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Song of Sorcery
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Song of Sorcery is another light-hearted contemporary fantasy adventure which will please the author's many fans. Colin Songsmith sings a song to an old witch who takes an unlikely revenge. The witch's granddaughter rescues him from the dire threat of being eaten alive by the cat. She hears the song, which happens to concern her recently married sister and a gypsy. Convinced that she has to save her sister, she takes the minstrel, the cat and her magical resources to Rowan Castle. The story is rich with descriptive details of setting and encounters with magical and fantastic creatures such as a talking cat, a lovesick dragon, and a bear prince. The characters speak in contemporary slang which plays nicely against the traditional fantastic settings.
216 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1982
15 people are currently reading
724 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
125 books210 followersElizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947, and lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Elizabeth won a Nebula Award in 1989 for her novel The Healer's War, and has written more than a dozen other novels. She has collaborated with Anne McCaffrey, best-known for creating the Dragonriders of Pern, to produce the Petaybee Series and the Acorna Series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 30, 2018
3.5 Stars
November 13, 2019
“For such a ravishing girl she clearly didn’t understand the first thing about being ravished. She was shockingly unaware of the protocol of such matters.”
Has a first-draft feel. Scarborough has demonstrated she can write better than this. Not sure what “another light-hearted contemporary fantasy adventure” is, but if this is an indication, I’ll steer clear in the future. A Terry Prachett wantabee?
“What are you going to dooo?” [sic] “You’ll see.” “And I though I was the enigmatic one in this outfit.”
Needed a good editing. Lots of telling, sloppy sentences, and non sequiturs.
“Even a loose-tongued person who know that he might wake up as a crow can find his own fate a good deal more absorbing than his neighbors.”
Has a first-draft feel. Scarborough has demonstrated she can write better than this. Not sure what “another light-hearted contemporary fantasy adventure” is, but if this is an indication, I’ll steer clear in the future. A Terry Prachett wantabee?
“What are you going to dooo?” [sic] “You’ll see.” “And I though I was the enigmatic one in this outfit.”
Needed a good editing. Lots of telling, sloppy sentences, and non sequiturs.
“Even a loose-tongued person who know that he might wake up as a crow can find his own fate a good deal more absorbing than his neighbors.”
May 16, 2011
Song of Sorcery is a fantasy story about Maggie, a sensible, practical hearthwitch whose magic is used to light fires and cook meals. But when her beautiful, empty headed sister Amberwine runs away from her husband with a gypsy, she is forced to leave her comfortable home life to go and retrieve her errant sibling. Her travelling companions are Colin Songsmith, a minstrel who gets into trouble with Maggie’s grandmother by singing a popular song which has sprung up about Amberwine’s actions, and Ching, a talking cat.
Had I read this book ten or fifteen years ago, I’m sure I would have really enjoyed it as it has everything in it that little girls love: magic, unicorns, princesses, heroes, dragons, mermaids and talking animals. The problem is that I’m no longer a ten year old girl and, although this is theoretically a book for adults, it feels very juvenile. There are too many elements to the story given how short it is and they are all passed over too quickly without being particularly well developed so it feels rushed and bitty. Equally, the characters never progress beyond the caricatures needed to perform the actions of the story, which is a shame.
On the other hand, some aspects are expanded to the point of being ridiculous. Maggie’s domestic magical powers, for example, are used for everything from re-hydrating strips of dried venison in order to produce proper meals while camping to creating full length gowns out of her underwear. There are some little details which are entertaining and innovative. I particularly like their visit to Maggie’s aunt who lives in a gingerbread house and has to deal with all the terrible impracticalities that entails. It’s taking a typical fairytale trope and turning it on its head, which I love and I wish there were more of it.
This book fulfilled its purpose. It’s quite entertaining but entirely lacking in substance, which is what I wanted. I’ll probably continue with the other books in the series, but only before bed when my critical faculties are firmly switched off.
Had I read this book ten or fifteen years ago, I’m sure I would have really enjoyed it as it has everything in it that little girls love: magic, unicorns, princesses, heroes, dragons, mermaids and talking animals. The problem is that I’m no longer a ten year old girl and, although this is theoretically a book for adults, it feels very juvenile. There are too many elements to the story given how short it is and they are all passed over too quickly without being particularly well developed so it feels rushed and bitty. Equally, the characters never progress beyond the caricatures needed to perform the actions of the story, which is a shame.
On the other hand, some aspects are expanded to the point of being ridiculous. Maggie’s domestic magical powers, for example, are used for everything from re-hydrating strips of dried venison in order to produce proper meals while camping to creating full length gowns out of her underwear. There are some little details which are entertaining and innovative. I particularly like their visit to Maggie’s aunt who lives in a gingerbread house and has to deal with all the terrible impracticalities that entails. It’s taking a typical fairytale trope and turning it on its head, which I love and I wish there were more of it.
This book fulfilled its purpose. It’s quite entertaining but entirely lacking in substance, which is what I wanted. I’ll probably continue with the other books in the series, but only before bed when my critical faculties are firmly switched off.
September 17, 2020
Tacky and outdated but somewhat fun!
July 15, 2022
An old favourite, given a 4 for the good memories.
August 30, 2015
I've been reading in the fantasy genre for 28 years and during that time I've repeatedly run across EAS's books, looked at them,but never
read any of them. What I have been missing! This is a traditional type fantasy, slightly turned on its head. For one thing, one of our two heroes is a woman and that was rare in 1982, when this book was written. She is a hearth crafter witch, which I found lots of fun. And all the traditional fantasy elements are there -- unicorns, dragons, talking animals, gingerbread houses, wicked relatives. Charming and fun. I can't wait to read more.
3.5 stars.
read any of them. What I have been missing! This is a traditional type fantasy, slightly turned on its head. For one thing, one of our two heroes is a woman and that was rare in 1982, when this book was written. She is a hearth crafter witch, which I found lots of fun. And all the traditional fantasy elements are there -- unicorns, dragons, talking animals, gingerbread houses, wicked relatives. Charming and fun. I can't wait to read more.
3.5 stars.
June 24, 2025
I enjoyed the world and the details about the country and how the magic worked (the hearthwitchery, the magic mirror, the familiars, the gingerbread house, the dragons), as well as what that meant for Maggie and her family, on top of some previous tensions between the magical and non-magical people of the country. The cover was old-school fantasy at its finest and I really liked the general plot of Maggie and Colin going on an adventure to find Maggie's sister and figure out what was going on with her.
That said, this was very much a book from the 80s with all the racism and stereotypes and sexism going on. The thieving band of travellers (though it used the word commonly known to be a slur nowadays), along with Maggie getting a lot of comments about being 'dark' (she's white but tanned, as is her uncle and him being 'dark' is a fault against him) and the general stereotypes of women which are played to the hilt in this book (what is with that 'as you age the goodness of your soul shows in how much you visibly age' just given as a straight fact). There were many and varied female characters, which I did enjoy, but none of them really stuck with me all that well.
Not to mention the pacing itself was wildly inconsistent with the book being quite slow-paced for the first 100 pages and then suddenly everything happening at once in the last few chapters. I didn't mind many of the plot twists but we didn't get a lot of time to absorb each one because after Maggie and Colin left the camp, it was just event after event without being able to absorb any of it, or build up a nice bit of foreshadowing.
So I'm not sad I picked this up from a charity shop for a pound, the cover is delightful and I did enjoy the world itself. I may even pick up the next book in the series if I see it somewhere, but I won't go out of my way to read it.
That said, this was very much a book from the 80s with all the racism and stereotypes and sexism going on. The thieving band of travellers (though it used the word commonly known to be a slur nowadays), along with Maggie getting a lot of comments about being 'dark' (she's white but tanned, as is her uncle and him being 'dark' is a fault against him) and the general stereotypes of women which are played to the hilt in this book (what is with that 'as you age the goodness of your soul shows in how much you visibly age' just given as a straight fact). There were many and varied female characters, which I did enjoy, but none of them really stuck with me all that well.
Not to mention the pacing itself was wildly inconsistent with the book being quite slow-paced for the first 100 pages and then suddenly everything happening at once in the last few chapters. I didn't mind many of the plot twists but we didn't get a lot of time to absorb each one because after Maggie and Colin left the camp, it was just event after event without being able to absorb any of it, or build up a nice bit of foreshadowing.
So I'm not sad I picked this up from a charity shop for a pound, the cover is delightful and I did enjoy the world itself. I may even pick up the next book in the series if I see it somewhere, but I won't go out of my way to read it.
May 19, 2020
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2020/0...
I’m still very much in the mood for gentle fantasy books, and this one obliged. It’s about a young woman, a hearthwitch, who finds out her sister has run away from her husband with another man*, and goes off to find her, accompanied by the minstrel who unwittingly brought the news. Magical adventures ensue, and there are awesome unicorns and dragons and CATS to be found. I really liked the world-building here, and the protagonist's magic is fun. My only problem with this book is where is * comes in; this book was published in 1982 and said man is a “Gypsy” and there is a lot about his family and their camp that doesn’t play well to modern readers (the words “flashing-eyed” are used, it’s honestly embarrassing). So I’ll downgrade this to an B+ due to 1980s racist stereotyping and slurs.
I’m still very much in the mood for gentle fantasy books, and this one obliged. It’s about a young woman, a hearthwitch, who finds out her sister has run away from her husband with another man*, and goes off to find her, accompanied by the minstrel who unwittingly brought the news. Magical adventures ensue, and there are awesome unicorns and dragons and CATS to be found. I really liked the world-building here, and the protagonist's magic is fun. My only problem with this book is where is * comes in; this book was published in 1982 and said man is a “Gypsy” and there is a lot about his family and their camp that doesn’t play well to modern readers (the words “flashing-eyed” are used, it’s honestly embarrassing). So I’ll downgrade this to an B+ due to 1980s racist stereotyping and slurs.
September 4, 2021
The prose is a bit overblown throughout, but it is an engaging story of a young hearthwitch, Maggie, who finds out her married half-sister (Winnie) ran off with a heartless gypsy. The news comes via a traveling minstrel, Colin, who has a song with all the lurid details. So they go together to uncover the truth and reunite Winnie with her husband, Rowan. Along the way, they have Ching, a cat who can communicate with Maggie, and meet a unicorn, help a dragon stuck in a tree, a charmed bear, the gypsy clan, and a sorceror run amok.
August 31, 2024
a lot of stereotypical representation of Roma, which was my biggest gripe with the book. it was fun otherwise! i enjoyed the bits of world building we got. i desperately hope a maggie and colin romance won't be in the sequel, though :/
October 11, 2019
I really like the characters, they are a unique cast. I also like that the main character is a hearthwitch, that's different. The storytelling was all over the place though.
October 16, 2022
I enjoyed the relationship and commentary between Maggie and Colin!
December 24, 2024
Fun book. I liked it more than I was expecting (:
September 21, 2025
cozy feminist fantasy with a solid PG rating.
Read
October 15, 2016Didn't like.
November 27, 2021
An interesting novel, plagued with plot inconsistencies. It could have used another run-through by an editor too. However, bonus points for not shoehorning in an awkward romance.
January 24, 2017
Song of Sorcery is a charming novel which describes the adventures of hearthwitch Maggie Brown and her companion the minstrel Colin Songsmith. After a "misunderstanding" over Colin's musical retelling of Maggie's noble sister's flight from home, the two set out to rescue the damsel who may or may not be in distress and to write an accurate ending to the song.
What I like about this book is how well organized it is as a children's story. Each chapter provides a fairly self-contained story of its own. For parents, that gives your kids the fulfillment of an "ending" while simultaneously providing a cut-off point for the night.
I also enjoyed that the characters developed real affection for each other as friends without the seeming necessity of romance. To be fair, I didn't realize this was part of a series, so I'm curious as to how the characters develop over time.
What I like about this book is how well organized it is as a children's story. Each chapter provides a fairly self-contained story of its own. For parents, that gives your kids the fulfillment of an "ending" while simultaneously providing a cut-off point for the night.
I also enjoyed that the characters developed real affection for each other as friends without the seeming necessity of romance. To be fair, I didn't realize this was part of a series, so I'm curious as to how the characters develop over time.
abandoned
August 20, 2013I read Scarborough's The Godmother last week and it was dreadful so I'm not enormously inclined to be patient today... I'm about 50 pages in, and I can already see some of the same flaws and problems with writing style that I saw in The Godmother.
This might turn out to be a tolerable book, but I don't see it turning out to be a fantastic one, so I'd rather quit now and spend my time reading something else.
This might turn out to be a tolerable book, but I don't see it turning out to be a fantastic one, so I'd rather quit now and spend my time reading something else.
December 14, 2013
Whimsical, charming fantasy with domestic witches, pining unicorns, hapless minstrels, sarcastic cats, and lovesick dragons - not to mention an architecturally challenged gingerbread house. Scarborough crafts a funny, imaginative world that somehow manages to feel fresh and spunky, despite using almost all of the Big Tropes of fantasy literature. It's light reading for sure, and a welcome good-hearted relief from the misogyny and racism that permeates much of the genre. Recommended.
December 12, 2008
Maggie Brown is a hearthwitch. She is best at the Home Ec sorts of magic; she can zap a fire to the right temperature instantly and turn out a perfect meal from any ingredients. But questing was not what she expected. She and Colin Songsmith must track down her faery step-sister Amberwine and the gypsy she has run off with.
April 25, 2013
This is a light, fun, easy to read book. The plot and characterizations are pretty simple with no real depth, but they are funny. This author is one I like to pick up when I've had a heavy study week or I'm in between heavier novels and want something enjoyable that doesn't take a lot of brain power. Elizabeth Scarborough never disappoints.
June 13, 2016
1st in series.
March 31, 2008
A cute story full of trite characters and a very one dimensional plot. It reads more like a childrens story with the undertone of a coming of age type romance.
August 3, 2008
Fun, lighthearted fantasy.
August 12, 2009
I don't remember what this was about but it was the first Elizabeth Ann Scarborough I ever read (though far from the last). To this day she still has such a fresh, original voice.
February 5, 2020
Song Of Sorcery by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1982)
March 28, 2011
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Style: 4 stars
Pace: 3 stars
Simple, but in the middle of a rough week, it hit the spot to cheer me up.
Characters: 3 stars
Style: 4 stars
Pace: 3 stars
Simple, but in the middle of a rough week, it hit the spot to cheer me up.
September 7, 2011
It's been a very long time since I read this but I remember that I liked it. A fantasy with good story telling. Might contain a little adult content?
Want to read
December 11, 2011a Lost book, found.
January 18, 2016
Drôle. Revisite un peu l'esprit "contes pour enfants" avec sorcières, dragons, prince, quête etc Distrayant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews