and leaves you breathless. And begging for more. There's no denying the fact that this lady have nailed her debut in a way that you really don't see very often. For that, and for the way she she brought all her characters to life and made me care about them, I am giving her a well-deserved standing ovation.
I'm not even sure what I loved more about this book - the way the story was driven by the beautifully fleshed out, convincing characters, or the way the events smoothly unfolded, allowing me to take pleasure in exploring all the intricacies of the plot. Or maybe it was the whole new concept of magic that won me over, or perhaps the chilling witch hunts and inquisition. Or maybe I'm just a total sucker for thrilling adventures and epic quests, sprinkled with danger and occasional humor. Whatever it was, it was good.
Gair's journey to self-discovery and self-acceptance was also very interesting to read about. His whole life he's been taught that magic is a sin. Every prayer he has learned was meant to steer him away from it. But when he heard the music, he couldn't resist opening his heart to it, it felt too good, too euphoric not to give in. And he struggled with that a lot. When we meet him, he's still not entirely sure whether he's a sinner, well-deserving of the punishment he's about to receive, or just an innocent victim with a gift. He has to face the cruelty of the world around him, all the while battling demons of his own. Trying to find his place in the world. And it was absolutely fascinating to be able to accompany him on this journey and see him transform from a scared, confused man with not much hope for the future, into a strong, confident, powerful character, ready to take on whatever new challenges are thrown his way.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Songs of The Earth and I hope you realized by now that this is a title that simply must be on your shelf. I can't wait for the next installment!
October 11, 2011
I've never hid the fact that I am a sci-fi reader before a fantasy reader, but every now and then a fantasy book comes along that I look at and just want to read. Songs of the Earth is just such a book, not as hefty as some other novels in the genre but the blurb makes it sound interesting, the fact that it's the first part of a planned trilogy even better. I won't lie, this one has a lot to live up to even before opening the page, the publisher declaring it as the fantasy debut of 2011. However, for me Songs of the Earth hit the spot and delivered the kind of story that makes me want to read more fantasy - a rare thing indeed!
Gair is a witch, awaiting execution at the hands of the Church. For many years he has hid the truth about his magical skills while learning about the religion and fighting methods from the scholars at the Church, and he knows full well what they do with magic users. However, at his trial the Preceptor, an old and frail man, grants him a lifeline in the form of exile rather than the death he - and everyone else - was expecting. But not everyone is willing to accept this and a witchfinder is quickly dispatched by opposing members within the Church to carry out the execution as intended. Fortunately for Gair he falls into the company of Alderan, a wise old man who hides more than he lets on, but the offer he makes Gair is irresistible: travel with him to a place where he can improve and master his talents among others like him. And his journey begins...
Songs of the Earth may be a fantasy tale with magic, strange creatures and a hidden world beyond ours, but it's the characters that drive it forward. Gair is, of course, the hero of the tale, and one that is exceptionally strong at what he can do. However, he's got the recognisable background of orphan who doesn't know his parents - a sure sign that he's destined for greatness. But Gair is an interesting character, one that has never had a home and has had to hide his magical powers from everyone around him, keeping a secret that could (and does) cause great problems for him. He's not the only character I liked either: you've got Alderan, the wise mentor; Ansel, the old and determined Preceptor of the Eadorian faith; Aysha, the crippled shape-shifter. There are many more I could go on about, but that would just ruin it for you. The bad guys are also interesting, although we don't get quite as much depth to them as we do the good guys, something that I hope is improved on in the next novel.
The world building is also a good aspect of Songs of the Earth, but not one that is deeply explored. Cooper manages to create a very real world for the story to take place, and done so without much info-dumping, but I would have liked to have found out a little bit more. There is a fine line between not enough details and too much, and while the balance isn't quite right, it's pretty close. But then again I do like a good bit of world building in my stories, so this is very much personal taste talking.
The magic is also another aspect of Songs of the Earth that I very much enjoyed, the way that a person uses song to create the magic, hearing the different tunes and managing to craft them into different things. It's not a system that is precisely laid out either, but one that you get a feel for as the story progresses and you see more of it in use. It's interesting and adds a good element to the story, another aspect that I hope to see further explored in the next two books.
Above all else Songs of the Earth is a damned fine novel. It tells the story in an interesting way, and while it may not be bringing new groundbreaking stuff to the genre, for me it's exactly the sort of book I want to read. It manages to shy away from some typical fantasy elements, but it also incorporates much of what I expect from a novel in this genre.
Debut of the year? Hard to tell at the moment, but boy is it one hell of an entertaining read!
Gair is a witch, awaiting execution at the hands of the Church. For many years he has hid the truth about his magical skills while learning about the religion and fighting methods from the scholars at the Church, and he knows full well what they do with magic users. However, at his trial the Preceptor, an old and frail man, grants him a lifeline in the form of exile rather than the death he - and everyone else - was expecting. But not everyone is willing to accept this and a witchfinder is quickly dispatched by opposing members within the Church to carry out the execution as intended. Fortunately for Gair he falls into the company of Alderan, a wise old man who hides more than he lets on, but the offer he makes Gair is irresistible: travel with him to a place where he can improve and master his talents among others like him. And his journey begins...
Songs of the Earth may be a fantasy tale with magic, strange creatures and a hidden world beyond ours, but it's the characters that drive it forward. Gair is, of course, the hero of the tale, and one that is exceptionally strong at what he can do. However, he's got the recognisable background of orphan who doesn't know his parents - a sure sign that he's destined for greatness. But Gair is an interesting character, one that has never had a home and has had to hide his magical powers from everyone around him, keeping a secret that could (and does) cause great problems for him. He's not the only character I liked either: you've got Alderan, the wise mentor; Ansel, the old and determined Preceptor of the Eadorian faith; Aysha, the crippled shape-shifter. There are many more I could go on about, but that would just ruin it for you. The bad guys are also interesting, although we don't get quite as much depth to them as we do the good guys, something that I hope is improved on in the next novel.
The world building is also a good aspect of Songs of the Earth, but not one that is deeply explored. Cooper manages to create a very real world for the story to take place, and done so without much info-dumping, but I would have liked to have found out a little bit more. There is a fine line between not enough details and too much, and while the balance isn't quite right, it's pretty close. But then again I do like a good bit of world building in my stories, so this is very much personal taste talking.
The magic is also another aspect of Songs of the Earth that I very much enjoyed, the way that a person uses song to create the magic, hearing the different tunes and managing to craft them into different things. It's not a system that is precisely laid out either, but one that you get a feel for as the story progresses and you see more of it in use. It's interesting and adds a good element to the story, another aspect that I hope to see further explored in the next two books.
Above all else Songs of the Earth is a damned fine novel. It tells the story in an interesting way, and while it may not be bringing new groundbreaking stuff to the genre, for me it's exactly the sort of book I want to read. It manages to shy away from some typical fantasy elements, but it also incorporates much of what I expect from a novel in this genre.
Debut of the year? Hard to tell at the moment, but boy is it one hell of an entertaining read!
August 30, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded down as I don’t want the GR system using this to give me recommendations.
This is very much a traditional fantasy story. Our protagonist, a young man named Gair, can hear mystical music (the song of the book title I’m guessing) which enables him to work magic. As soon as word of his unnatural ability spreads, he is declared a witch and the church, at first set on burning him, decide instead to brand him on the hand with a sort of ‘witch’ sign and exile him. He’s saved by a mysterious traveller who turns out to share Gair’s magical abilities. He also happens to be one of a secret order of witches the (rather pompously titled) Guardians of the Veil who can teach him how to use his talents for good. Which is fortunate, because the Veil (a magical barrier between their world and others) is on the verge of being torn down and they need more magic users to combat this threat.
If I’d read this book back in the ‘90s I might have enjoyed it, but the fantasy genre has moved on since then. This is a very old ‘chosen one’ style novel and it just didn’t work for me. I should stress that I will read a certain type of story more than once if an author creates characters and a world that engrosses me, but this one didn’t.
This had various things that I found a problem: the characters were too familiar, uncomfortably close to stereotypes. You wouldn’t be surprised to know that our hero, Gair, is an especially powerful witch, with abilities with all four elements and the rare magical talent of shapeshifting, would you? He’s also very good with a sword and makes an enemy of the other best swordsman in the chapterhouse – of course he does. If I’d rolled my eyes any harder at that section I think it would’ve physically hurt.
The world-building is also weak – aside from the fact that the church has an intense hatred of witches we have no idea how the religion works, or what these people believe. I have no idea how the rest of the world works either: names of countries are tossed about all over the place, but we know nothing about where they are or what the world looks like (authors, if you’re going to mention a whole load of places, a map would be nice!), except there’s a Not!Venice briefly visited, and in the south there’s a desert land with religious fanatics and caliphs with harems of beautiful women. *sigh* Why do so many fantasy books have places that resemble parts of the medieval world without bothering to look into the social/political background of those places?
The magic building is also weak; Gair can do various things by using the magic of the song, but we have no clear idea how the magic works and what the effects of using the magic are, if any. The magic here is just a sort of Star Wars like Force that can be used by certain people. Fine, okay, but I would prefer more detail and I like it when magic exerts a price from its user.
On the plus side, I did like the fighting scenes.
This is not a bad book by any stretch, it’s just not a particularly good one. If you haven’t read much fantasy or like fantasy towards the more old-fashioned end of the spectrum (I’m thinking of Eddings, Gwynne and Goodkind) than you may enjoy this. If you’ve moved on to writers like Erikson and Lynch than you may be best advised to give this one a swerve.
I picked up the next two books in the series from the library but I will be taking them back unread and starting the next Joe Abercrombie book instead. Life's too short for me to read another fantasy series I don't care about.
This is very much a traditional fantasy story. Our protagonist, a young man named Gair, can hear mystical music (the song of the book title I’m guessing) which enables him to work magic. As soon as word of his unnatural ability spreads, he is declared a witch and the church, at first set on burning him, decide instead to brand him on the hand with a sort of ‘witch’ sign and exile him. He’s saved by a mysterious traveller who turns out to share Gair’s magical abilities. He also happens to be one of a secret order of witches the (rather pompously titled) Guardians of the Veil who can teach him how to use his talents for good. Which is fortunate, because the Veil (a magical barrier between their world and others) is on the verge of being torn down and they need more magic users to combat this threat.
If I’d read this book back in the ‘90s I might have enjoyed it, but the fantasy genre has moved on since then. This is a very old ‘chosen one’ style novel and it just didn’t work for me. I should stress that I will read a certain type of story more than once if an author creates characters and a world that engrosses me, but this one didn’t.
This had various things that I found a problem: the characters were too familiar, uncomfortably close to stereotypes. You wouldn’t be surprised to know that our hero, Gair, is an especially powerful witch, with abilities with all four elements and the rare magical talent of shapeshifting, would you? He’s also very good with a sword and makes an enemy of the other best swordsman in the chapterhouse – of course he does. If I’d rolled my eyes any harder at that section I think it would’ve physically hurt.
The world-building is also weak – aside from the fact that the church has an intense hatred of witches we have no idea how the religion works, or what these people believe. I have no idea how the rest of the world works either: names of countries are tossed about all over the place, but we know nothing about where they are or what the world looks like (authors, if you’re going to mention a whole load of places, a map would be nice!), except there’s a Not!Venice briefly visited, and in the south there’s a desert land with religious fanatics and caliphs with harems of beautiful women. *sigh* Why do so many fantasy books have places that resemble parts of the medieval world without bothering to look into the social/political background of those places?
The magic building is also weak; Gair can do various things by using the magic of the song, but we have no clear idea how the magic works and what the effects of using the magic are, if any. The magic here is just a sort of Star Wars like Force that can be used by certain people. Fine, okay, but I would prefer more detail and I like it when magic exerts a price from its user.
On the plus side, I did like the fighting scenes.
This is not a bad book by any stretch, it’s just not a particularly good one. If you haven’t read much fantasy or like fantasy towards the more old-fashioned end of the spectrum (I’m thinking of Eddings, Gwynne and Goodkind) than you may enjoy this. If you’ve moved on to writers like Erikson and Lynch than you may be best advised to give this one a swerve.
I picked up the next two books in the series from the library but I will be taking them back unread and starting the next Joe Abercrombie book instead. Life's too short for me to read another fantasy series I don't care about.
September 15, 2012
Meh.
I blame it on the MC.
Gair the person who narrates most of this story character was like porridge.Bland,but not bad exactly.Because for someone for who was supposedly tortured, he sure was plain.It didn't help that the plot was a carbon copy of every other epic fantasy.Here are just some examples.
1)the narrator must suffer but survives
2)He special and oh so powerful
3)Handsome
4)honest noble ya blah blah all that good stuff and interestingly a virgin
And it goes on
The only reason this got two stars was because of the supporting characters.
If Gair was porridge then Alderan, Masen,and Aysha were the brown sugar and butter that made it readable.
So over all the this was porridge with some nice sweeteners delivered in a common typical bowl.
I'm going to go eat now.
I blame it on the MC.
Gair the person who narrates most of this story character was like porridge.Bland,but not bad exactly.Because for someone for who was supposedly tortured, he sure was plain.It didn't help that the plot was a carbon copy of every other epic fantasy.Here are just some examples.
1)the narrator must suffer but survives
2)He special and oh so powerful
3)Handsome
4)honest noble ya blah blah all that good stuff and interestingly a virgin
And it goes on
The only reason this got two stars was because of the supporting characters.
If Gair was porridge then Alderan, Masen,and Aysha were the brown sugar and butter that made it readable.
So over all the this was porridge with some nice sweeteners delivered in a common typical bowl.
I'm going to go eat now.
November 2, 2012
First off, I had a hard time rating this book. It's more of a four than a five, maybe a four and a half.
Overall, the story runs a little cliche, the hero is an orphan who is special. A religious organization that reeks of Christianity. The musical magical system and world cultures are not as creative as they often are.
But on the other hand, the book is spectacularly well written. The author may borrow from the classics for ideas, but does a great job developing a fun story.
Overall, the story runs a little cliche, the hero is an orphan who is special. A religious organization that reeks of Christianity. The musical magical system and world cultures are not as creative as they often are.
But on the other hand, the book is spectacularly well written. The author may borrow from the classics for ideas, but does a great job developing a fun story.
April 2, 2017
I wanted to give this book only 2 stars, but then I realised that there is nothing wrong with it. Quite the opposite - the world is more or less independent (no book can be completely unique these days), the storytelling was ok, the main character was okay-ish, the story line was bearable. See? Nothing wrong here.
The problem with the book WAS the okay-ish level. I guess I'm not going to read the sequel, because I don't care about the characters. Not. Single. One. Of. Them.
The problem with the book WAS the okay-ish level. I guess I'm not going to read the sequel, because I don't care about the characters. Not. Single. One. Of. Them.
April 16, 2012
Proclaimed witch, Gair, is about to be burned at the stake by the very church he has devoted his life to. Gair has the ability to "hear the song" (hence title, Songs of the Earth, keep up folks) and can thus manipulate powers around him. The thing about Gair though, he's incredibly strong. Saved by a little bit of bureaucratic magic, Gair is instead exiled and starts his new life/journey with the Guardians of the Veil. Sworn to protect the delicate fabric between worlds which is thinning perilously, Gair and the Guardians face both a powerful enemy in their plane, and the hungry creatures from beyond the veil.
For me, "Songs of the Earth" started off pretty slow, but I tend to like my fantasy to move at an exponential pace. (For those of you that are slightly mathematically challenged, see figure below.) The last 150 pages or so had me desperately craving this book when I was not reading it. Upon reading several reviews on GoodReads (Warning: reading a lot of reviews on GoodReads is bad for your health. It's pretty much like reading youtube comments at this point.) I saw that a lot of fantasy fans were disappointed by the use of repetitive, traditional fantasy canon (orphaned hero, rocky mentor/student relationship with deep secrets, etc.). I didn't feel that way while reading "Songs of the Earth". While I did feel as though I could predict the outcome of a few things, I usually accredit this to the fact that I read a lot. The only issue I have with this book is a huge spoiler, so I will keep it to myself ;) Definitely excited for the sequel!
Still in doubt? "Songs of the Earth" made the short list for the David Gemmel Morningstar award for best fantasy debut, not a small honour.
I also want to use this review to bring attention to the fact that the author herself, Elspeth Cooper, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women writers to date. Not being a creeper, shes just crazy pretty.
9.5/10 stars! (docked it .5 a star for that spoilery thing I cant tell you about.)
For me, "Songs of the Earth" started off pretty slow, but I tend to like my fantasy to move at an exponential pace. (For those of you that are slightly mathematically challenged, see figure below.) The last 150 pages or so had me desperately craving this book when I was not reading it. Upon reading several reviews on GoodReads (Warning: reading a lot of reviews on GoodReads is bad for your health. It's pretty much like reading youtube comments at this point.) I saw that a lot of fantasy fans were disappointed by the use of repetitive, traditional fantasy canon (orphaned hero, rocky mentor/student relationship with deep secrets, etc.). I didn't feel that way while reading "Songs of the Earth". While I did feel as though I could predict the outcome of a few things, I usually accredit this to the fact that I read a lot. The only issue I have with this book is a huge spoiler, so I will keep it to myself ;) Definitely excited for the sequel!
Still in doubt? "Songs of the Earth" made the short list for the David Gemmel Morningstar award for best fantasy debut, not a small honour.
I also want to use this review to bring attention to the fact that the author herself, Elspeth Cooper, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women writers to date. Not being a creeper, shes just crazy pretty.
9.5/10 stars! (docked it .5 a star for that spoilery thing I cant tell you about.)
February 21, 2012
Religious persecution against those with magic. Yes that always brings forth emotions in me. They are the perfect baddies, sitting in their cold towers preaching about salvation and hunting innocents with magic in their blood, even if those loves the Goddess just as much as the rest.
We got Gair, our hero, who is being tortured because he has magic. A good hero who finds his own way, friends and love down the road that is this book. He never loses faith either, something that is not easy after what he has been through. But he does does wonder what he really is.
Still what I liked most was the story. We had our Spanish inquisition, they had theirs; going after those who heard the song. There are even fundamentalists in the desert that they are fighting. A world very true to our own in a way. In other ways not to much, they have a one true Goddess, they have magic, and they have a veil that separates other world from theirs. A veil that is breaking, and then all hell will break loose.
A church is always a good bad guy, because we as the reader know that Gair is good and it not to blame for hearing something that is in tune with the earth itself. And as the story progresses I learn more and I do want to read the next book because how can this end well when the world is caught up in their own madness?
Conclusion:
An interesting start to a new series. It is so familiar, yet so different from our own world and that makes it ring more true.
We got Gair, our hero, who is being tortured because he has magic. A good hero who finds his own way, friends and love down the road that is this book. He never loses faith either, something that is not easy after what he has been through. But he does does wonder what he really is.
Still what I liked most was the story. We had our Spanish inquisition, they had theirs; going after those who heard the song. There are even fundamentalists in the desert that they are fighting. A world very true to our own in a way. In other ways not to much, they have a one true Goddess, they have magic, and they have a veil that separates other world from theirs. A veil that is breaking, and then all hell will break loose.
A church is always a good bad guy, because we as the reader know that Gair is good and it not to blame for hearing something that is in tune with the earth itself. And as the story progresses I learn more and I do want to read the next book because how can this end well when the world is caught up in their own madness?
Conclusion:
An interesting start to a new series. It is so familiar, yet so different from our own world and that makes it ring more true.
September 1, 2014
One of the reasons I enjoy speculative fiction so much is because the imagination knows no bounds, and SF seems to be the genre where the imagination plays the biggest part in the writing process. In the end, Songs of the Earth just wasn’t imaginative enough. Tropes have their place, and maybe I would have enjoyed this more in a different mindset, but as it sits, Songs of the Earth reads like a piggybacked version of plenty of other fantasy books. Despite her solid writing, Cooper just wasn’t inventive enough and in the end, Songs of the Earth paid for it.
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2012/04/...
Read my full review here:
http://www.bookwormblues.net/2012/04/...
November 20, 2024
DNF
I haven't DNF'd a book in a long time; I even tried to listen to it on audiobook to see if it got better and it really didn't. Slow with very little world building and next to no character development. There were also a few moments of sheer convenience that I could not keep suspending my disbelief for.
I haven't DNF'd a book in a long time; I even tried to listen to it on audiobook to see if it got better and it really didn't. Slow with very little world building and next to no character development. There were also a few moments of sheer convenience that I could not keep suspending my disbelief for.
June 23, 2014
The beginning caught my attention, and every word after plucked my heartstrings. The ending made me cry like a baby. I'll probably recommend this one to everyone I meet from now on. Love love love love loved it.
November 15, 2025
While the writing quality was fine, I’d like to see what the author could do without relying on sexist and racists tropes. With fantasy, we can reinvent any world. No need to do settler colonialism again.
September 7, 2022
I really enjoyed this, though I know it's been bashed. My theory for that is how religious the author has decided to make the text - folks are unable to separate the religion from the fantasy, and it affects their reading. But I enjoyed every page of this! It's definitely a debut novel, but it was a way for the author to grow, and I'm excited to see later books remove the slight beginner's follies that are generally unavoidable.
September 16, 2011
Songs of the Earth is the first part of the Wild Hunt Trilogy and Elspeth Cooper’s first novel and foray into epic fantasy. It’s been hailed as the “most compelling debut fantasy novel since Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind.” I am not inclined to agree, but we will get to that shortly.
The Story
We begin this epic tail with our hero being readied for execution. Gair is a novice knight of the Suvaeon Order-a holy order that has its history rooted in the destruction of the magic using Sun Cult.
Gair can hear the song, a magical reality that he can reach out to and at times manipulate. But, as it is written in The Book of Eador, Abjurations 12:14: Suffer ye not the life of a witch, and so our hero is doomed.
Until of course, in an unprecedented move, the head of the order banishes him instead of killing him. What follows is pursuit by those who feel he should fry, rescue by a mysterious order of magic users and the surfacing of an ominous evil that threatens the destruction of the very world in which they live.
What I liked
Cooper’s writing is polished and for the most part it drops into the background and lets the story come to the fore.
The use of the song, of music as magic seemed a reasonably fresh approach to a magic system. I am sure that is not entirely original but it didn’t strike me as over done.
What I didn’t
Sometimes it can be the smallest of things that can interrupt a reader’s enjoyment. For me it started on line 5 with;
Hail, Mother, full of grace, light and life of all the world. Blessed are the meek [snip]..amen.
which is awfully close to,
Hail Mary full of grace, the lord is with thee, Blessed art thou…
Which, if you are an ex-catholic or a current one you’ll recognize as the Hail Mary of Catholic prayer. Possibly more than recognize - it is probably etched forever into your grey matter.
A fellow reviewer found its inclusion slightly offensive to Christians. I found it dropped me out of the story every time Gair mentioned lines like, “blessed are the meek” and finished with “amen”. Amen is a baggage laden word of Hebrew origin, co-opted by Christianity that you can’t just plonk down in a fantasy story.
I understand what Cooper was trying to do - add verisimilitude by having something that might be familiar to the reader, to tap into the collective shared experience of prayer that the populace might have, craft a secondary world with familiarities that help ground the reader.
In this instance though I feel it’s a failure. To find a successful application of this technique we can look at GRRM’s Oath of the Night’s Watch; its metre, its word choice and tone is reminiscent of a solemn prayer, without feeling like it’s Christian prayer with the serial numbers rubbed off.
Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I shall live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness.
I am the watcher on the walls.
I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.
I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.
This small thing was a reasonable hurdle to overcome in my enjoyment of the novel.
Another small thing was the choice of names, one in particular, Alderan(see Alderaan) as the name of an Obi-wan Kenobi mentor figure.
In a book that’s also lauded for its characterisation, there were a couple that to me seemed very poorly developed. The first was Goran,leader of the Curia faction that wanted Gair dead. He’s presented as an overweight priest-like pervert. This combined with holy knights, catholic prayer, inquisitions and the burning of witches, had me at one stage wondering if author voice was creeping in.
I like my fiction to be fiction, not a veiled dig at institutions,unless it’s really well done i.e. subtle and original. My rule of thumb is to leave that sort of stuff for non-fiction.
The poorest characterisation, in my opinion was of Savin, the all powerful evil. The sketch we are given near the end of the book, of his backstory, was utterly unbelievable. A babe born evil that kills both its parents before it can crawl, but that the Order of the Veil decide to raise instead of dashing its head against a rock?
When the rest of the characters are bound by human developmental psychology and motivations, Savin stands out as an aberration.
Recommendation
So despite the issues I had with it, I think it’s worth giving Cooper ago. When I put the issues to the side the story worked well enough and kept my interest. Younger readers with less experience of fantasy may have no issue with the work at all.
This book was a review copy provided by the publisher.
The Story
We begin this epic tail with our hero being readied for execution. Gair is a novice knight of the Suvaeon Order-a holy order that has its history rooted in the destruction of the magic using Sun Cult.
Gair can hear the song, a magical reality that he can reach out to and at times manipulate. But, as it is written in The Book of Eador, Abjurations 12:14: Suffer ye not the life of a witch, and so our hero is doomed.
Until of course, in an unprecedented move, the head of the order banishes him instead of killing him. What follows is pursuit by those who feel he should fry, rescue by a mysterious order of magic users and the surfacing of an ominous evil that threatens the destruction of the very world in which they live.
What I liked
Cooper’s writing is polished and for the most part it drops into the background and lets the story come to the fore.
The use of the song, of music as magic seemed a reasonably fresh approach to a magic system. I am sure that is not entirely original but it didn’t strike me as over done.
What I didn’t
Sometimes it can be the smallest of things that can interrupt a reader’s enjoyment. For me it started on line 5 with;
Hail, Mother, full of grace, light and life of all the world. Blessed are the meek [snip]..amen.
which is awfully close to,
Hail Mary full of grace, the lord is with thee, Blessed art thou…
Which, if you are an ex-catholic or a current one you’ll recognize as the Hail Mary of Catholic prayer. Possibly more than recognize - it is probably etched forever into your grey matter.
A fellow reviewer found its inclusion slightly offensive to Christians. I found it dropped me out of the story every time Gair mentioned lines like, “blessed are the meek” and finished with “amen”. Amen is a baggage laden word of Hebrew origin, co-opted by Christianity that you can’t just plonk down in a fantasy story.
I understand what Cooper was trying to do - add verisimilitude by having something that might be familiar to the reader, to tap into the collective shared experience of prayer that the populace might have, craft a secondary world with familiarities that help ground the reader.
In this instance though I feel it’s a failure. To find a successful application of this technique we can look at GRRM’s Oath of the Night’s Watch; its metre, its word choice and tone is reminiscent of a solemn prayer, without feeling like it’s Christian prayer with the serial numbers rubbed off.
Night gathers, and now my watch begins.
It shall not end until my death.
I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children.
I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.
I shall live and die at my post.
I am the sword in the darkness.
I am the watcher on the walls.
I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.
I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.
This small thing was a reasonable hurdle to overcome in my enjoyment of the novel.
Another small thing was the choice of names, one in particular, Alderan(see Alderaan) as the name of an Obi-wan Kenobi mentor figure.
In a book that’s also lauded for its characterisation, there were a couple that to me seemed very poorly developed. The first was Goran,leader of the Curia faction that wanted Gair dead. He’s presented as an overweight priest-like pervert. This combined with holy knights, catholic prayer, inquisitions and the burning of witches, had me at one stage wondering if author voice was creeping in.
I like my fiction to be fiction, not a veiled dig at institutions,unless it’s really well done i.e. subtle and original. My rule of thumb is to leave that sort of stuff for non-fiction.
The poorest characterisation, in my opinion was of Savin, the all powerful evil. The sketch we are given near the end of the book, of his backstory, was utterly unbelievable. A babe born evil that kills both its parents before it can crawl, but that the Order of the Veil decide to raise instead of dashing its head against a rock?
When the rest of the characters are bound by human developmental psychology and motivations, Savin stands out as an aberration.
Recommendation
So despite the issues I had with it, I think it’s worth giving Cooper ago. When I put the issues to the side the story worked well enough and kept my interest. Younger readers with less experience of fantasy may have no issue with the work at all.
This book was a review copy provided by the publisher.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 4, 2020DNF @ page 50 unimpressed and unmotivated to finish.
no luck with library books.
no luck with library books.
October 12, 2011
Quienes conozcan mi progresión con esta novela saben que me he tenido que obligar a leerla porque, por más que intentaba avanzar con ella, no veía progreso alguno, ni la historia me enganchaba ni yo estaba dispuesta a dejarme los ojos con semejante edición –entiendo que quieran ahorrar, pero que un libro que, en una edición con una letra normal tendría unas 700 páginas, lo reduzcan al mínimo para que tenga 400 me parece desacertado–. Decidí que, aunque no me guste hacer estas cosas, tendría que obligarme a leer el libro, que en algún momento avanzaría con él y para cuando quisiera darme cuenta ya estaría terminando. Me ha costado, pero lo he conseguido y he decir que, aunque al inicio pensaba que el libro era un auténtico coñazo, al final ha resultado no ser un bodrio aunque queda lejos de ser, como prometía, la mejor novela de fantasía del año (o algo así).
Seamos sincero, la novela tiene mucha paja y poca miga. Podrías saltarte páginas que aún así, no te perderías nada. La historia de Gair, que es lo que podría ser más interesante, viene acompañada de pasajes dedicados a otros personajes que, sinceramente, no tienen demasiado peso en el desarrollo de la historia –aunque espero que no sean en vano y cobren importancia en los libros que están por llegar–. Es una novela densa, que usa un lenguaje muy cuidado, dejando en el lector un regusto a la fantasía más clásica y para los que no están acostumbrados, puede ser un handicap.
Con un inicio potente que se pierde en menos de diez páginas –sí, los primeros párrafos son muy buenos, pero luego...–, nos cuenta la historia de Gair, un joven huérfano que debido a su capacidad para oír el canto y hacer magia gracias a él ha sido condenado y marcado. Sin embargo, hay quienes han sabido ver su auténtico potencial y no van a permitir que su talento sea desaprovechado. Pero lo peor está por venir, porque una amenaza se cierne sobre el velo y sólo aquellos como Gair son capaces de preservarlo y el precio puede ser alto.
No es hasta la mitad del libro, que la historia cobra sentido y todo parece estar ahí con un fin, pero el ritmo es demasiado lento al principio, la edición no acompaña y tanto relleno despista al lector y lo aburre. Sin embargo, se distingue una historia con mucho potencial, que con un buen pulido sí podría haber sido ese gran libro de fantasía que se ha quedado a medio camino.
Los personajes que nos encontramos en Bajo la hiedra son ricos y variados, algunos más trabajados que otros, pero acaban por ser demasiados nombres y, sinceramente, algunos de ellos han quedado enterrados bajo tantas letras, pero aquellos que son importantes, como Alderan, Gair, Masen, Aysha o Tanith se convierten en grandes compañeros durante la lectura. Sin embargo, las descripciones que se nos dan de ellos son vagas, quizás por el afán de salvaguardar los secretos, y resultan personajes algo planos y a los que no se llega a conocer. Incluso Gair, que es el protagonista indiscutible, no sabría decir qué tipo de personaje es, si es impetuoso o todo lo contrario, resulta difícil ya que su comportamiento es errático.
El estilo de Cooper es anticuado y recargado. Muchas descripciones y un lenguaje elaborado que, al principio, hace que la novela sea pesada pero que conforme va avanzando va consiguiendo que el lector sienta interés por lo que pueda suceder. El problema es que la novela no necesita tanto relleno y hay muchos pasajes que son realmente innecesarios. A pesar de todo, se nota que la autora está cómoda escribiendo en este registro y se maneja bien, pero, después de todo, es su primera novela y, sinceramente y bajo mi humilde punto de vista, necesita una revisión.
Aunque al final he conseguido cogerle el gusto, no ha sido una lectura memorable y no sé si me acabaré de aventurar a leer los siguientes libros. Los que busquen esa gran novela, no la van a encontrar, porque Bajo la hiedra es una novela que llega a ser entretenida pero que no marca un antes y un después. Con la mente abierta y sabiendo que te vas a encontrar una novela difícil de encarar –y no soy la única que ha tenido problemas para avanzar con esta novela– puede que resulte en una lectura que deja buen sabor de boca pero no satisface del todo.
Seamos sincero, la novela tiene mucha paja y poca miga. Podrías saltarte páginas que aún así, no te perderías nada. La historia de Gair, que es lo que podría ser más interesante, viene acompañada de pasajes dedicados a otros personajes que, sinceramente, no tienen demasiado peso en el desarrollo de la historia –aunque espero que no sean en vano y cobren importancia en los libros que están por llegar–. Es una novela densa, que usa un lenguaje muy cuidado, dejando en el lector un regusto a la fantasía más clásica y para los que no están acostumbrados, puede ser un handicap.
Con un inicio potente que se pierde en menos de diez páginas –sí, los primeros párrafos son muy buenos, pero luego...–, nos cuenta la historia de Gair, un joven huérfano que debido a su capacidad para oír el canto y hacer magia gracias a él ha sido condenado y marcado. Sin embargo, hay quienes han sabido ver su auténtico potencial y no van a permitir que su talento sea desaprovechado. Pero lo peor está por venir, porque una amenaza se cierne sobre el velo y sólo aquellos como Gair son capaces de preservarlo y el precio puede ser alto.
No es hasta la mitad del libro, que la historia cobra sentido y todo parece estar ahí con un fin, pero el ritmo es demasiado lento al principio, la edición no acompaña y tanto relleno despista al lector y lo aburre. Sin embargo, se distingue una historia con mucho potencial, que con un buen pulido sí podría haber sido ese gran libro de fantasía que se ha quedado a medio camino.
Los personajes que nos encontramos en Bajo la hiedra son ricos y variados, algunos más trabajados que otros, pero acaban por ser demasiados nombres y, sinceramente, algunos de ellos han quedado enterrados bajo tantas letras, pero aquellos que son importantes, como Alderan, Gair, Masen, Aysha o Tanith se convierten en grandes compañeros durante la lectura. Sin embargo, las descripciones que se nos dan de ellos son vagas, quizás por el afán de salvaguardar los secretos, y resultan personajes algo planos y a los que no se llega a conocer. Incluso Gair, que es el protagonista indiscutible, no sabría decir qué tipo de personaje es, si es impetuoso o todo lo contrario, resulta difícil ya que su comportamiento es errático.
El estilo de Cooper es anticuado y recargado. Muchas descripciones y un lenguaje elaborado que, al principio, hace que la novela sea pesada pero que conforme va avanzando va consiguiendo que el lector sienta interés por lo que pueda suceder. El problema es que la novela no necesita tanto relleno y hay muchos pasajes que son realmente innecesarios. A pesar de todo, se nota que la autora está cómoda escribiendo en este registro y se maneja bien, pero, después de todo, es su primera novela y, sinceramente y bajo mi humilde punto de vista, necesita una revisión.
Aunque al final he conseguido cogerle el gusto, no ha sido una lectura memorable y no sé si me acabaré de aventurar a leer los siguientes libros. Los que busquen esa gran novela, no la van a encontrar, porque Bajo la hiedra es una novela que llega a ser entretenida pero que no marca un antes y un después. Con la mente abierta y sabiendo que te vas a encontrar una novela difícil de encarar –y no soy la única que ha tenido problemas para avanzar con esta novela– puede que resulte en una lectura que deja buen sabor de boca pero no satisface del todo.
Read
April 23, 2012I tried. I really, really did. I WANTED to like SONGS OF THE EARTH, despite the utter creepfest on the cover. Fantasy is what I write. I want to be inspired by the fantasy I read. And I tried. I gave it more leeway, read a little further than I would have normally because it's adult fantasy (not sexy times adult, just not YA) and thus carries more fat. It can take longer to get into the story. So I was patient. I waited. And waited. And waited. By the 300 page mark I was done waiting. I couldn't stand in the rain any longer. I closed the book for good.
It was just so unbelievably dull I found myself falling asleep more times than not, not to mention kind of grumbling as I picked it up to keep reading. After my hopes fell I didn't WANT to read it anymore. But I kept trudging because maybe . . . nope. And it's written in that standard "this is how fantasy novels should be written" voice that pretty much blends all the characters together and everyone sounds like they stepped out of Oxford in 1562 or something. The only voice that really stood out to me was Darin's. A spunky little thing that was blooming with personality. If only there were more of him. There wasn't. I got Gair who's about as fascinating as a stump.
For 300 pages I read about people traveling, complaining about others and nominally conspiring. Perhaps it was me zoning out while I read but not too much got absorbed. The "conspiring" I felt was lackluster, not even a proper lady's gasp-worthy. Gair's plight was so convoluted in stilted text that I just didn't care. When some magic started appearing I was focusing far more on how much the voice bored me than anything that was going on. He and one of his teachers transformed into animals together and he and another student got into a sword fight. That's the extent of it. There's some talk of the Veil and that thinning and stuff getting through but it's lost in the words. I barely found it.
The story alternates POVs from Gair to one of the Gatekeepers of the Veil and then to the big nasty at the head of the kingdom that keeps everyone in a religious furor. And the religion? Far too Christian to be anything but Christian. Sure, some words in the prayers were swapped out and the one god was a female but let's not call it something it's not. It's thinly-veiled Christianity. Why this book wasn't set during the Inquisition I have no idea. That would make far more sense than ripping all of those elements and setting in a different "world." Of which I wasn't thrilled with on the whole. It had some potential but since its religion was overbearing it tended to overshadow everything else around it. There were some token villages, horse-riding and the like. Nothing special, really.
I started reading SONGS OF THE EARTH all super amped. Yes! A high fantasy! I could get inspired! And then my flower slowly, and then more quickly, started to wilt as I kept reading. My own fault for getting my hopes up but quite frankly I expect a little more coming from the fantasies I read. I'm not even harping on the whole Chosen One Syndrome but just written in a way that doesn't cure insomnia. Who is spreading the vicious lie that fantasies need to be written in such stilted language? I shall hunt him or her down.
Anyway, some might have more patience for it but in a book of about 450 pages with nothing more going on by page 300, that's the patience of a saint right there. I commend you. I couldn't do it.
It was just so unbelievably dull I found myself falling asleep more times than not, not to mention kind of grumbling as I picked it up to keep reading. After my hopes fell I didn't WANT to read it anymore. But I kept trudging because maybe . . . nope. And it's written in that standard "this is how fantasy novels should be written" voice that pretty much blends all the characters together and everyone sounds like they stepped out of Oxford in 1562 or something. The only voice that really stood out to me was Darin's. A spunky little thing that was blooming with personality. If only there were more of him. There wasn't. I got Gair who's about as fascinating as a stump.
For 300 pages I read about people traveling, complaining about others and nominally conspiring. Perhaps it was me zoning out while I read but not too much got absorbed. The "conspiring" I felt was lackluster, not even a proper lady's gasp-worthy. Gair's plight was so convoluted in stilted text that I just didn't care. When some magic started appearing I was focusing far more on how much the voice bored me than anything that was going on. He and one of his teachers transformed into animals together and he and another student got into a sword fight. That's the extent of it. There's some talk of the Veil and that thinning and stuff getting through but it's lost in the words. I barely found it.
The story alternates POVs from Gair to one of the Gatekeepers of the Veil and then to the big nasty at the head of the kingdom that keeps everyone in a religious furor. And the religion? Far too Christian to be anything but Christian. Sure, some words in the prayers were swapped out and the one god was a female but let's not call it something it's not. It's thinly-veiled Christianity. Why this book wasn't set during the Inquisition I have no idea. That would make far more sense than ripping all of those elements and setting in a different "world." Of which I wasn't thrilled with on the whole. It had some potential but since its religion was overbearing it tended to overshadow everything else around it. There were some token villages, horse-riding and the like. Nothing special, really.
I started reading SONGS OF THE EARTH all super amped. Yes! A high fantasy! I could get inspired! And then my flower slowly, and then more quickly, started to wilt as I kept reading. My own fault for getting my hopes up but quite frankly I expect a little more coming from the fantasies I read. I'm not even harping on the whole Chosen One Syndrome but just written in a way that doesn't cure insomnia. Who is spreading the vicious lie that fantasies need to be written in such stilted language? I shall hunt him or her down.
Anyway, some might have more patience for it but in a book of about 450 pages with nothing more going on by page 300, that's the patience of a saint right there. I commend you. I couldn't do it.
September 24, 2021
Fantasy tends to have common tropes that author's use. A particularly common one is that of the great hero who starts as, for lack of a better word, nothing. Within this, you find such heroes as King Arthur as a lowly squire pulling the sword out of the stone, Conan the Barbarian becoming king, Bilbo and Sam as lowly (literally) hobbits becoming the key to the battle, and others too many to name.
Now within this trope there appears to be two (maybe three) sub-species. The first is where the greatness arises out of the heroes own actions or ideals. Conan the Barbarian is the ultimate self-made man, becoming king through his own strength of arms, his personality, and his abilities. In many ways, he typifies the ideals of 20th century America where it was believed that anyone could reach the for the top based on their skills and abilities.
On the other hand, the hobbits are the British Tommy, going off to fight in a war, doing their part, being occasionally heroic, then returning home to their old lives however changed (there is a memorable scene at the end of the movie version of the Return of the King where the four friends are in a pub that I like to think is a fairly effective depiction of the impact of the War on the four hobbits).
The second (or third depending on whether you would separate the Conan and the Hobbit experience) sub-species, is somewhat less democratic. In this genre, the hero is a hero at least partially because not of what he or she does but because of some innate power or right that he or she has. This doesn't denigrate necessarily from his or her actions, but it does alter the picture. Only Arthur could pull the sword from the stone because he was the son of the king; David Eddings' Belgarion may have been raised as a farmer but he was the heir of both a powerful wizard and a great kingdom; Raymond Feist's Pug was an innately powerful wizard, and so on....
In recent years, I have seen more of the second sub-species type of novels out there - whether it is Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, or Terry Goodkinds' Sword of Truth novels, the protagonists are heroes at least partially due to accident of birth. This is not a criticism as much as it is an observation - an observation that is focal to my review of Ms. Coopers' novel.
Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed the Song of the Earth and I will read the next book in the series. The hero is clearly well grounded in the second category discussed above. Without spoiling too much, by approximately 1/3 of the way through the novel, you should be realizing that he is not merely a magic user, but is a potentially VERY powerful magic user. In fact, my main criticism of this novel is that more than any other book I have EVER read, it is made abundantly clear, very quickly how powerful he will be.
My other major criticism is that that none of Ms. Cooper's kingdoms or cities or locales seem to be very well sketched. I couldn't tell the difference between the various kingdoms of her world because they weren't important to her story (but it helps me to immerse myself in an author's world if I can at least begin to understand it).
Having said that, there is lots going on in the book, very few dull spots, and there are a number of characters that I look forward to seeing more of (and a few deaths of characters that I will miss).
All in all, I think that if the second book puts more world building into it, this is definitely one of the better epic fantasy's I've read in a long time. However, for now, it gets 3 stars.
Now within this trope there appears to be two (maybe three) sub-species. The first is where the greatness arises out of the heroes own actions or ideals. Conan the Barbarian is the ultimate self-made man, becoming king through his own strength of arms, his personality, and his abilities. In many ways, he typifies the ideals of 20th century America where it was believed that anyone could reach the for the top based on their skills and abilities.
On the other hand, the hobbits are the British Tommy, going off to fight in a war, doing their part, being occasionally heroic, then returning home to their old lives however changed (there is a memorable scene at the end of the movie version of the Return of the King where the four friends are in a pub that I like to think is a fairly effective depiction of the impact of the War on the four hobbits).
The second (or third depending on whether you would separate the Conan and the Hobbit experience) sub-species, is somewhat less democratic. In this genre, the hero is a hero at least partially because not of what he or she does but because of some innate power or right that he or she has. This doesn't denigrate necessarily from his or her actions, but it does alter the picture. Only Arthur could pull the sword from the stone because he was the son of the king; David Eddings' Belgarion may have been raised as a farmer but he was the heir of both a powerful wizard and a great kingdom; Raymond Feist's Pug was an innately powerful wizard, and so on....
In recent years, I have seen more of the second sub-species type of novels out there - whether it is Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, or Terry Goodkinds' Sword of Truth novels, the protagonists are heroes at least partially due to accident of birth. This is not a criticism as much as it is an observation - an observation that is focal to my review of Ms. Coopers' novel.
Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed the Song of the Earth and I will read the next book in the series. The hero is clearly well grounded in the second category discussed above. Without spoiling too much, by approximately 1/3 of the way through the novel, you should be realizing that he is not merely a magic user, but is a potentially VERY powerful magic user. In fact, my main criticism of this novel is that more than any other book I have EVER read, it is made abundantly clear, very quickly how powerful he will be.
My other major criticism is that that none of Ms. Cooper's kingdoms or cities or locales seem to be very well sketched. I couldn't tell the difference between the various kingdoms of her world because they weren't important to her story (but it helps me to immerse myself in an author's world if I can at least begin to understand it).
Having said that, there is lots going on in the book, very few dull spots, and there are a number of characters that I look forward to seeing more of (and a few deaths of characters that I will miss).
All in all, I think that if the second book puts more world building into it, this is definitely one of the better epic fantasy's I've read in a long time. However, for now, it gets 3 stars.
October 5, 2015
A pleasant fantasy with several familiar themes.
We start off with our leading man, Gair, in cells reserved for witches by the pervasive, all powerful church. He was being trained as a warrior, but was not cautious enough to prevent himself for being sprung as a witch and he is facing being burned to death as a witch.
Reprieved at the last moment, he is taken under the wing of an older witch who whisks him off to a school for witches on some remote islands.
No spoilers so far really, the back cover tells us as much.
The writing style is pleasant and easy going, our lead man is nice to follow and his story is pretty good. I would recommend it to lovers of fantasy and I probably will read more in the series when the mood takes me. I did not have the must-read-now feeling at the end of this book and I only really think it deserves three stars. The reasons why are...
We start off with our leading man, Gair, in cells reserved for witches by the pervasive, all powerful church. He was being trained as a warrior, but was not cautious enough to prevent himself for being sprung as a witch and he is facing being burned to death as a witch.
Reprieved at the last moment, he is taken under the wing of an older witch who whisks him off to a school for witches on some remote islands.
No spoilers so far really, the back cover tells us as much.
The writing style is pleasant and easy going, our lead man is nice to follow and his story is pretty good. I would recommend it to lovers of fantasy and I probably will read more in the series when the mood takes me. I did not have the must-read-now feeling at the end of this book and I only really think it deserves three stars. The reasons why are...
September 4, 2012
EDIT 1 week later: dropping a star for two reasons: I'm still choked about the end, and I twigged something else I'd skimmed over because it's so bloody common: one of the bad guys is noncon-sadistic--and gay. Only non-straight character is a bad guy Oh Gee never seen that before. Still gonna read book two though; I wouldn't give up on a new writer so fast. Listing my grievances in case the world takes note. /end edit
Chopping this review in two sections: One covering pgs 1-444, the other covering 445-end.
Section one:
I enjoyed this a great deal. The writing is lovely. It's a gleeful romp through a lot of the more fun tropes of high fantasy. It's got the 'Use the Force, Luke!' moment where Our Hero discovers the strength of his abilities and the whole 'pinned ya!' evolution of romance Lion King style. The whole 'dominant religion full of politics says magic is evil' thing was a leeetle overblown early on but it didn't honk me off too much. Reminiscent of Eddings' Elenium in that you have a Chapterhouse full of knights, Preceptors, the Order, etc. The actual magic system reminded me of Rawn's Sunrunner series, only using music instead of light, why yes I do read too much now hush. I'm drawing a lot of comparisons here but these were positives for me because dammit I love this genre and I love these tropes when they're done well, which they were here. He's a special snowflake with unusual power but there's a lot of training and hard work involved, and few things make me happier than observing The Evolution Of A Badass. Gair *works* for it and it made me root for him.
We also have more visibility in terms of the spectrum of human existence than most high fantasy: Aysha is on crutches (favourite character! That one right there! Snarky, arrogant, HBIC. Love her), there are people of all ages present and active in the world, and Designated Best Friend is a diabetic. I genuinely love the first 444 pages of this book.
Which brings me to...
Section 2.
ARGH WTF. :C Writer, you killed my favourite character and I am sad. Not only did you kill her, you FRIDGED her. I'm comparing this to SPOILER'S death in FEED because that was done right: even though the death does motivate another character, that isn't why SPOILER was killed. Aysha died protecting someone she loved and that *could* have worked but the execution fell flat. And I know it's a battle people die but THIS death was so quick and unforeshadowed it felt arbitrary and fridgy and made me angry. >:CIt also sunk my happy trio 'ship :C
Rarr rarr argh fleh. Her death wasn't *earned* enough and left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm going to get book 2 but I'm going to edit her back into it in my head SO THERE.
Chopping this review in two sections: One covering pgs 1-444, the other covering 445-end.
Section one:
I enjoyed this a great deal. The writing is lovely. It's a gleeful romp through a lot of the more fun tropes of high fantasy. It's got the 'Use the Force, Luke!' moment where Our Hero discovers the strength of his abilities and the whole 'pinned ya!' evolution of romance Lion King style. The whole 'dominant religion full of politics says magic is evil' thing was a leeetle overblown early on but it didn't honk me off too much. Reminiscent of Eddings' Elenium in that you have a Chapterhouse full of knights, Preceptors, the Order, etc. The actual magic system reminded me of Rawn's Sunrunner series, only using music instead of light, why yes I do read too much now hush. I'm drawing a lot of comparisons here but these were positives for me because dammit I love this genre and I love these tropes when they're done well, which they were here. He's a special snowflake with unusual power but there's a lot of training and hard work involved, and few things make me happier than observing The Evolution Of A Badass. Gair *works* for it and it made me root for him.
We also have more visibility in terms of the spectrum of human existence than most high fantasy: Aysha is on crutches (favourite character! That one right there! Snarky, arrogant, HBIC. Love her), there are people of all ages present and active in the world, and Designated Best Friend is a diabetic. I genuinely love the first 444 pages of this book.
Which brings me to...
Section 2.
ARGH WTF. :C Writer, you killed my favourite character and I am sad. Not only did you kill her, you FRIDGED her. I'm comparing this to SPOILER'S death in FEED because that was done right: even though the death does motivate another character, that isn't why SPOILER was killed. Aysha died protecting someone she loved and that *could* have worked but the execution fell flat. And I know it's a battle people die but THIS death was so quick and unforeshadowed it felt arbitrary and fridgy and made me angry. >:C
Rarr rarr argh fleh. Her death wasn't *earned* enough and left a bad taste in my mouth.
I'm going to get book 2 but I'm going to edit her back into it in my head SO THERE.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 15, 2012
A highly anticipated, much publicised, debut novel, this book by newcomer Elspeth Cooper is being marketed as “the Fantasy Find of 2011”. It is from the team that brought us Joe Abercrombie and
Patrick Rothfuss. So is this all it’s cracked up to be?
Well, the only way to tackle such a book is to ignore all the manufactured hype and let the book speak for itself.
Gair, a novice knight, can hear music that no one else can: beautiful, grave, captivating music that is rich in power. In the Holy City,
that can mean only one thing. For Gair, being tried as a witch means
death by fire… until an unlikely intervention offers him a chance to
flee the city, escape the prescribed death by purifying flames, and
more. With the Church Knights and their witch-finder pursuing Gair
and his sly and secretive companion across the land, Gair has little
time to learn how to control the power that is growing restless inside
him. And if he doesn’t learn to master it, his power will tear him apart. His only hope is the secretive Guardians of the Veil, although centuries of persecution by the church have almost destroyed their order. A powerful evil presence is hunting. The Veil between worlds is
weakening, strange forces are stirring, and turbulent times are ahead
for all. Although Gair is far from ready, he will find himself fighting for his own life, for the lives of those he has come to know and love, and for the very reality they all depend upon.
From the first few lines, I liked this book enough to carry on reading.
That’s a good start. Cooper has a writing style that I quite enjoy: light,while maintaining an eloquence that isn’t overbearing. It’s descriptive, but not cumbersome. It flows. The characters are well developed,dimensional and motivated enough to be realistic. More importantly,they’re likable enough to keep me interested. I like a character driven narrative and Gair is someone you don’t mind spending time with. That’s always a bonus for me, because I struggle to read a book if I can’t relate to the main character, regardless of how good everything else is. The story, although quite simple and predictable because of its simplicity, still has enough going on, and there are enough twists in the main story-line and enough threads of an alternate story-line, that I found myself too intrigued and involved in the reading of the book to think too much about what was going to happen next. There is enough history to give the story depth and there are a few moments when we’re shown that recorded history – namely how the Church’s account of events differs to what actually happened… cue ominous music.
Is this all that? Maybe. You be the judge. If you’re a fan of Kristen
Britain, Trudi Canavan or Elizabeth Moon, I think you’ll like this!
Patrick Rothfuss. So is this all it’s cracked up to be?
Well, the only way to tackle such a book is to ignore all the manufactured hype and let the book speak for itself.
Gair, a novice knight, can hear music that no one else can: beautiful, grave, captivating music that is rich in power. In the Holy City,
that can mean only one thing. For Gair, being tried as a witch means
death by fire… until an unlikely intervention offers him a chance to
flee the city, escape the prescribed death by purifying flames, and
more. With the Church Knights and their witch-finder pursuing Gair
and his sly and secretive companion across the land, Gair has little
time to learn how to control the power that is growing restless inside
him. And if he doesn’t learn to master it, his power will tear him apart. His only hope is the secretive Guardians of the Veil, although centuries of persecution by the church have almost destroyed their order. A powerful evil presence is hunting. The Veil between worlds is
weakening, strange forces are stirring, and turbulent times are ahead
for all. Although Gair is far from ready, he will find himself fighting for his own life, for the lives of those he has come to know and love, and for the very reality they all depend upon.
From the first few lines, I liked this book enough to carry on reading.
That’s a good start. Cooper has a writing style that I quite enjoy: light,while maintaining an eloquence that isn’t overbearing. It’s descriptive, but not cumbersome. It flows. The characters are well developed,dimensional and motivated enough to be realistic. More importantly,they’re likable enough to keep me interested. I like a character driven narrative and Gair is someone you don’t mind spending time with. That’s always a bonus for me, because I struggle to read a book if I can’t relate to the main character, regardless of how good everything else is. The story, although quite simple and predictable because of its simplicity, still has enough going on, and there are enough twists in the main story-line and enough threads of an alternate story-line, that I found myself too intrigued and involved in the reading of the book to think too much about what was going to happen next. There is enough history to give the story depth and there are a few moments when we’re shown that recorded history – namely how the Church’s account of events differs to what actually happened… cue ominous music.
Is this all that? Maybe. You be the judge. If you’re a fan of Kristen
Britain, Trudi Canavan or Elizabeth Moon, I think you’ll like this!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 250 reviews