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The Echorium Sequence #3
Dark Quetzal
Enter a thrilling world in which Half Creatures live alongside humans - a world where Singers use ancient Songs of Power to keep the peace.
But the evil one wants revenge ...
No one worries too much when the Crazy Singer disappears, but when a young novice with an exceptional voice is kidnapped by pirates and another is nearly drowned, the Singers fear the enemy is back.
In a desperate race against time they must follow the dark quetzal, a heroic Half Creature, if they are to save the life of Kyarra, a brave and spirited girl who must face the dark force alone to finally destroy the power of the black crystal.
In the battle between darkness and light, Song power and courage are their only weapons.
But the evil one wants revenge ...
No one worries too much when the Crazy Singer disappears, but when a young novice with an exceptional voice is kidnapped by pirates and another is nearly drowned, the Singers fear the enemy is back.
In a desperate race against time they must follow the dark quetzal, a heroic Half Creature, if they are to save the life of Kyarra, a brave and spirited girl who must face the dark force alone to finally destroy the power of the black crystal.
In the battle between darkness and light, Song power and courage are their only weapons.
251 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Roberts
73 books144 followersI grew up in the south west of England and studied Mathematics at the University of Bath, writing fantasy and science fiction in my spare time. After graduating with 1st class honours (in maths, not fantasy writing!), I worked with computers for several years before redundancy convinced me that working with horses might be healthier.
I spent the next decade working in various horse racing yards, and kept on writing. "Song Quest" was eventually published in 1999 and went on to win the Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel by a UK author.
I spent the next decade working in various horse racing yards, and kept on writing. "Song Quest" was eventually published in 1999 and went on to win the Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel by a UK author.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 12, 2023
‘Dark Quetzal’ is the final book of The Echorium Sequence and the only book of the series I hadn’t read as a child prior to my binge read of the entire series. Set 31 years after the events of the first book in the series, Song Quest, it builds on the story from both books with involvement of all main characters we met along the way.
The established lore is expanded on for better and for worse, with one of the half creatures finally taking center stage as one of the leads in the form of Night Plume, a quetzal with dark plumage. It’s one of the first times in the entire series we see half creatures that aren’t allied with the protagonists as well as the interactions between one another. The climax from the previous book in the series, the Crystal Mask, is interwoven beautifully and we can see what became of the villains of that book series which was really, really satisfying.
As a young adult novel, there’s some depictions of violence that perturbed me as an adult reader such as attempted sexual assault against someone who, in their current state, couldn’t consent. If I’d read this as I had to read the first two novels as a child I might’ve easily glossed over this but it’s something to be mindful of. In addition, we finally have the reveal of Frahzin’s past and why he oh so desperately wished to destroy the Isle of Echoes as far back as the initial novel which is brushed away in a few lines and felt wholly unsatisfying. The handling of Frahzin in both novels as the villain felt almost swept under the rug at times and not as impactful as I so desperately wanted it to be, and it continued to feel this way as ‘Dark Quetzal’ concluded. It’s a disappointing end to a trilogy.
That’s not to say this series is a waste of time – on the contrary I think it’s wonderful! The small world feeling of the original ‘Song Quest’ is massively expanded on by the time ‘Dark Quetzal’ concludes and the ensemble cast of characters, a majority who we’ve seen grow up from children into adults, is ultimately satisfying.
The established lore is expanded on for better and for worse, with one of the half creatures finally taking center stage as one of the leads in the form of Night Plume, a quetzal with dark plumage. It’s one of the first times in the entire series we see half creatures that aren’t allied with the protagonists as well as the interactions between one another. The climax from the previous book in the series, the Crystal Mask, is interwoven beautifully and we can see what became of the villains of that book series which was really, really satisfying.
As a young adult novel, there’s some depictions of violence that perturbed me as an adult reader such as attempted sexual assault against someone who, in their current state, couldn’t consent. If I’d read this as I had to read the first two novels as a child I might’ve easily glossed over this but it’s something to be mindful of. In addition, we finally have the reveal of Frahzin’s past and why he oh so desperately wished to destroy the Isle of Echoes as far back as the initial novel which is brushed away in a few lines and felt wholly unsatisfying. The handling of Frahzin in both novels as the villain felt almost swept under the rug at times and not as impactful as I so desperately wanted it to be, and it continued to feel this way as ‘Dark Quetzal’ concluded. It’s a disappointing end to a trilogy.
That’s not to say this series is a waste of time – on the contrary I think it’s wonderful! The small world feeling of the original ‘Song Quest’ is massively expanded on by the time ‘Dark Quetzal’ concludes and the ensemble cast of characters, a majority who we’ve seen grow up from children into adults, is ultimately satisfying.
September 3, 2022
Dark Quetzal by Katherine Roberts – A fantastic conclusion to an epic musical fantasy adventure! Happy Reading!
October 11, 2021
Probably my favourite out of the entire series. It ties up everything really well and there's an afterword to tie up this story itself. Though the series is new and different, the books themselves are mirror images of each other. Same plot format, just different names. If that had been changed, these would easily have been 4-5 star books.
September 8, 2012
A fitting end to the sequence, but a little contrived. It feels sort of like a 3rd movie in a series -- they left just enough open in #2 to create a possibility of this #3. There are more characters in common from #2 to #3 than from #1 to #2.
April 28, 2008
This was an amazing book. I really hope that anyone else that reads this book will enjoy it as much as I have!
October 26, 2014
These stories were so amazing! I read them in like the seventh grade but I'd read them again if I had the chance! Love them!
October 5, 2010
Definitely better than Crystal Mask, it also gives a sense of unity to the trilogy. Not my favourite series, though.
March 24, 2011
Loved the concept loved the book and read the third book before the second and first.
February 13, 2012
I liked this book, I found the description good and vivid. I liked the changes in point of views as it made the story feel more realistic.
September 21, 2014
4.5 stars
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October 23, 2014a6cd9b28-64c4-4a46-9537-458fe7af16a4
May 6, 2016
Again I enjoyed this book better than the previous books in the series. My only issue with this series is that I find the endings quite sudden and am always left wanting more.
April 9, 2016
one of the most original kid/YA series I've read in 15 years of fantasy/sci-fi fandom. May only complaint was that it was a bit on the low fantasy side for me but only a bit.
August 28, 2009
Good read. Interesting finish to the series. Worth the read!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews