This is the second novel of Romni characters Ki and Vandien. When Ki first encountered Vandien she very nearly slit his throat, yet it was he who saved her when terror fell from the skies. The cycle continues as Ki rescues Vandien from the windsingers despite wizard troubles of her own.
Lovely second volume too. Although Ki and Vandien are more or less on the same path now, each has his own task and their ways depart, but not for long. We get to know more about the Windsingers and T’cherians, we have a wizard with a hidden agenda, two tasks which are not what they appear and a few twists at the end.
The style and construction are still a bit clumsy, but the story is engaging. A light reading for all those who need no stress on their neurons.
This was a big diversion from part one: Instead of an exploration of trauma it was pretty much a standart fantasy adventure, the setting seems so different it could take place in a totally different world and instead of exploring Ki's and Vandien's relationship further it jumps ahead to where it is pretty much established and separates them for most of the book. I would have excepted this if the story was more than just fine. Ki's part of the plot was underwhelming once I got used to the weirdness and she as a character didn't get to shine when she wasn't around her partner. Vandien's was better, though, with a generation spanning village conflict and a complex sidekick. There is a rich world the explore, apparent especially in the beginning, but the magical element this focused most in, the windsingers, was the least interesting to me. Not bad, I'm just used to something deeper from the author.
Ki’s and Dresh’s story I liked much less than the story of Vandien and the fisherfolk in False Harbour and that of the Windsingers (again, I would have liked more about this very interesting race)
...I'm not entirely sure which novel I would rate higher. Harpy's Flight is more frantic, I liked the tension in that novel and the plot better. The Windsingers is definitely better structured though. I felt some of the tension in the sections with Ki and Dresh was lacking a bit although some readers might appreciate the surreal surrounding Ki finds herself in. I guess it is a matter of taste, there is something to be said for each novel. Whichever you prefer, The Windsingers is a solid entry into this series. Ki and Vandien are a more mature set of heroes than you normally find in fantasy and that is refreshing, even thirty years after they were written. I can't think of many fantasy series that have achieved that.
There appear to be two stories running through this book: The one concerning a lost village, swallowed by the sea, I found interesting and appealing but the second thread was just plain weird and I couldn't decide how it really helped the overall story. I also felt like I was losing interest in Ki and Vandien during the book - possibly Vandien was the more interesting character but I really don't feel any enthusiasm to carry on with the series.
More like 3.75 - this book felt really disconnexted from the first in the series. It introduces entirely new species and environments. The first book had magical creatures but little magic per se.
This book focuses heavily on the magic systems and folklore of Windsingers. Barely mentioned in the first book, the Windsingers become the primary focus (no more mention of harpys at all).
I get the vibe that these are kind of the adventures of Ki, rather than one long and intertwined story. The parts feel disconnected, however Robin Hobb always plays a long game so I suspect everything will link up eventually?
Vandian and KI take on two different tales here.. Vandian ends up participating in an old fisher-village tradition - a pointless(?) salvage of a sunken temple, while Ki ends up transporting some decidedly odd goods...
I enjoyed Vandian's story - I like his character. But Ki's story dealing with the "Windsingers" is just plain weird... not sure I enjoyed it all that much. And the ending is quite abrupt - but the nasty folk get their comeuppance.
The only thing I could remember about this book (I read it before in the 1980s) was a lot of sloshing about in cold sea water! Well, there is some of that but reading it with older eyes, I can see it's also a fine story of friendship and loyalty, and how a problem can hurt a good relationship even though both sides try hard not to let it. This is a fantasy, so there's magic in the story too. A wizard has pitted himself against the powerful wind singers and some innocent humans get caught up in the maelstrom caused by their quarrel.
Lindholm/Hobb has a somewhat postmodern take on hero's quests in most books. The heroes can fail, or succeed poorly. Be careful what you wish for, and all that.
The concept and description of different species/societies in the world of Ki and Vandien is interesting, without being over-explained to the reader.
I enjoyed the second novel by Megan Lindholm in this series. I particularly like how in this story the two protagonists diverge initially and have parallel running stories, only to converge in the end. The story also had several good plot twists which kept me surprised and engrossed until I finished the book.
"The Windsingers" is the second book in the cycle, as sweet and filled with gentle humor as the first is tragic and hopeless. Here, in all the violence, the racial diversity of the Robin Hobb Universe, which is comparable to Marvel's or Star Wars, is only outlined in Flight of the Harpies. Ki and Vandien are already partners, without any romance, she is gradually recovering from the consequences of the death of her family, but she is not ready for a new relationship. A new van, old horses and serious problems with Wind Charmers - a special race, the best idea of which will be given to fans of "Dune" by the Gesserit Order, and to fans of the Strugatskys - by the Mistresses from "Snail on the Slope". The chosen girls are taken away and brought up in conditions. changing their appearance (it becomes not quite human), and moreover the inner content. These women control the weather and are almost omnipotent.
It must happen that in an inn. where some guy blasphemes the Charmers and a mess begins, the last one is left alone, the losses from the fight are blamed on her. To restore finances, the girl contracts to transport several boxes of extremely valuable cargo with the condition that the seals are safe. He gets into a hurricane (for a reason) and in one of the surviving boxes discovers the talking head of a magician, whom he recognizes as a tavern idiot. While Ki solves the quest "collect all the body parts of a bastard man," Vandien contracts for a separate job - to get a certain chest from a sunken temple on the night of the Big Low Tide. The money promises to be enormous, and besides, to remove the ugly scar from the harpy's claw, which he acquired in the previous novel. saving Ki.
Vandien's epic with four rented skeeny seahorses is an unthinkable dramedy with so much mixed up in it: an unhappy outcast girl, a potentially impossible task. the passionate four skates, the appearance of the Caster again, her final duel with the magician. Robin Hobb is a prose in which an intricate plot is combined with impeccable execution.
If you love fantasy and are looking for something really cool for the end of summer, you are here.
"Заклинательницы ветров" вторая книга цикла, столь же милая и наполненная мягким юмором, сколь трагична и безнадежна первая. Здесь во всем буйстве расовое многообразие Вселенной Робин Хобб, которое сравнимо с марвеловской или "Звездных войн" - лишь контурно намеченное в "Полете гарпий". Ки с Вандиеном уже напарники, без какой бы то ни было романтики, она понемногу оправляется от последствий гибели семьи, но к новым отношениям не готова. Новый фургон, старые лошади и серьезные проблемы с Заклинательницами ветров - особой расой, лучше всего представление о которой поклонникам "Дюны" даст орден Гессерит, а фанатам Стругацких - Хозяйки из "Улитки на склоне". Избранных девочек забирают и воспитывают в условиях. меняющих их внешность (она становится не вполне человеческой), а более того внутреннее содержание. Эти женщины управляют погодой и почти всемогущи.
Надо же такому случиться, что в трактире. где какой-то мужик поносит Заклинательниц и начинается заваруха, крайней оставляют Ки, на нее же сваливают убытки от драки. Чтобы восстановить финансы, девушка подряжается перевезти несколько ящиков чрезвычайно ценного груза с условием сохранности печатей. Попадает в ураган (неспроста) и в одном из уцелевших ящиков обнаруживает говорящую голову мага, в котором узнает трактирного баламута. Пока Ки решает квест "собери все части тела сволочного мужика", Вандиен подряжается на отдельную работу - достать некий сундук из затонувшего храма в ночь Большого отлива. День��и обещают немереные, да к тому же убрать уродливый шрам от когтя гарпии, которым он обзавелся в предыдущем романе. спасая Ки.
Эпопея Вандиена с четверкой арендованных морских коньков скини - это немыслимое драмеди, в котором столько всего намешано: несчастная девочка-изгой, потенциально невыполнимое задание. обуянная страстью четверка коньков, снова явление Заклинательницы, ее финальный поединок с магом. Робин Хобб - это проза, в которой замысловатый сюжет соединяется с безупречным исполнением, не могу не сказать о переводе Галины Трубицыной, великолепном в обеих книгах.
Если любите фэнтези и ищете что-нибудь по-настоящему классное на конец лета - вам сюда.
Si je suis une grande fan des romans de Robin Hobb, j’ai souvent plus de mal avec ceux qu’elle a écrits sous le pseudonyme de Megan Lindholm. Peut-être parce qu’ils sont plus anciens et que son style était moins aiguisé. Les Ventchanteuses, deuxième tome de la saga Ki & Vandien, n’aura pas fait exception à la règle. Je l’ai lu sans réel déplaisir mais sans passion non plus, et je l’aurai sans doute oublié d’ici quelques semaines à peine, malheureusement.
Après les harpies du premier tome, c’est cette fois aux ventchanteuses que vont se confronter nos deux héros, Ki et Vandien. Magiciennes ayant renoncé à leur humanité, elles subissent d’étranges mutations physiques (elles se couvrent d’écailles, notamment) en échange desquelles elles contrôlent le vent et déclenchent des tempêtes. Un peuple fascinant sur lequel l’autrice reste pourtant bien trop vague. C’est dommage, il y aurait eu tellement à en dire et j’étais si curieuse.
Au lieu de cela, elle s’attache presque exclusivement aux pas de ses deux héros, séparés par leurs obligations. Vandien a fait la bêtise de s’engager pour une mission impossible : profiter d’une grande marée pour récupérer un vieux coffre ayant appartenu aux ventchanteuses justement, dans un temple englouti. Des charretiers s’y essaient depuis des générations sans succès, à tel point qu’on se demande si ce coffre existe vraiment. On découvre avec lui le village de Faux-Havre et sa population de pêcheurs.
De son côté, pour renflouer ses finances au plus bas, Ki accepte de convoyer un chargement étrange et va se retrouver elle aussi confrontée à la magie, par l’intermédiaire d’un magicien fourbe et dangereux, qui va l’utiliser pour fuir les ventchanteuses à sa poursuite. J’avoue que je n’ai pas vraiment accroché à ses aventures, que j’ai trouvées un peu confuses. J’ai eu du mal à visualiser certaines situations. Chacun de leur côté, Ki et Vandien sont finalement assez passifs, subissant les événements plutôt que d’essayer de les prendre à bras-le-corps.
Une lecture qui me laisse donc un sentiment un petit peu mitigé. On est bien loin de la complexité et de l’aboutissement des récits de Robin Hobb. Un univers au potentiel indéniable et de très belles idées, mais l’ensemble n’est pas exploité à fond et, comme dans le 1er tome, je n’ai pas ressenti d’attachement particulier pour les personnages. Il manque un vrai fil rouge aux aventures de Ki et Vandien, et à lire la quatrième de couverture du tome suivant, je n’ai pas l’impression que cela va s’arranger avec celui-là.
Ki and Vandien agree to meet at False Harbour, as Vandien has agreed to try and lift a mysterious chest from a drowned Windsinger temple. Ki doesn't think the job worth trying, as many teamsters have tried to get it before, over many years, without success.
As Vandien insists on it, Ki eventually agrees to meet him there, after she has delivered a load that she had already agreed upon to deliver.
These actions are just the start of a convoluted story, that takes Ki out of her world, and into another, and brings home to her just how much pain that Vandien has suffered, since the attack of the Harpy, that slashed open his face, and left him terribly scarred.
He has agreed to do the impossible, unknown to Ki, because he has been promised the removal of the scar if he succeeds.
This story was fascinating, and showed in so many layers the obligations, and promises people make to each other, without knowing the full story.
It wound around so many people's lives and, in the end, showed just how little some things really matter, while others matter a lot.
I can't wait to see what Ki and Vandien get up to next.
The Windsingers is Megan Lindholm's second novel, following Harpy's Flight, which introduced her popular gypsy characters, Ki and Vandien. The Windsingers is Megan's second novel, following Harpy's Flight which introduced her popular gypsy characters, Ki and Vandien. When Ki first encountered Vandien she very nearly slit his throat. Yet later it was Vandien who suffered a terrible wound to protect her when terror fell from the skies and who gave her a reason to lay to rest the bitter memories of a once idllyic past. Vandien's unrepentant recklessness led Ki into situations her sensible nature would have avoided. Yet it was Ki who, despite wizard-troubles of her own, risked the wrath of the Windsingers and saved Ki from his treasure hunt in the submerged temple of the storm-sung sea. And it was Vandien's stubborn daring which allowed him to attempt to reclaim Ki from beyond the Limbreth Gate -- in another world entirely!
Another fantasy masterpiece by Megan Lindholm. The build for this book was a little slow at first, I felt myself urging the protagonists to "get on with it," but at a certain point, rising action really ramps up and you absolutely CAN'T put the book down.
The metaphysical elements I so enjoy in her works was a real treat for me. My cup of tea. ;) Travelling in the void between planes reminded me of travelling between skill pillars.
This is a high adventure I highly recommend and would read again.
Megan Lindholm/Robin Hobb is one of my favourite authors, and marvellously skilled at creating vivid, realistic characters. This story is more technically skilled than the first and I love the relationship between Ki and Van in this book - respectful, supportive and genuine. However, with the two of them apart for most of the book, the plot failed to grab me and it was only towards the end that I felt any momentum or interest.
Second book with Ki and Vandien as our main characters. Meeting the wizard Dresh changes both their paths. Loving their lives on the road with the wagon and team hauling goods Dresh has different ideas fir both on them. Leading Vandien into the festival of Temple Ebb for money snd removal of his scar and Ki into helping Dresh get his body parts moved to a new home and hoping to out wit the Windsingers. If you love fantasy look no further.
Ki accepted a load for her wagon that turned out to contain the living dismembered parts of a wizard’s body. The torso and hands were stolen by the wind singers and Ki was enchanted into lugging the head to find the missing parts. This bit of the story really stretched the imagination and resulted in the ranking of 4 rather than 5 stars. Vandien’s task was to retrieve a chest from the floor of the ocean during a rare low tide. This bit was more realistic.
While I still enjoyed this book, the part that I enjoy about this book is the characters and their interactions - this book features both of them going on separate journeys for most of the book. I found that some of the new characters were engaging others weren't as good. Still worth the read and I will continue this series.
In this adventure Ki and Vandien have separate adventures which are linked by the mysterious Windsingers who have power over the wind and can be good to people or use the wind to cause great harm. I love the new worlds and animals that are in this novel, and the fact that humans live with other species, often in harmony or at least cooperation.
I love reading Megan Lindholm's early works before she started writing as Robin Hobb. They are differents, both in terms of style and ideas, but still there are patters that show the genius works that follow afterwords. The story of Ki and Vandien is exciting, heartwarming & bizarre. Reading about them feels like returning home. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Loved the first Windsingers book enough to wade through this one. Spent most of this book being confused and unsure of where it was going. It got better towards the end, but the ending itself was a real let-down. Not sure if I will read the next one in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Not as impactful or versed as the first one. I did not expect the time jump at the beginning, but did anticipate quite a few twists towards the end. The worldbuilding was still unique and I can't say I have read about a head giving orders or skeels as a team.
Not as good a read, as when she is writing as Robin Hobb. Perhaps as I came in at book 2, I hadn't had a chance for the characters to grow on me. Nowhere near as compelling as Fitz.
Not bad at all, the only other books from Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm that I actually like... The Ship and Shaman series failed to drag me in but bot this one.