The Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable Series: The Chanters of Tremaris #1
Publisher: Scholastic (2002)
Paperback (297 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2014
Synopsis
Calwyn has never been beyond the high ice wall that guards the sisters of Antaris from the world of Tremaris. She knows only the rounds of her life as a novice ice priestess, tending her bees, singing her ice chantments, and dreaming. But then Calwyn befriends Darrow, a mysterious Outlander who appears inside the Wall and warns of an approaching danger. to help Darrow, to see the world, and perhaps to save it, Calwyn will leave the safety of the Wall for a journey with a man she barely knows – and an adventure as beautiful and dangerous as the music of chantment itself.
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This is a book I have had for quite a while. Actually, I have the entire series. Every once in a while I pull them our for a reread. It has been a good two years since I last read this book.
What I Liked
I love books with magic and when that is combined with music, I have to read the book. A magic system based on traditionally passed on songs just sounds pretty cool. And then there are the different cultures that Calwyn and her friends travel through, the people they meet. It starts with just Calwyn and Darrow. Then Xanni and Tonno, Trout and Mica. They are all, eventually, trying to stop Samis from becoming the Singer of All Songs, the master of all the chantments.
What I Wanted More Of
There are parts of the book where the descriptions of locations seem very detailed with depth and such. Then there are parts that I don’t feel like I fully understood. For instance, the Doryan islands. Calwyn and Mica have a part where they are on one of the islands. Despite the fact that Calwyn was there, I don’t really feel like I know anything about the islands. And Spiridrell. I would love to know more about Spiridrell.
Calwyn and the Others
Calwyn’s motivation for leaving Antaris is mainly curiosity. Then it becomes this giant quest to save the whole of Tremaris from Samis. I’m just not sure a girl from the mountains would really travel with people she barely knows and then get involved in what is basically a war between Samis and Darrow that she does not understand.
Then there is Darrow. Darrow is a complex character. You don’t really get a lot of his back story in this book but, from the beginning, you know it has something to do with Samis and Merithuros. He is the mysterious characters. I was okay with that.
Mica, I just love Mica. She is a girl from the Firthana islands taken captive by Doryan pirates because she is a windworker. She is spunky and I feel that I can relate better to her than to Calwyn.
Conclusion
A good book geared towards the younger end of the young adult spectrum. A quick, easy read that keeps you interested and asking What next?
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