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Bardic Voices #1
The Lark And The Wren
Ghost and bard...
With the proper schooling young Rune would be one of the greatest bards her world has ever seen. Even if only she knows it. Unfortunately, the daughter of a tavern wench at the Hungry Bear, no matter how talented, doesn't get much in the way of formal training. What she does get is frustrated.
One night, to back up a brag she probably wouldn't have made if she weren't so mad, she went up to play her fiddle for the Ghost of Skull Hill. Everyone knows that no one who has ever gone up Skull Hill at night has come down again. Not alive, anyway.
But when the ghost appears Rune strikes a bargain: if the ghost tires of her playing before morning her life is his; if he is still listening when the sun glints over yonder hill she will have earned both life and a sack of silver. Let the music begin...
With the proper schooling young Rune would be one of the greatest bards her world has ever seen. Even if only she knows it. Unfortunately, the daughter of a tavern wench at the Hungry Bear, no matter how talented, doesn't get much in the way of formal training. What she does get is frustrated.
One night, to back up a brag she probably wouldn't have made if she weren't so mad, she went up to play her fiddle for the Ghost of Skull Hill. Everyone knows that no one who has ever gone up Skull Hill at night has come down again. Not alive, anyway.
But when the ghost appears Rune strikes a bargain: if the ghost tires of her playing before morning her life is his; if he is still listening when the sun glints over yonder hill she will have earned both life and a sack of silver. Let the music begin...
488 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
120 people are currently reading
3202 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,536 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 226 reviews
February 20, 2009
Spunky gal Rune is teased in her generic medieval European village! Oh noes, but at least she has her music. In fact, she's so good that she wins a fiddling contest against an ancient and malevolent ghost. Buoyed by her success, she enters the Bardic Trials to become a licensed bard. BUT! She's a girl! And girls can't be bards! OPRESHUN! She wins the competition, but when she reveals her gender they beat her and cast her out. Luckily, she impressed Talyeson and the Free Bards. They take her on, and she spends the rest of the book travelling the roads, making her living through music.
The first half of the story is a lot of fun. Rune is hard-working and good hearted, and her love of music is clear. There's a great bit during the Bardic Trials when she retools a song WHILE SINGING IT to ensure the judges don't think her too proud or female. The tension between the Bardic Guild and the Free Bards is great, and I liked the sequence of Rune discovering the hardships of the road. Unfortunately, all too soon the tension and quick-thinking devolve into a saccharine romance, with an easy victory thrown in.
As a middle schooler, I really enjoyed the Bardic Voices series. If I read it nowadays I probably wouldn't manage two pages.
The first half of the story is a lot of fun. Rune is hard-working and good hearted, and her love of music is clear. There's a great bit during the Bardic Trials when she retools a song WHILE SINGING IT to ensure the judges don't think her too proud or female. The tension between the Bardic Guild and the Free Bards is great, and I liked the sequence of Rune discovering the hardships of the road. Unfortunately, all too soon the tension and quick-thinking devolve into a saccharine romance, with an easy victory thrown in.
As a middle schooler, I really enjoyed the Bardic Voices series. If I read it nowadays I probably wouldn't manage two pages.
August 18, 2008
I read this on a plane while on my way to visit a prospective college. I recall this because it marked the point at which I became too old for Mercedes Lackey.
December 27, 2020
A very pleasant read. I liked Rune, although I did find her a bit judgmental at times. The first three quarters of the book were a bit slow, but the final quarter was a lot more entertaining. A nice way to spend a few hours.
October 7, 2014
I'd half remembered being really into one Mercedes Lackey book as a kid and finally decided to track it down. I do think it was this one, but I won't mark it as a re-read since it was basically new to me.
It's kind of an odd story. The first half is a coming of age story, really. Then it switches into a not very well built love story (though I think I liked it a lot as a kid) and then into . . . a political story, almost. So it's basically like 3 different stories that don't really fit that well together.
But 4 stars for nostalgia and I really DID like the first half a lot. And the love story is kind of my thing (I like age differences and master/student stuff, when done right), it's just that it was mostly telling, not showing.
It's kind of an odd story. The first half is a coming of age story, really. Then it switches into a not very well built love story (though I think I liked it a lot as a kid) and then into . . . a political story, almost. So it's basically like 3 different stories that don't really fit that well together.
But 4 stars for nostalgia and I really DID like the first half a lot. And the love story is kind of my thing (I like age differences and master/student stuff, when done right), it's just that it was mostly telling, not showing.
February 2, 2021
And I've been hungry, cold, nearly penniless. I fiddled for the Skull Hill Ghost and won. If the Ghost didn't stop me, neither will Brother Pell. No one will. Not ever.
Excellent light fantasy with strong female protagonist. Rune does the best she can with what she has, which is an amazing musical talent. Supporting and conflicting characters are well-developed, if stereotypical.
What is it about the Church that it spawns both the saint and the devil? Then he shrugged. It wasn't that the Church spawned either; it was that the Church held both.
Typical typecasting of church as evil, with enough redeeming characters to keep the story out of propaganda.
“Women," he said, as if that explained everything, and then changed the subject. Just like a man, she thought with amusement, and let him.
Closes with a pleasant twist on stereotypical royal usurpation sub-plot.
Fear is worse when you don't know what it is you're afraid of.
Excellent light fantasy with strong female protagonist. Rune does the best she can with what she has, which is an amazing musical talent. Supporting and conflicting characters are well-developed, if stereotypical.
What is it about the Church that it spawns both the saint and the devil? Then he shrugged. It wasn't that the Church spawned either; it was that the Church held both.
Typical typecasting of church as evil, with enough redeeming characters to keep the story out of propaganda.
“Women," he said, as if that explained everything, and then changed the subject. Just like a man, she thought with amusement, and let him.
Closes with a pleasant twist on stereotypical royal usurpation sub-plot.
Fear is worse when you don't know what it is you're afraid of.
September 27, 2013
It was kind of like eating a whole box of Kraft Dinner. Starts out amazing, then devolves into what-was-I-thinking. But you know you're going to want it again. Yes you are.
May 7, 2015
The Lark and the Wren is the first in the Bardic Voices series, but it reads like a standalone, in that it basically completes the main character’s story. In fact, it’s more like two books in one. The first half deals with Rune leaving her village (where she is unappreciated and unwanted) to find a music teacher who can prepare her for the Bardic Guild trials; it covers both her adaptation to life in a small city and her musical and nonmusical education. The second half deals with what happens after the trials, and her life (romantic, musical, and magical) within the Free Bards – a group in opposition to the stodgy, hidebound Bardic Guild. (Don’t be fooled by the synopsis blurb – the enounter with the ghost is only the first of Rune’s many adventures.)
Lackey’s strengths really shine in this novel. The worldbuilding is excellent, she has created an interesting and relatable main character, and her ability to weave a story carries you along even when the action is relatively mundane – and definitely when it isn’t!
As a musician, I can easily identify with Rune, though she’s far more skilled and driven than I will ever be. Lackey has a gift for writing strong, smart, independent female characters, though their personalities, their flaws, and the ways in which they are strong vary from character to character. In Rune’s case, she’s practical, logical, passionate about her music, ambitious in the musical sense, and aware of her vulnerability as a girl on her own. Fortunately, she’s tall and slender enough to pass as a boy, and smart enough to do so when it offers more safety – when traveling or busking on the streets, for instance.
Lackey knows music, being something of a folk musician and lyicist herself, so the tunes she describes, and her depictions of Rune’s playing and her lessons, are all pitch-perfect. If you’re familiar with Irish and Scottish fiddle music and English folksongs, you can practically hear the music in the book. The details of the fantasy world are equally well-written; you can see, hear, smell, and touch it.
There is magic in this book, though (with the exception of the Skull Hill Ghost) not very much until the second half. The magic system here isn’t as well-defined as in the Valdemar, Five Hundred Kingdoms, or Elemental Magic series, but that’s not really a drawback. What we do learn of magic is intriguing, particularly in the way Rune and her teacher/partner Talaysen begin to explore it – through music. The subsequent books flesh the magic system out a little more, but the way it’s handled in this book works because the main character is so new to her magic.
One thing that bothers me is the largely negative portrayal of the Church – a church clearly modeled on the pre-Reformation Catholic Church. Lackey’s portrait here, while admittedly of a fictional rather than a historical institution, lacks nuance; she offers only a very few “good” individuals within a corrupt and power-hungry institution, while the rest are small-minded or indifferent to the common folk at best, and exploitative and bigoted at worst. I know enough of both history and Church history to know that in the real world, while widespread corruption, greed, and abuse of power certainly existed, there were also ways in which society and individuals benefited from the existence and more benevolent actions of the Church. As someone with an interest in medieval and Renaissance history, I wish Lackey had been a little more evenhanded in her portrayal. (And yes, I know it’s a fantasy world – but it’s one based very strongly on Europe at the dawn of the Renaissance, which means it evokes and invites historical comparisons.)
Despite this flaw, The Lark and the Wren remains one of my favorites among Lackey’s books. Its strengths – Rune and some of the other characters, notably Talaysen; a world familiar enough to be comfortable but different enough to be appealing and interesting; the music that weaves through the entire tale; and above all the storytelling and attention to detail which make that tale come alive – all of these far outweigh any flaws. It’s a story I happily return to every few years.
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
Lackey’s strengths really shine in this novel. The worldbuilding is excellent, she has created an interesting and relatable main character, and her ability to weave a story carries you along even when the action is relatively mundane – and definitely when it isn’t!
As a musician, I can easily identify with Rune, though she’s far more skilled and driven than I will ever be. Lackey has a gift for writing strong, smart, independent female characters, though their personalities, their flaws, and the ways in which they are strong vary from character to character. In Rune’s case, she’s practical, logical, passionate about her music, ambitious in the musical sense, and aware of her vulnerability as a girl on her own. Fortunately, she’s tall and slender enough to pass as a boy, and smart enough to do so when it offers more safety – when traveling or busking on the streets, for instance.
Lackey knows music, being something of a folk musician and lyicist herself, so the tunes she describes, and her depictions of Rune’s playing and her lessons, are all pitch-perfect. If you’re familiar with Irish and Scottish fiddle music and English folksongs, you can practically hear the music in the book. The details of the fantasy world are equally well-written; you can see, hear, smell, and touch it.
There is magic in this book, though (with the exception of the Skull Hill Ghost) not very much until the second half. The magic system here isn’t as well-defined as in the Valdemar, Five Hundred Kingdoms, or Elemental Magic series, but that’s not really a drawback. What we do learn of magic is intriguing, particularly in the way Rune and her teacher/partner Talaysen begin to explore it – through music. The subsequent books flesh the magic system out a little more, but the way it’s handled in this book works because the main character is so new to her magic.
One thing that bothers me is the largely negative portrayal of the Church – a church clearly modeled on the pre-Reformation Catholic Church. Lackey’s portrait here, while admittedly of a fictional rather than a historical institution, lacks nuance; she offers only a very few “good” individuals within a corrupt and power-hungry institution, while the rest are small-minded or indifferent to the common folk at best, and exploitative and bigoted at worst. I know enough of both history and Church history to know that in the real world, while widespread corruption, greed, and abuse of power certainly existed, there were also ways in which society and individuals benefited from the existence and more benevolent actions of the Church. As someone with an interest in medieval and Renaissance history, I wish Lackey had been a little more evenhanded in her portrayal. (And yes, I know it’s a fantasy world – but it’s one based very strongly on Europe at the dawn of the Renaissance, which means it evokes and invites historical comparisons.)
Despite this flaw, The Lark and the Wren remains one of my favorites among Lackey’s books. Its strengths – Rune and some of the other characters, notably Talaysen; a world familiar enough to be comfortable but different enough to be appealing and interesting; the music that weaves through the entire tale; and above all the storytelling and attention to detail which make that tale come alive – all of these far outweigh any flaws. It’s a story I happily return to every few years.
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
December 30, 2021
First in the Bardic Voices historical fantasy series and revolving around the Free Bards of Alanda. The couple focus is on Rune and Talaysen.
My Take
This was an excellent story of good versus evil — intense and fascinating! — with the honest versus the corrupt.
A strong woman protagonist who survives a horrible childhood and an even worse mother — Rune is a lucky girl, she keeps finding good Samaritans along the way. Her first bit of luck was following up on that brag of hers. And it gives her a different perspective on the inn.
Lackey uses The Lark and the Wren to give useful speeches/explanations of how tax money is intended to help people, how government should work — the negative side of that sounds like our own government . . . sigh, the evils of multiple levels of taxation . . .
It's so sad that people blame the child for the mother's "sins". Rune can't help that she was born or that her mother was unmarried. As for the attitude toward women? Oy. I do love our women's lib! That Bardic Guild was beyond brutal!!
It's so easy to picture the settings and the characters, as Lackey is brilliant with her descriptions. I felt the cold and snuggled into those blankets. The chill of that river bath along with the fresh feeling of clean . . .
The Free Bards are so very supportive of each other, and it does make sense that they're more creative than the Bardic Guild, as they're not so hedged about by rules, corruption, and power struggles.
There are struggles in here for the Free Bards. They have no permanent place and are at the mercy of the Bardic Guild and the Church, as we'll learn when Talaysen and Rune leave Kingsford.
It's Lackey using third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Rune's and Talaysen's perspectives that we discover the good and the bad, especially their worries about their selves.
It's a pip of a story and I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down!
The Story
It's a sad life for Rune, used and abused by her selfish mother. It only gets worse as Rune gets older, for mother and bullies threaten her very existence. It takes but a moment of anger that will forge a different path for Rune . . . if she survives playing for the Ghost of Skull Hill.
The Characters
Rune is a bastard child with a gift for music. She calls the violin Rose gave her Lady Rose. Stara is her selfish mother who schemes at the Hungry Bear. Socks and Tam are Vargians, good, sturdy workhorses.
Westhaven is . . .
. . . a tiny village. The Hungry Bear is an inn owned by Jeoff (also a church deacon) who recently lost his amazing wife, Rose. Maeve, a half-wit, and Granny work in the tavern. Jib is the stableboy. Tarn Hostler is the stablemaster; Annie is his wife and the cook. Dumpling, a pony, and Stupid, a smart donkey, belong to Jeoff.
Joyse, the baker's daughter, and Amanda, a farmer's daughter, are some of the village mean girls. Thom Beeson is Joyse's intended — because her father promised to help his father cheat on his taxes. Granny Beeson is the oldest person in the village. Father Jacob. Job is the blacksmith; Jon is his son and the village bully. Hill and Warran are a couple of farm boys and part of Jon's gang. Kaylan Potter, a journeyman, is almost as bad as Jon. Ralf is a candlemaker. Kerd is the butcher.
The Free Bards are . . .
. . . Talaysen's answer to the Bardic Guild. Talaysen is also known as Master Wren. Its wide range of members take on bird names to hide their true identities and include Linnet; Raven (a gypsy chosen to teach Rune on the sly); Nightingale (Aysah); Master Heron (Daran); Robin (Gwyna Kravelen is a gypsy); Jay; Thrush; Owl (Erdric, who has a permanent place in Kingsford at the King's Blade); Alain, a.k.a. Sparrow, is Erdic's grandson; Redbird; Master Kestrel; and, Starling.
Peregrine, a gypsy mage, is a horse trader who deals with elves. Georgio is the largest of the clan.
The Bardic Guild has . . .
. . . their noses in the air as to who is allowed to play and where. Guild Minstrels play music; Guild Bards create it. Master Bard Gwydain was renowned for his talent and songs. Then he disappeared. Bard Bestif is one of the bad ones, as is Master Jordain, the head of Bardic, and Master Larant.
The Church is . . .
. . . sanctimonious and corrupt. Brother Bryan is one of the honest few and a friend of Tonno's. The harsh Brother Pell teaches composition to Rune, Terr Capston, Lenerd Cattlan, and Axen Troud. Brother Rylan is another music teacher. Brother Anders is a good doctor angry with Father Genner. Lady Ardis is Talaysen's cousin, a mage, and a Justiciar priest. Lord Arran is another Justiciar. Father Revaner is being sought by Ardis.
Nolton is . . .
. . . the big town nearest Westhaven. Tonno Alendor sells antiques, books, and used objects. He also loves music and is a good teacher. Anny and Ket are some of Tonno's students. Mathe runs the Crowned Corn Public House where Beth works. Boony, the bouncer, is a Mintak.
Amber is the madame of an exclusive brothel on Flower Street with very exclusive ladies, including Sapphire, Topaz, Ruby, Pearl, Amethyst, and Diamond. Parro is Amber's summoner. Lana is the cook. Maddie, the insulting Carly (and Parro's daughter), Arden, Lana, and Shawm are the servants. Lerra is one of the clients. The Stallion and the Velvet Rope are more brothels. Mandar Cray is teaching advanced lute while Geor Baker is teaching voice. Nighthawk is the gypsy witch who heals Rune.
Kingsford is . . .
. . . the holy grail for Rune. It's where the Midsummer Faire takes place where bardic-to-be hopefuls audition for an apprenticeship. Only, there's a secret Tonno hasn't told Rune!
Birnam is . . .
. . . the country next door. Jonny Brede is not much as a pickpocket but quite good as a harpist. You get support if you're worth enough, as Master Darian discovered. King Charlis and Queen Felice had been Sional's parents. Rolend is Sional's uncle and Victor his cousin. Lerson is one of the guards.
The Ghost of Skull Hill is an angry one. Father Donlin was found dead on the hill. Bert is the farmer Sapphire might have married. Tham wedded Jakie which almost sent Amber into the convent. Sire Jacoby was betrayed by Master Marley, a bard. Sires are local lords. Scholar Mardake is a philosopher and needs a book by Athold Derelas. Lyssandra is the woman with whom Talaysen broke it off. There's a hideous priest in Brughten. Father Bened is the kindly hermit. Sire Thessalay is quite the greedy lord. Sire Brador Joffrey (one of his men, Hollis, isn't too bright) is in a major dispute with Sire Harlan Dettol. A drukkerarejek is a mage of music. King Meraiel is the elven king who kidnapped Talaysen.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a blast of royal blue in the side frames with a sweeping wind of blue and white forming the Ghost of Skull Hill as the background. In the foreground is Rune standing on a rocky prominence, her long curly hair floating about her head, her violin in one hand, her bow sweeping across its strings, as her long sweeping sleeves blow in the wind. At the top is the author's name in white. The series info is below that in white with a dark red outline. Below that is the series info in white to the left of the ghost and above Rune's head. To the right of the ghost is a round badge in black with a red outline and icon with the publisher's name in white.
The title is the pseudonyms of Rune and Talaysen: The Lark and the Wren.
My Take
This was an excellent story of good versus evil — intense and fascinating! — with the honest versus the corrupt.
A strong woman protagonist who survives a horrible childhood and an even worse mother — Rune is a lucky girl, she keeps finding good Samaritans along the way. Her first bit of luck was following up on that brag of hers. And it gives her a different perspective on the inn.
Lackey uses The Lark and the Wren to give useful speeches/explanations of how tax money is intended to help people, how government should work — the negative side of that sounds like our own government . . . sigh, the evils of multiple levels of taxation . . .
". . . a manageable level of corruption!"Some of the corruption in the Church is their lack of aid to people who aren't likely to make a "decent" donation to the Church. As for their hideous lack of compassion after a death, oy.
It's so sad that people blame the child for the mother's "sins". Rune can't help that she was born or that her mother was unmarried. As for the attitude toward women? Oy. I do love our women's lib! That Bardic Guild was beyond brutal!!
It's so easy to picture the settings and the characters, as Lackey is brilliant with her descriptions. I felt the cold and snuggled into those blankets. The chill of that river bath along with the fresh feeling of clean . . .
The Free Bards are so very supportive of each other, and it does make sense that they're more creative than the Bardic Guild, as they're not so hedged about by rules, corruption, and power struggles.
There are struggles in here for the Free Bards. They have no permanent place and are at the mercy of the Bardic Guild and the Church, as we'll learn when Talaysen and Rune leave Kingsford.
It's Lackey using third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Rune's and Talaysen's perspectives that we discover the good and the bad, especially their worries about their selves.
It's a pip of a story and I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down!
The Story
It's a sad life for Rune, used and abused by her selfish mother. It only gets worse as Rune gets older, for mother and bullies threaten her very existence. It takes but a moment of anger that will forge a different path for Rune . . . if she survives playing for the Ghost of Skull Hill.
The Characters
Rune is a bastard child with a gift for music. She calls the violin Rose gave her Lady Rose. Stara is her selfish mother who schemes at the Hungry Bear. Socks and Tam are Vargians, good, sturdy workhorses.
Westhaven is . . .
. . . a tiny village. The Hungry Bear is an inn owned by Jeoff (also a church deacon) who recently lost his amazing wife, Rose. Maeve, a half-wit, and Granny work in the tavern. Jib is the stableboy. Tarn Hostler is the stablemaster; Annie is his wife and the cook. Dumpling, a pony, and Stupid, a smart donkey, belong to Jeoff.
Joyse, the baker's daughter, and Amanda, a farmer's daughter, are some of the village mean girls. Thom Beeson is Joyse's intended — because her father promised to help his father cheat on his taxes. Granny Beeson is the oldest person in the village. Father Jacob. Job is the blacksmith; Jon is his son and the village bully. Hill and Warran are a couple of farm boys and part of Jon's gang. Kaylan Potter, a journeyman, is almost as bad as Jon. Ralf is a candlemaker. Kerd is the butcher.
The Free Bards are . . .
. . . Talaysen's answer to the Bardic Guild. Talaysen is also known as Master Wren. Its wide range of members take on bird names to hide their true identities and include Linnet; Raven (a gypsy chosen to teach Rune on the sly); Nightingale (Aysah); Master Heron (Daran); Robin (Gwyna Kravelen is a gypsy); Jay; Thrush; Owl (Erdric, who has a permanent place in Kingsford at the King's Blade); Alain, a.k.a. Sparrow, is Erdic's grandson; Redbird; Master Kestrel; and, Starling.
Peregrine, a gypsy mage, is a horse trader who deals with elves. Georgio is the largest of the clan.
The Bardic Guild has . . .
. . . their noses in the air as to who is allowed to play and where. Guild Minstrels play music; Guild Bards create it. Master Bard Gwydain was renowned for his talent and songs. Then he disappeared. Bard Bestif is one of the bad ones, as is Master Jordain, the head of Bardic, and Master Larant.
The Church is . . .
. . . sanctimonious and corrupt. Brother Bryan is one of the honest few and a friend of Tonno's. The harsh Brother Pell teaches composition to Rune, Terr Capston, Lenerd Cattlan, and Axen Troud. Brother Rylan is another music teacher. Brother Anders is a good doctor angry with Father Genner. Lady Ardis is Talaysen's cousin, a mage, and a Justiciar priest. Lord Arran is another Justiciar. Father Revaner is being sought by Ardis.
Nolton is . . .
. . . the big town nearest Westhaven. Tonno Alendor sells antiques, books, and used objects. He also loves music and is a good teacher. Anny and Ket are some of Tonno's students. Mathe runs the Crowned Corn Public House where Beth works. Boony, the bouncer, is a Mintak.
Amber is the madame of an exclusive brothel on Flower Street with very exclusive ladies, including Sapphire, Topaz, Ruby, Pearl, Amethyst, and Diamond. Parro is Amber's summoner. Lana is the cook. Maddie, the insulting Carly (and Parro's daughter), Arden, Lana, and Shawm are the servants. Lerra is one of the clients. The Stallion and the Velvet Rope are more brothels. Mandar Cray is teaching advanced lute while Geor Baker is teaching voice. Nighthawk is the gypsy witch who heals Rune.
Kingsford is . . .
. . . the holy grail for Rune. It's where the Midsummer Faire takes place where bardic-to-be hopefuls audition for an apprenticeship. Only, there's a secret Tonno hasn't told Rune!
Birnam is . . .
. . . the country next door. Jonny Brede is not much as a pickpocket but quite good as a harpist. You get support if you're worth enough, as Master Darian discovered. King Charlis and Queen Felice had been Sional's parents. Rolend is Sional's uncle and Victor his cousin. Lerson is one of the guards.
The Ghost of Skull Hill is an angry one. Father Donlin was found dead on the hill. Bert is the farmer Sapphire might have married. Tham wedded Jakie which almost sent Amber into the convent. Sire Jacoby was betrayed by Master Marley, a bard. Sires are local lords. Scholar Mardake is a philosopher and needs a book by Athold Derelas. Lyssandra is the woman with whom Talaysen broke it off. There's a hideous priest in Brughten. Father Bened is the kindly hermit. Sire Thessalay is quite the greedy lord. Sire Brador Joffrey (one of his men, Hollis, isn't too bright) is in a major dispute with Sire Harlan Dettol. A drukkerarejek is a mage of music. King Meraiel is the elven king who kidnapped Talaysen.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a blast of royal blue in the side frames with a sweeping wind of blue and white forming the Ghost of Skull Hill as the background. In the foreground is Rune standing on a rocky prominence, her long curly hair floating about her head, her violin in one hand, her bow sweeping across its strings, as her long sweeping sleeves blow in the wind. At the top is the author's name in white. The series info is below that in white with a dark red outline. Below that is the series info in white to the left of the ghost and above Rune's head. To the right of the ghost is a round badge in black with a red outline and icon with the publisher's name in white.
The title is the pseudonyms of Rune and Talaysen: The Lark and the Wren.
November 19, 2012
Synopsis:
This book is set in a fantasy world that is very much like Europe sometime in the past.
Rune has spent her entire young life working at a small inn. When work slows down and customers request it, she can do what she loves - play her fiddle. After the inn's owner's kind wife dies, however, Rune gets fewer opportunities to play, and townsfolk start treating her worse. When her mother begins jockeying to become the inn's owner's next wife, Rune wonders what will become of her.
A dare prompts her to go and play for the Skull Hill Ghost, who
Review:
If you think my synopsis seems a little “all over the place,” that's because the book itself kind of is. The Free Bard stuff doesn't even come up until maybe halfway through, although Lackey at least doesn't drop it in totally out of the blue, since readers will probably have noticed and wondered about all the musicians in Rune's life who seemed to mysteriously know who she was and what instrument she played. The stuff with the young musician who's being hunted by assassins doesn't come up until nearly the end. Surprisingly, he's not the setup for a second book – the entire thing is resolved, nicely and happily, by the end of this book.
Mercedes Lackey used to be one of my absolute favorite authors. I read everything by her that I could find. Then one day I read one of her newer Eric Banyon books and started to get annoyed by how black-and-white it seemed like her stories had become (although the last straw for me was really when Lackey wrote a thinly-veiled version of herself into her Valdemar books, but that's a story for another post). The good people were almost saintly, while the bad people were very, very bad. The good people might do things that supposed pillars of the community didn't like, but the idea was that those “pillars of the community” were wrong and weren't good in the ways that really counted.
I remembered loving this book when I first read it. I still enjoyed it, but I realized that the black-and-white worldview that I thought was brand new in Lackey's books must have always been there. What changed wasn't necessarily Lackey's writing. What changed was me.
Rune doesn't see her love of music as a waste of time. Music may not have concrete benefits, but she notes that, when she plays, the customers at the inn stay a bit longer and spend more money than they might otherwise have. Rune was born out of wedlock but doesn't see anything wrong with an unmarried person having sex, as long as everyone involved is willing and the appropriate birth control is used. Rune's steadiest and best job, upon leaving the inn, is as the musical background entertainment at a high class brothel. Although the prostitutes who work there make lots of comments about how, if they had the ability to do anything else, they would, it's the kind of place that reminds me of, say, Inara and other Companions in the world of Joss Whedon's Firefly – this is a prostitute's life at its cushiest. All the prostitutes of course have hearts of gold and are far nicer and kinder than most of the city and Church officials Rune encounters.
In the book, the Church is populated primarily by people who use their power for their own benefit. They help those who have money and have very definite negative opinions about Free Bards and Gypsies (both groups which may, in theory, contain bad people, but not a single one of those bad people makes an appearance in this book). The Bardic Guild, like the Church, is not presented in a good light: it is old-fashioned and still operates under the belief that women cannot and should not be Guild Bards. There are also several pages in which Rune and her first music teacher debate the value of taxes and tithes (taxes are good, because they pay for lots of things that people need, but it would be better if city officials were less corrupt; tithes are good in theory, but the Church is so corrupt that the tithes tend not to be used the way they're supposed to be).
Rune occasionally encounters or hears about people in the Church or in the Bardic Guild who don't quite fit the mold, but they're rare enough that it tends to look like those two groups are at least 95% corrupt. I don't suppose I entirely minded that – sometimes it's nice to read books in which there are clearly established “good” and “bad” groups – but it would have been nice if some of the Free Bards had occasionally complained about their lot in life or been a little lazy. It's not that I wanted laziness or complaining to be presented as “good,” I just didn't want those actions to be something that only bad people did. Good people should be allowed to have off moments.
I hadn't remembered that Talaysen didn't really show up until about halfway through the book (he made an earlier appearance, too, although first-time readers might not catch that), and I hadn't remembered that he and Rune went from “we essentially just met” to “let's get married” so quickly, but I still enjoyed reading about their romance. Some people may be a little put off by the age difference – I think Rune is 17 or 18 when she and Talaysen start their relationship, and Talaysen is more than 20 years older than her. The age difference is definitely something that's touched on. Talaysen worries about it a lot, while Rune pretty much dismisses it as a non-issue – there's some nice humor as Rune gets frustrated while trying to seduce Talaysen (although I think Lackey did this better in another one of her books: Magic's Price). I think Rune's reaction is part of the reason why the age difference didn't bother me when I first read the book and didn't bother me during this reread.
Overall, The Lark and the Wren still managed to stand the test of time for me. I enjoy reading about characters who start off in horrible situations and manage to survive and thrive when they set off for bigger and better things. I must say, though, that my absolute favorite book by Lackey with this type of character is Arrows of the Queen. I think “good” and “bad” are still fairly clearly defined in that book, but at least some of the good characters aren't completely perfect (one of the “good” characters has a pompous moment, for instance), and I remember the book being a tad more focused on the whole.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This book is set in a fantasy world that is very much like Europe sometime in the past.
Rune has spent her entire young life working at a small inn. When work slows down and customers request it, she can do what she loves - play her fiddle. After the inn's owner's kind wife dies, however, Rune gets fewer opportunities to play, and townsfolk start treating her worse. When her mother begins jockeying to become the inn's owner's next wife, Rune wonders what will become of her.
A dare prompts her to go and play for the Skull Hill Ghost, who
Review:
If you think my synopsis seems a little “all over the place,” that's because the book itself kind of is. The Free Bard stuff doesn't even come up until maybe halfway through, although Lackey at least doesn't drop it in totally out of the blue, since readers will probably have noticed and wondered about all the musicians in Rune's life who seemed to mysteriously know who she was and what instrument she played. The stuff with the young musician who's being hunted by assassins doesn't come up until nearly the end. Surprisingly, he's not the setup for a second book – the entire thing is resolved, nicely and happily, by the end of this book.
Mercedes Lackey used to be one of my absolute favorite authors. I read everything by her that I could find. Then one day I read one of her newer Eric Banyon books and started to get annoyed by how black-and-white it seemed like her stories had become (although the last straw for me was really when Lackey wrote a thinly-veiled version of herself into her Valdemar books, but that's a story for another post). The good people were almost saintly, while the bad people were very, very bad. The good people might do things that supposed pillars of the community didn't like, but the idea was that those “pillars of the community” were wrong and weren't good in the ways that really counted.
I remembered loving this book when I first read it. I still enjoyed it, but I realized that the black-and-white worldview that I thought was brand new in Lackey's books must have always been there. What changed wasn't necessarily Lackey's writing. What changed was me.
Rune doesn't see her love of music as a waste of time. Music may not have concrete benefits, but she notes that, when she plays, the customers at the inn stay a bit longer and spend more money than they might otherwise have. Rune was born out of wedlock but doesn't see anything wrong with an unmarried person having sex, as long as everyone involved is willing and the appropriate birth control is used. Rune's steadiest and best job, upon leaving the inn, is as the musical background entertainment at a high class brothel. Although the prostitutes who work there make lots of comments about how, if they had the ability to do anything else, they would, it's the kind of place that reminds me of, say, Inara and other Companions in the world of Joss Whedon's Firefly – this is a prostitute's life at its cushiest. All the prostitutes of course have hearts of gold and are far nicer and kinder than most of the city and Church officials Rune encounters.
In the book, the Church is populated primarily by people who use their power for their own benefit. They help those who have money and have very definite negative opinions about Free Bards and Gypsies (both groups which may, in theory, contain bad people, but not a single one of those bad people makes an appearance in this book). The Bardic Guild, like the Church, is not presented in a good light: it is old-fashioned and still operates under the belief that women cannot and should not be Guild Bards. There are also several pages in which Rune and her first music teacher debate the value of taxes and tithes (taxes are good, because they pay for lots of things that people need, but it would be better if city officials were less corrupt; tithes are good in theory, but the Church is so corrupt that the tithes tend not to be used the way they're supposed to be).
Rune occasionally encounters or hears about people in the Church or in the Bardic Guild who don't quite fit the mold, but they're rare enough that it tends to look like those two groups are at least 95% corrupt. I don't suppose I entirely minded that – sometimes it's nice to read books in which there are clearly established “good” and “bad” groups – but it would have been nice if some of the Free Bards had occasionally complained about their lot in life or been a little lazy. It's not that I wanted laziness or complaining to be presented as “good,” I just didn't want those actions to be something that only bad people did. Good people should be allowed to have off moments.
I hadn't remembered that Talaysen didn't really show up until about halfway through the book (he made an earlier appearance, too, although first-time readers might not catch that), and I hadn't remembered that he and Rune went from “we essentially just met” to “let's get married” so quickly, but I still enjoyed reading about their romance. Some people may be a little put off by the age difference – I think Rune is 17 or 18 when she and Talaysen start their relationship, and Talaysen is more than 20 years older than her. The age difference is definitely something that's touched on. Talaysen worries about it a lot, while Rune pretty much dismisses it as a non-issue – there's some nice humor as Rune gets frustrated while trying to seduce Talaysen (although I think Lackey did this better in another one of her books: Magic's Price). I think Rune's reaction is part of the reason why the age difference didn't bother me when I first read the book and didn't bother me during this reread.
Overall, The Lark and the Wren still managed to stand the test of time for me. I enjoy reading about characters who start off in horrible situations and manage to survive and thrive when they set off for bigger and better things. I must say, though, that my absolute favorite book by Lackey with this type of character is Arrows of the Queen. I think “good” and “bad” are still fairly clearly defined in that book, but at least some of the good characters aren't completely perfect (one of the “good” characters has a pompous moment, for instance), and I remember the book being a tad more focused on the whole.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
February 4, 2025
3 stars
The first half felt like a completely different book, separate from the rest of it— and I’m not entirely sure how to feel.
The Lark and the Wren started out as a “coming of age” high fantasy tale, but somehow lost its way by the end. The plot began veering more into an episodic story that focused less and less on the main character as a whole—which was jarring, considering that the first 250-300 pages were from her POV entirely.
However, I enjoyed the various adventures the characters found themselves in, even if it fell a bit flat overall.
It was *okay* and some of the folklore was neat, but I don’t think I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series.
Part of my 2025 Physical TBR tackle, book 3
The first half felt like a completely different book, separate from the rest of it— and I’m not entirely sure how to feel.
The Lark and the Wren started out as a “coming of age” high fantasy tale, but somehow lost its way by the end. The plot began veering more into an episodic story that focused less and less on the main character as a whole—which was jarring, considering that the first 250-300 pages were from her POV entirely.
However, I enjoyed the various adventures the characters found themselves in, even if it fell a bit flat overall.
It was *okay* and some of the folklore was neat, but I don’t think I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series.
Part of my 2025 Physical TBR tackle, book 3
August 21, 2009
I always get the feeling that some high fantasy authors crank out books without much of a quality check. Just mix a few mythical creatures, magic, a quest or conspiracy, and a powerful person or two traveling incognito, and you basically have a fantasy novel. It can be done well, I guess, but The Lark and The Wren reminded me somewhat of an average fictionpress.com story: entertaining if skimmed, containing a few frustrating cliches, and not quite meeting my standard.
August 3, 2024
Mercedes Lackey has talent and style. This series is reminiscent of the Joust series in tone and even to some degree story. Both follow a fairly predictable pattern. That said when something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
The Lark and the Wren is good on many points. Characters being the best part of the story. They are memorable and unique. They are easy to tell apart (which goes into the writing being good) and have interactions that are meaningful.
The general writing is good, but that is an easy thing for an experienced writer. This book’s writing trumps a lot of the books I read. The action isn’t confusing (though it is light) and the scenes meld into a cohesive whole. I’m very pleased with the quality found in this book.
The story itself is fun. While some parts are uncomfortable, they are placed well and at the right time for the character to learn and grow/change. The flow is not too fast paced nor too slow. And as said, the cohesive whole of the story is good to see.
The biggest downfall of the book is its predictability. There are few surprises here, and the tone is one of feel-good, which means you can count on certain aspects being present. Not only that, but the author seems to have a pattern to her stories.
Overall, an excellent and promising start to the series of Bardic Voices. I would highly recommend it, and it won’t leave you with a cliffhanger to force you to read the next in the series. Though I look forward to seeing what happens next in the series personally.
The Lark and the Wren is good on many points. Characters being the best part of the story. They are memorable and unique. They are easy to tell apart (which goes into the writing being good) and have interactions that are meaningful.
The general writing is good, but that is an easy thing for an experienced writer. This book’s writing trumps a lot of the books I read. The action isn’t confusing (though it is light) and the scenes meld into a cohesive whole. I’m very pleased with the quality found in this book.
The story itself is fun. While some parts are uncomfortable, they are placed well and at the right time for the character to learn and grow/change. The flow is not too fast paced nor too slow. And as said, the cohesive whole of the story is good to see.
The biggest downfall of the book is its predictability. There are few surprises here, and the tone is one of feel-good, which means you can count on certain aspects being present. Not only that, but the author seems to have a pattern to her stories.
Overall, an excellent and promising start to the series of Bardic Voices. I would highly recommend it, and it won’t leave you with a cliffhanger to force you to read the next in the series. Though I look forward to seeing what happens next in the series personally.
February 28, 2023
Weirdly Libertarian
January 6, 2021
Rereading this for the New Year. So fun!!
February 13, 2016
I had fun reading this book. It’s a light and fluffy fantasy story, but I enjoyed the writing, the story, and the characters. The main character, a girl named Rune, is a teenager living at an inn where her mother and she both work. From a young age she showed a gift for music and taught herself to play the fiddle, with the help of various traveling musicians who stopped by their inn and were remarkably generous in teaching her how to play different songs. She often played these songs for the inn patrons during normal nights when there wasn’t a musician staying there. She had a strained relationship with her self-centered mother, and she was looked down upon by most people in the village. Her dream was to win an apprenticeship with the Bardic Guild where she imagined she’d lead a life spent learning about music and playing music, all in the company of like-minded musicians who support and help each other.
Rune was a sympathetic character. She was smart and practical, and that made her easier to sympathize with as compared to the type of character found in many books who cause most of their own problems. Rune used common sense and she listened to advice. The other major characters in the story were likable also. My main complaint with Rune was that she had an awful lot of mental monologues about the corruptness of government agencies, the church, and rich people. The author did introduce a few decent people from these groups, so my problem wasn’t that it was a completely one-sided point of view. My problem was just the repetitiveness of it. I don’t want to listen to a character complain at length about an organization, certainly not more than once. If the organization is corrupt, I want to see them engage in corrupt activities. We did in fact see that, so I didn’t need the monologues to convince me they were corrupt. Fortunately, while this occurred often enough to annoy me, it really wasn’t all that frequent.
I had read an anthology by this author last June called Fiddler Fair. As it turned out, one of the short stories in that anthology was pretty much taken straight from a chapter in the middle of this book. The story made several references to earlier events in Rune’s life, so I found that I knew a lot of the major plot points from the first half of the book. Normally this would make a book less enjoyable for me because I liked to be surprised by where things go, but the story was much more enjoyable in a full-length novel where all the details were fleshed out so I enjoyed it anyway. Everything that happened after the first half was more of a surprise and it was nice to finally learn how things turned out after the events in the short story.
The book did get really romance-heavy in the second half and it happened awfully fast in terms of page count. Weeks and occasionally months of time often passed between sections of the book, so the romance did develop over a reasonable period of time, but I as a reader didn’t get to see the slow development so I only felt mildly invested. For a little while it became very angsty in a repetitive sort of way and I started to get thoroughly tired of it. The nice thing was that it wasn’t dragged out too long. I was afraid it would be dragged out until the end of the book, but it was resolved well before the end and then the story moved back to more interesting territory.
Although this is the first book in a series, the author told a complete story and this book could stand well on its own. I’m a little skeptical about whether the author will be able to sustain my interest in this setting for five books, but I plan to continue on to the second book and see where she goes with it. For some reason I kept passing over this series in favor of other books that looked more interesting to me, but I’m glad I finally got around to trying it.
Rune was a sympathetic character. She was smart and practical, and that made her easier to sympathize with as compared to the type of character found in many books who cause most of their own problems. Rune used common sense and she listened to advice. The other major characters in the story were likable also. My main complaint with Rune was that she had an awful lot of mental monologues about the corruptness of government agencies, the church, and rich people. The author did introduce a few decent people from these groups, so my problem wasn’t that it was a completely one-sided point of view. My problem was just the repetitiveness of it. I don’t want to listen to a character complain at length about an organization, certainly not more than once. If the organization is corrupt, I want to see them engage in corrupt activities. We did in fact see that, so I didn’t need the monologues to convince me they were corrupt. Fortunately, while this occurred often enough to annoy me, it really wasn’t all that frequent.
I had read an anthology by this author last June called Fiddler Fair. As it turned out, one of the short stories in that anthology was pretty much taken straight from a chapter in the middle of this book. The story made several references to earlier events in Rune’s life, so I found that I knew a lot of the major plot points from the first half of the book. Normally this would make a book less enjoyable for me because I liked to be surprised by where things go, but the story was much more enjoyable in a full-length novel where all the details were fleshed out so I enjoyed it anyway. Everything that happened after the first half was more of a surprise and it was nice to finally learn how things turned out after the events in the short story.
The book did get really romance-heavy in the second half and it happened awfully fast in terms of page count. Weeks and occasionally months of time often passed between sections of the book, so the romance did develop over a reasonable period of time, but I as a reader didn’t get to see the slow development so I only felt mildly invested. For a little while it became very angsty in a repetitive sort of way and I started to get thoroughly tired of it. The nice thing was that it wasn’t dragged out too long. I was afraid it would be dragged out until the end of the book, but it was resolved well before the end and then the story moved back to more interesting territory.
Although this is the first book in a series, the author told a complete story and this book could stand well on its own. I’m a little skeptical about whether the author will be able to sustain my interest in this setting for five books, but I plan to continue on to the second book and see where she goes with it. For some reason I kept passing over this series in favor of other books that looked more interesting to me, but I’m glad I finally got around to trying it.
December 7, 2018
The blurb for this book was just an excerpt from one of the most important scenes in this tale. It described the main character, Rune, playing her fiddle for the Ghost of Skull Hill. This is also the image on the cover. I was hooked.
Mercedes Lackey is a master writer with over 140 published novels, and the quality of her stories are reliable. This novel tells the story of a fourteen-year-old girl named Rune who is the illegitimate daughter of a tavern wench. Rune struggles to learn the fiddle with the help of passing mineral who stay at the tavern on their way through town. The iconic scene in which she plays for the ghost because of a dare happens early in the book and is the turning point in which Rune runs away to try to become a Bard. She doesn't know that women are not allowed in the Bard guild and has many adventures before she finds her path in life.
The story is fascinating and interesting all the way through. My only gripe and why I can't give this book five stars on Amazon or Goodreads is the arbitrary inconsistency of Rune's morals. I don't expect non-Christian books to have Christian morals, so I don't judge this book according to that. The problem is that at the beginning of the book, one of Rune's motivations in running away is to not be like her mother and to protect herself from the boys in the village who want to rape her. Then it is mentioned in passing that she is deflowered by a passing character we hear of twice who actually has a crush on another character. The two of them are friends and come together with no expectations and leave as friends. Why? Just because? When Rune meets her main love interest, she then only has the desire to sleep with him. I am more convinced that he is in love with her than she with him. They sleep together just to marry later. This creates an emotionally dissatisfying love story, and I am left wondering if she will end up just sleeping with someone else after they are married.
The love story is not the main part of this novel, so this gripe is not enough to diminish the fun of the adventures. There isn't one plot to this novel. It is entirely a character-based story that goes from one adventure to another. The only strangeness is how Mercedes Lackey has focused exclusively on Rune's point of view for most of the book and then starts seeing the world through her love interests point of view periodically from halfway through the book on. It takes away from this being Rune's story.
Overall, the story was exciting and enjoyable. The world was full, and the magic was just enough to keep you guessing. The sex is stated or implied without a full description. There is minimal cussing. There is little violence or fighting. I would recommend this book to older teens and adults who are not too sensitive to secular morals.
Mercedes Lackey is a master writer with over 140 published novels, and the quality of her stories are reliable. This novel tells the story of a fourteen-year-old girl named Rune who is the illegitimate daughter of a tavern wench. Rune struggles to learn the fiddle with the help of passing mineral who stay at the tavern on their way through town. The iconic scene in which she plays for the ghost because of a dare happens early in the book and is the turning point in which Rune runs away to try to become a Bard. She doesn't know that women are not allowed in the Bard guild and has many adventures before she finds her path in life.
The story is fascinating and interesting all the way through. My only gripe and why I can't give this book five stars on Amazon or Goodreads is the arbitrary inconsistency of Rune's morals. I don't expect non-Christian books to have Christian morals, so I don't judge this book according to that. The problem is that at the beginning of the book, one of Rune's motivations in running away is to not be like her mother and to protect herself from the boys in the village who want to rape her. Then it is mentioned in passing that she is deflowered by a passing character we hear of twice who actually has a crush on another character. The two of them are friends and come together with no expectations and leave as friends. Why? Just because? When Rune meets her main love interest, she then only has the desire to sleep with him. I am more convinced that he is in love with her than she with him. They sleep together just to marry later. This creates an emotionally dissatisfying love story, and I am left wondering if she will end up just sleeping with someone else after they are married.
The love story is not the main part of this novel, so this gripe is not enough to diminish the fun of the adventures. There isn't one plot to this novel. It is entirely a character-based story that goes from one adventure to another. The only strangeness is how Mercedes Lackey has focused exclusively on Rune's point of view for most of the book and then starts seeing the world through her love interests point of view periodically from halfway through the book on. It takes away from this being Rune's story.
Overall, the story was exciting and enjoyable. The world was full, and the magic was just enough to keep you guessing. The sex is stated or implied without a full description. There is minimal cussing. There is little violence or fighting. I would recommend this book to older teens and adults who are not too sensitive to secular morals.
September 4, 2019
I first read this book when I was even younger than Rune, and it's surprising to realize how much it set the stage for my own beliefs - cultural, political, etc. There's the criticism of the Church, of people who abuse power structures, even the explanation of why taxes are important; a lot of stuff that I've taken to heart.
The book itself is a pretty straightforward coming-of-age, which as others have said turns into a romance novel (and political drama) in the second half. I never managed to continue the series - something I'd like to remedy - so I can't say how much the events of this book matter in the grander scheme of the world. But I enjoy reading along while Rune figures herself out, and then finds someone uniquely suited for her to spend her life with. The age difference is a bit weirder now that I'm older, but it's very clearly set up as something Wren is also uncomfortable with; she's the pursuer, and they fit together very well with no pressure or abuse. A surprising amount of time is spent throughout the book on straight up ethical conversations - from the explanation of taxes I already mentioned, to the sexual and magical abuse of the less powerful by priests and Guild Bards, to the long conversation about when they can/should use their magic to manipulate people.
It's definitely not for everyone, and probably still better suited to a teen/young adult reader, but I find it to be a refreshing example of good people doing good things and having fun along the way.
The book itself is a pretty straightforward coming-of-age, which as others have said turns into a romance novel (and political drama) in the second half. I never managed to continue the series - something I'd like to remedy - so I can't say how much the events of this book matter in the grander scheme of the world. But I enjoy reading along while Rune figures herself out, and then finds someone uniquely suited for her to spend her life with. The age difference is a bit weirder now that I'm older, but it's very clearly set up as something Wren is also uncomfortable with; she's the pursuer, and they fit together very well with no pressure or abuse. A surprising amount of time is spent throughout the book on straight up ethical conversations - from the explanation of taxes I already mentioned, to the sexual and magical abuse of the less powerful by priests and Guild Bards, to the long conversation about when they can/should use their magic to manipulate people.
It's definitely not for everyone, and probably still better suited to a teen/young adult reader, but I find it to be a refreshing example of good people doing good things and having fun along the way.
September 6, 2012
I read most of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series when I was younger. When I saw this book on a shelf at the used bookstore I thought I'd give it a chance. I can definitely feel a lot of the same style (not surprising) that is in Valdemar, and the worlds are set in similar king/magic/feudal fantasy land. Unfortunately, this book is more optimistic than I can really find believable, even for a fantasy novel. Nothing particularly bad ever happens, and the obstacles that are put in the way of the main characters are very quickly resolved. Everyone who is good is really extra good and smart. Everyone who is bad is pretty darn evil and enough less smart than the good guys that it's not even really a question of whether or not the good guys will triumph.
I guess I like it more when things are grey. If the characters don't have a single tough choice to make, I simply cannot find them interesting enough to sustain me through the book. I got particularly fatigued when they pick up a boy trying the steal from them in a marketplace and he can already play harp and was apprenticed to a Guild Bard and eventually turns out to be EVEN MORE important than they could have guessed.
On the other hand, it's a quick candy coated romp through fantasy lands that at least as well written sentences despite a too upbeat plot.
I guess I like it more when things are grey. If the characters don't have a single tough choice to make, I simply cannot find them interesting enough to sustain me through the book. I got particularly fatigued when they pick up a boy trying the steal from them in a marketplace and he can already play harp and was apprenticed to a Guild Bard and eventually turns out to be EVEN MORE important than they could have guessed.
On the other hand, it's a quick candy coated romp through fantasy lands that at least as well written sentences despite a too upbeat plot.
April 7, 2023
Rune, the bastard child of Srara, has dreams of becoming a Guild Bard. Given a fiddle by Rose, the wife of the couple who owned the bar where her mother worked, picked up how to play it by watching the musicians who stopped over for the night, many of whom would even give her lessons when they could. Then came the time after Rose had passed away and Stara set her sights on getting the widower to marry her. Rune knew if she didn't get out of there soon she would be stuck forever sweeping floors and taking care of whatever her mother ordered her to do. Plus the older boys in the area who heard her mother was a loose woman for having a child out of wedlock, then Rune must be the same way. Hearing one time to many, plus being grabbed at, Rune told them that they would see she was a good fiddle player when she survived the night playing for the scull hill ghost.
May 10, 2011
While not a big Lackey fan I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I got deeply into the character, felt her pain, enjoyed her triumphs and followed all with interest. While I am the first to say that Ms. Lackey's books may run hot and cold (though I know she has a large following who like most all her work) this is (in my opinion) an outstanding book. My guess would be that if you are like me and find her books to be on sort of a sliding scale, you'll really like this one. If you like all her work I don't see how you can fail to love this one.
Unfortunately I ran out after this and bought several others in the Bardic Voices series, and found they seemed (again in my opinion) to get weaker as they went. Sad as I really liked this one.
Unfortunately I ran out after this and bought several others in the Bardic Voices series, and found they seemed (again in my opinion) to get weaker as they went. Sad as I really liked this one.
July 5, 2011
This book is inserting, you follow a young girl as she try to get free and to become a great bard. Facing challenges along the way and fighting to earn her place in the world.
The first time I read this book I loved it, this time it was just good. You quickly bond to Rune and want the best for her. But this book does something odd later on, it randomly switches to Talaysen and Robins POV for short segments, it isn't done well and was irritating at parts.
Also this felt like it should have been two books, Rune and Talaysen story and Rune, Talaysen, Robin, and Sional story. The second just ends too quickly and cleanly, and doesn't feel real. So over all it was a good book but not the best.
The first time I read this book I loved it, this time it was just good. You quickly bond to Rune and want the best for her. But this book does something odd later on, it randomly switches to Talaysen and Robins POV for short segments, it isn't done well and was irritating at parts.
Also this felt like it should have been two books, Rune and Talaysen story and Rune, Talaysen, Robin, and Sional story. The second just ends too quickly and cleanly, and doesn't feel real. So over all it was a good book but not the best.
May 29, 2011
This was a reread of a book I loved when I was a young teen. I lost the book and didn't remember who wrote it. But I thought of it fondly and was excited to find it again. I guess the saying is right you can never go back.
It is simplistic. Not much plot. Everything works out a little too perfectly for Rune. Not enough tragedy in her life to be the Cinderella tale it tries to be. She also comes across as a little...young now. A little bratty and arrogant. My favorite part of the book used to be the romance. But now it seems flat. There's no real connection to the characters except for the music they both love. The pro government and anti religion themes are out of place.
I did like the love the bards have for music and their instruments. But in all I should've left it to memory.
It is simplistic. Not much plot. Everything works out a little too perfectly for Rune. Not enough tragedy in her life to be the Cinderella tale it tries to be. She also comes across as a little...young now. A little bratty and arrogant. My favorite part of the book used to be the romance. But now it seems flat. There's no real connection to the characters except for the music they both love. The pro government and anti religion themes are out of place.
I did like the love the bards have for music and their instruments. But in all I should've left it to memory.
August 4, 2014
Read August 2, 2014
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Read 2009: As the first of the Bardic Voices, it was a bit confusing as to what was going on (world set up and all that). Still, the characters are true to Mercedes Lackey (full of passion, life, goals and good-will) and the plot moves forward pretty well, although at some points I had to really wonder if the whole "mystical" aspect (ghosts, for instance) really fit. At the end, though, everything made one complete circle and it was just awesome.
Also, the romantic love-story wasn't all that much in the forefront, rather it is the music that counts in this series, which I love.
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Read 2009: As the first of the Bardic Voices, it was a bit confusing as to what was going on (world set up and all that). Still, the characters are true to Mercedes Lackey (full of passion, life, goals and good-will) and the plot moves forward pretty well, although at some points I had to really wonder if the whole "mystical" aspect (ghosts, for instance) really fit. At the end, though, everything made one complete circle and it was just awesome.
Also, the romantic love-story wasn't all that much in the forefront, rather it is the music that counts in this series, which I love.
August 4, 2013
Surprisingly incohesive and amateurish for Mercedes Lackey. I loved the bardic aspect, but the characters were largely two-dimensional and parts of the plot (which was thin anyway) seemed out of place. I really enjoyed the short story upon which this was based, but apparently there was not enough plot to successfully flesh it out to 400 and some pages. I probably would have gone with two stars if not for the music theme.
August 6, 2011
Lackey utterly ignores the old advice to show, not tell. The book suffers for it.
And the pacing in this thing is an utter mess. The plot meanders and stumbles and wheezes along and is just weirdly disjointed.
There are germs of something better here, but this is like a rough draft that hasn't been pared and fleshed out and thoroughly edited.
And the pacing in this thing is an utter mess. The plot meanders and stumbles and wheezes along and is just weirdly disjointed.
There are germs of something better here, but this is like a rough draft that hasn't been pared and fleshed out and thoroughly edited.
December 11, 2012
What you have to understand is I really love a lot of Mercedes Lackey's work - but for some reason, the Bardic Voices series left me absolutely cold. I read this book sometime in the mid to late 1990s and then abandoned this series and went back to her Valdemar books.
February 10, 2011
comfort book left over from high school. YA fantasy at it's best/worst!
9/1/2007
9/1/2007
August 16, 2018
I love this series, but especially this first book. It's just a lot of fun, and has unexpected pockets of depth to it.
March 25, 2009
You'll really get annoyed with the zealots and the sexism in the countries attitudes in the book, but the book is a blast. This is a number three on the ML rating system.
April 22, 2024
Author uses the slur "gypsies", and uses stereotypes when discussing them
There's also a lot of slut-shaming, which seems more like the author's opinions than the character's
There's also a lot of slut-shaming, which seems more like the author's opinions than the character's
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