War ravages Leira and the Song has fallen silent.
Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young
Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran's fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?
Songkeeper, and Ky, a street-wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety.
Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran's fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?
Since reading Orphan Song I have been awaiting Songkeeper with much anticipation. For the most part I wasn't disappointed.
One thing I will start off with is that Songkeeper took on quite a darker plot than Orphan Song. It was full of many gory and thematic details and for that reason I don't believe anyone younger than twelve or thirteen should be reading this book, however for older readers it is a heart-pounding adventure any fantasy lover is guaranteed to enjoy.
The plot was wonderfully orchestrated, and there was a well established end goal in mind. The journey leading up to that was exciting enough but at the end of the book I was hanging onto the edge of my seat, feeling like I couldn't breathe for the stress whenever I finished a chapter.
One thing I did not enjoy however was Gillian's usage of the British cuss word "bloody" many times. It rather felt like she was trying to be edgy without technically doing anything wrong. It cheapened Songkeeper.
As to the characters the old characters' progression arc was done very well, and the new characters were quite enjoyable.
One thing I will start off with is that Songkeeper took on quite a darker plot than Orphan Song. It was full of many gory and thematic details and for that reason I don't believe anyone younger than twelve or thirteen should be reading this book, however for older readers it is a heart-pounding adventure any fantasy lover is guaranteed to enjoy.
The plot was wonderfully orchestrated, and there was a well established end goal in mind. The journey leading up to that was exciting enough but at the end of the book I was hanging onto the edge of my seat, feeling like I couldn't breathe for the stress whenever I finished a chapter.
One thing I did not enjoy however was Gillian's usage of the British cuss word "bloody" many times. It rather felt like she was trying to be edgy without technically doing anything wrong. It cheapened Songkeeper.
As to the characters the old characters' progression arc was done very well, and the new characters were quite enjoyable.
My favorite character, Ky, had some pretty incredible scenes in this book. If you were a fan of Ky in the last book you will love the progression of his character. He has gone through so many horrible experiences yet he still does what's right, he has such a deep passion for his "family", and he is just plain awesome.
Birdie, poor Birdie. I felt horrible for her throughout this book. She is stuck in a whirl-wind of hard, scary events and is just so confused. Birdie is a wonderful female lead, she is not the kick-rear, sarcastic, hard-as-nails female character that is so expected nowadays. She is sweet and gentle and yet has incredible strength and resilience. She is confused, hurting, and trapped by circumstances but she still does what's right.
Amos! There are many people who personally quite enjoy Amos, for the most part he annoys me. He is rather whiny and frustrating. While I do think the deep love he has for Birdie is sweet and his outlandish insults bring a level of spice and humor to the book, I would not be to sad if he was not a part of the book.
Gundhrold is a steady, someone you can always count on to be there for Birdie when she needs him. He is very much a grounding force for this book that Birdie needs desperately.
The new cast of characters was done incredibly well too, my favorite of the new ones being the Saari warrior Sym.
Takhran. *shudders* Ugh! He was an appropriately horrifying villain. I think Adams did a wonderful job portraying the complete disgusting, evilness of him and creating a wonderful villain.
The culture of the Saari was very cool, and the riding lions thing as pictured on the cover is awesowe.
As said above, the end of this book is crazy! Intense, stressful, scary. And while Gillian said that the last scene was very meaningful to her, it was too fast and too brief. For all you had just experienced in that book, the end was very small, and did not really affect me as I had been anticipating. So that was rather a disappointment.
Overall this book was a wonderful sequel to Orphan Song. If you enjoy fantasy this heart-pounding book will not disappoint.
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