Songs of the Earth (Wild Hunt Trilogy #1)

May 07, 2012 Evie rated it 5 of 5 stars

***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA&Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and News!

Exquisite. A near perfect blend of fantasy, action, adventure and magic. Finely imagined and beautifully told, Songs of The Earth by Elspeth Cooper is one greatly enjoyable and entirely captivating debut fantasy novel. I had a wonderful time reading it. Thanks to Cooper's excellent and engaging storytelling, it didn't take long for me to become totally immersed in the plot....more ***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA&Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and News!

Exquisite. A near perfect blend of fantasy, action, adventure and magic. Finely imagined and beautifully told, Songs of The Earth by Elspeth Cooper is one greatly enjoyable and entirely captivating debut fantasy novel. I had a wonderful time reading it. Thanks to Cooper's excellent and engaging storytelling, it didn't take long for me to become totally immersed in the plot. All the characters were carefully depicted, with a mixture of qualities and flaws that really made them jump off the page. The settings were vivid and painted with an exceptional care for details. I could almost feel the cold wind on my skin and hear the glorious song of power and magic. And it felt amazing. And it made me crave more. Mesmerizing - that would be the word. But also adventurous, at times scary and disquieting, thematically poignant, moving, even slightly philosophical. Beautiful. It was, in every sense of the word, an epic story and an exciting beginning to a promising new series.

Suffer ye not the life of a witch and shun ye all works of evil lest they imperil thy soul.

Gair can hear the Song. Which basically means he is a witch. He can touch the songs of the earth and weave magic. Unfortunately, the world he's been born into is a cold and unforgiving one, where practicing magic equals besmirching the sanctity of the Suvaeon Order and is punishable by death. And no one cares about Gair's loyalty to the Lady and his many years of service to the Church. All that matters is that he has performed acts of witchcraft for which he must be punished. Burned. While Gair is doing his best to stay alive, the magic inside him is breaking free and he has to do something with it, has to learn how to embrace it and get it under control, otherwise he'll burst. His only hope lies in the Guardians of the Veil, a secret and well-hidden society that holds the knowledge of the Song. In order to learn how to master his gift, he has to find them, and he has to do it quick. And that's only just the beginning of the many dangers and adventures he'll have to face.

This was, hands down, one of the most wonderful fantasy books I have read in the past few years. I wasn't even 50 pages into this book before it downed on me that I am beginning something truly extraordinary. And the feeling stayed with me all the way to the end, leaving me impressed, amazed, slightly dazed and ultimately satisfied. Cooper's writing style is nothing short of spellbinding. It draws you in, holds your attention, gets you emotionally involved in the characters' story and leaves you breathless. And begging for more. There's no denying the fact that this lady have nailed her debut in a way that you really don't see very often. For that, and for the way she she brought all her characters to life and made me care about them, I am giving her a well-deserved standing ovation.

I'm not even sure what I loved more about this book - the way the story was driven by the beautifully fleshed out, convincing characters, or the way the events smoothly unfolded, allowing me to take pleasure in exploring all the intricacies of the plot. Or maybe it was the whole new concept of magic that won me over, or perhaps the chilling witch hunts and inquisition. Or maybe I'm just a total sucker for thrilling adventures and epic quests, sprinkled with danger and occasional humor. Whatever it was, it was good.

Gair's journey to self-discovery and self-acceptance was also very interesting to read about. His whole life he's been taught that magic is a sin. Every prayer he has learned was meant to steer him away from it. But when he heard the music, he couldn't resist opening his heart to it, it felt too good, too euphoric not to give in. And he struggled with that a lot. When we meet him, he's still not entirely sure whether he's a sinner, well-deserving of the punishment he's about to receive, or just an innocent victim with a gift. He has to face the cruelty of the world around him, all the while battling demons of his own. Trying to find his place in the world. And it was absolutely fascinating to be able to accompany him on this journey and see him transform from a scared, confused man with not much hope for the future, into a strong, confident, powerful character, ready to take on whatever new challenges are thrown his way.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Songs of The Earth and I hope you realized by now that this is a title that simply must be on your shelf. I can't wait for the next installment! (less)

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Dec 12, 2011 Mieneke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy

Songs of the Earth is another great 2011 debut. Harkening back to a more traditional fantasy feel, it made me feel warm and comfy in its pages. It felt both familiar and new, as there is a sort of 'Chosen One' feel about its protagonist Gair, but nobody comes out and says it. There is no prophecy he has to follow, no magical McGuffin to help him complete a quest. It really isn't a prophecy-driven book; instead it's just good old-school epic fantasy, in my opinion.

The world building in Songs of t...more Songs of the Earth is another great 2011 debut. Harkening back to a more traditional fantasy feel, it made me feel warm and comfy in its pages. It felt both familiar and new, as there is a sort of 'Chosen One' feel about its protagonist Gair, but nobody comes out and says it. There is no prophecy he has to follow, no magical McGuffin to help him complete a quest. It really isn't a prophecy-driven book; instead it's just good old-school epic fantasy, in my opinion.

The world building in Songs of the Earth is fantastic. What really stood out for me were the pieces of scripture Ms Cooper created for the Eadorian Church. They give an authentic and well-rounded feel to at least the Church-side of this culture and through some of the chapters featuring Ansel and some of Gair's discussions with Darin on Church history we get an even more well-rounded view. The same can be said of Ms Cooper's magic system. This too is well-rounded, though still mysterious, with little of the actual 'mechanics' of the magic revealed. All we really know it's song-based – everything has its own musical signature – and not everyone gifted with the ability to hear the Song, has the same aptitudes or strength in the powers at play. I'd love to see some more details on the mechanics, but that's just because I love that sort of thing. Another strong point is the different nationalities and races found in the book. While the world of Songs of the Earth seems in a large part Western-European inspired, with its Northmen and Leahn, who feel somewhat Scandinavian in appearance and a religion which seems to have some familiarity with the Christian one, there are other cultures out there, such as the Southern desert peoples where Aysha came from, the sea elves Masen encounters and the Astolan people, with their White Court and long-lived people. And before you say, oh no elves, let me stress that what I particularly loved about the Astolan is how they are introduced into the narrative—without even any emphasis on any link to elves. Ms Cooper even has Tanith joke about it, when they discuss – inaccurate – Astolan descriptions in literature, telling Gair about Astolan ears: "Completely unpointed, as you can see". That line definitely made me chuckle out loud.

Besides great world building, Cooper also manages to people her book with interesting characters. Gair is a great protagonist, somewhat naive, but definitely not stupid or too innocent for his age. I really liked his development; he grows up over the course of the novel from a somewhat naive young man to someone who has accepted the blows life has dealt him and risen above them. By the end of the book, Gair has a purpose and goal he wants to reach with his life and, though it might not be the wisest or most rational desire, I'm sure following him as he tries to attain his goal is going to be interesting. As stated above, there is a hint of the Chosen one about Gair and Alderan is the wise one to Gair's Chosen one. He is the character who knows where Gair needs to go and what's next, but at the same time he is shown to be fallible and admits it ungrudgingly. I liked the school setting of Chapterhouse where Alderan takes Gair, though we see remarkably little of Gair's education. Instead of focusing on Gair's lessons, Ms Cooper chooses to focus on Gair's interactions and relationships with his fellow students, such as Darin, Arlin and Sorchal, and some of the Masters, such as Aysha, swords master Harlan, and Tanith, one of the healers. I loved the friendship Gair forms with Darin and the rapport he builds with Tanith. But I loved his relationship with Aysha the most. Both because I'm an incurable romantic and because, like Gair himself at first, I kept getting the feeling that it wasn't right, that it would mean trouble, but at the same time seeing how he made Aysha blossom, it was hard to resist the pairing.

A storyline completely separate from Gair's was that of Preceptor Ansel and Chaplain Dalinor. In their scenes we get to see some of the machinations within the Church and perhaps some of the motivations of its key players as well. They made me think the Church wasn't all bad; especially in the latter part of the book where Church politics came to the fore Ansel's and Dalinor's scenes were very enjoyable. These are very clever and devious men, who need to defeat even more devious opponents. I truly adored the last scenes where we see them and I hope we will see more of them in the next book along with the Lord Provost and Selsen.

If I have to have one complaint, it's a minor one: some elements were a little telegraphed. For example, the trinket used by the bad guys to get an in inside Chapterhouse. While I didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, I did know there was something wrong with it and so its ultimate role didn't come as a surprise. Similarly, I knew Aysha's and Gair's relationship wouldn't end well, even if I didn't know why wouldn't end well. In any case, the way this was resolved had me crying my eyes out, so knowing that something will probably happen, doesn't mean it won't have impact. Besides, I can't help but think that part of the telegraphing is due to that sense of familiarity I mentioned before; Songs of the Earth fits in a long-standing fantasy tradition and as such some elements and tropes are bound to be familiar. And this isn't a bad thing, as long as tropes don't become cliché, but, for me, Ms Cooper never crossed that line.

Songs of the Earth is a book which made me both laugh and cry. It made for compelling reading; I whipped through it in sessions of 100 pages a sitting and just couldn't put it down. The morning before I finished it I was bemoaning the fact I had to go to work as I wanted to finish the book. I came home sat down and didn't emerge until I'd finished. While I may have been late in reading this first instalment of The Wild Hunt, I'm sure I won't be as tardy with book two, Trinity Moon. Its release date in April is too far away! If you haven't done so yet, be sure to pick up a copy of this wonderful début – Christmas presents are just around the corner! – as it's one of the stronger ones of the year.(less)

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Oct 11, 2011 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read

I've never hid the fact that I am a sci-fi reader before a fantasy reader, but every now and then a fantasy book comes along that I look at and just want to read. Songs of the Earth is just such a book, not as hefty as some other novels in the genre but the blurb makes it sound interesting, the fact that it's the first part of a planned trilogy even better. I won't lie, this one has a lot to live up to even before opening the page, the publisher declaring it as the fantasy debut of 2011. However...more I've never hid the fact that I am a sci-fi reader before a fantasy reader, but every now and then a fantasy book comes along that I look at and just want to read. Songs of the Earth is just such a book, not as hefty as some other novels in the genre but the blurb makes it sound interesting, the fact that it's the first part of a planned trilogy even better. I won't lie, this one has a lot to live up to even before opening the page, the publisher declaring it as the fantasy debut of 2011. However, for me Songs of the Earth hit the spot and delivered the kind of story that makes me want to read more fantasy - a rare thing indeed!

Gair is a witch, awaiting execution at the hands of the Church. For many years he has hid the truth about his magical skills while learning about the religion and fighting methods from the scholars at the Church, and he knows full well what they do with magic users. However, at his trial the Preceptor, an old and frail man, grants him a lifeline in the form of exile rather than the death he - and everyone else - was expecting. But not everyone is willing to accept this and a witchfinder is quickly dispatched by opposing members within the Church to carry out the execution as intended. Fortunately for Gair he falls into the company of Alderan, a wise old man who hides more than he lets on, but the offer he makes Gair is irresistible: travel with him to a place where he can improve and master his talents among others like him. And his journey begins...

Songs of the Earth may be a fantasy tale with magic, strange creatures and a hidden world beyond ours, but it's the characters that drive it forward. Gair is, of course, the hero of the tale, and one that is exceptionally strong at what he can do. However, he's got the recognisable background of orphan who doesn't know his parents - a sure sign that he's destined for greatness. But Gair is an interesting character, one that has never had a home and has had to hide his magical powers from everyone around him, keeping a secret that could (and does) cause great problems for him. He's not the only character I liked either: you've got Alderan, the wise mentor; Ansel, the old and determined Preceptor of the Eadorian faith; Aysha, the crippled shape-shifter. There are many more I could go on about, but that would just ruin it for you. The bad guys are also interesting, although we don't get quite as much depth to them as we do the good guys, something that I hope is improved on in the next novel.

The world building is also a good aspect of Songs of the Earth, but not one that is deeply explored. Cooper manages to create a very real world for the story to take place, and done so without much info-dumping, but I would have liked to have found out a little bit more. There is a fine line between not enough details and too much, and while the balance isn't quite right, it's pretty close. But then again I do like a good bit of world building in my stories, so this is very much personal taste talking.

The magic is also another aspect of Songs of the Earth that I very much enjoyed, the way that a person uses song to create the magic, hearing the different tunes and managing to craft them into different things. It's not a system that is precisely laid out either, but one that you get a feel for as the story progresses and you see more of it in use. It's interesting and adds a good element to the story, another aspect that I hope to see further explored in the next two books.

Above all else Songs of the Earth is a damned fine novel. It tells the story in an interesting way, and while it may not be bringing new groundbreaking stuff to the genre, for me it's exactly the sort of book I want to read. It manages to shy away from some typical fantasy elements, but it also incorporates much of what I expect from a novel in this genre.

Debut of the year? Hard to tell at the moment, but boy is it one hell of an entertaining read!(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars

First off, I had a hard time rating this book. It's more of a four than a five, maybe a four and a half.

Overall, the story runs a little cliche, the hero is an orphan who is special. A religious organization that reeks of Christianity. The musical magical system and world cultures are not as creative as they often are.

But on the other hand, the book is spectacularly well written. The author may borrow from the classics for ideas, but does a great job developing a fun story.

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Feb 24, 2012 Stefan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: advance-reading-copy, fantasy, far-beyond-reality-review

“Suffer ye not the life of a witch.” So it is written in the scripture of the Holy Suvaeon Knights. Bad luck then for Gair, a Novice Knight, that he can hear the “songs of the earth” that allow him to perform the forbidden magic. The young man is caught in the act, thrown in a dungeon, and tortured, but before he can suffer the usual fate of a witch and gets burned at the stake, the Church Preceptor intervenes and surprisingly allows him to leave with nothing more than a branding. An old man nam...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Elspeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

On Amazon they like this book to Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, all I have to say to this is; not even close.
In Name of the Wind the beautifully written words jump out at you and the dialog flowed smooth, here in Songs of the Earth...not so much.
Don't get me wrong, Songs of the Earth did have some sun through the clouds moments where a sentence shined or the dialog was witty but it's missing something.
I am a huge fan of British authors with Kate Griffin's Madness of Angels getting a fi...more

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May 27, 2013 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fantasy tends to have common tropes that author's use. A particularly common one is that of the great hero who starts as, for lack of a better word, nothing. Within this, you find such heroes as King Arthur as a lowly squire pulling the sword out of the stone, Conan the Barbarian becoming king, Bilbo and Sam as lowly (literally) hobbits becoming the key to the battle, and others too many to name.

Now within this trope there appears to be two (maybe three) sub-species. The first is where the grea...more Fantasy tends to have common tropes that author's use. A particularly common one is that of the great hero who starts as, for lack of a better word, nothing. Within this, you find such heroes as King Arthur as a lowly squire pulling the sword out of the stone, Conan the Barbarian becoming king, Bilbo and Sam as lowly (literally) hobbits becoming the key to the battle, and others too many to name.

Now within this trope there appears to be two (maybe three) sub-species. The first is where the greatness arises out of the heroes own actions or ideals. Conan the Barbarian is the ultimate self-made man, becoming king through his own strength of arms, his personality, and his abilities. In many ways, he typifies the ideals of 20th century America where it was believed that anyone could reach the for the top based on their skills and abilities.

On the other hand, the hobbits are the British Tommy, going off to fight in a war, doing their part, being occasionally heroic, then returning home to their old lives however changed (there is a memorable scene at the end of the movie version of the Return of the King where the four friends are in a pub that I like to think is a fairly effective depiction of the impact of the War on the four hobbits).

The second (or third depending on whether you would separate the Conan and the Hobbit experience) sub-species, is somewhat less democratic. In this genre, the hero is a hero at least partially because not of what he or she does but because of some innate power or right that he or she has. This doesn't denigrate necessarily from his or her actions, but it does alter the picture. Only Arthur could pull the sword from the stone because he was the son of the king; David Eddings' Belgarion may have been raised as a farmer but he was the heir of both a powerful wizard and a great kingdom; Raymond Feist's Pug was an innately powerful wizard, and so on....

In recent years, I have scene more of the second sub-species type of novels out there - whether it is Robert Jordan's Eye of the World, or Terry Goodkinds' Sword of Truth novels, the protagonists are heroes at least partially due to accident of birth. This is not a criticism as much as it is an observation - an observation that is focal to my review of Ms. Coopers' novel.

Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed the Song of the Earth and I will read the next book in the series. The hero is clearly well grounded in the second category discussed above. Without spoiling too much, by approximately 1/3 of the way through the novel, you should be realizing that he is not merely a magic user, but is a potentially VERY powerful magic user. In fact, my main criticism of this novel is that more than any other book I have EVER read, it is made abundantly clear, very quickly how powerful he will be.

My other major criticism is that that none of Ms. Cooper's kingdoms or cities or locales seem to be very well sketched. I couldn't tell the difference between the various kingdoms of her world because they weren't important to her story (but it helps me to immerse myself in an author's world if I can at least begin to understand it).

Having said that, there is lots going on in the book, very few dull spots, and there are a number of characters that I look forward to seeing more of (and a few deaths of characters that I will miss).

All in all, I think that if the second book puts more world building into it, this is definitely one of the better epic fantasy's I've read in a long time. However, for now, it gets 3 stars.(less)

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Mar 06, 2013 Codey Blair rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am at a loss here. No book has ever prompted me to join a website to write a review. I am the type of person that never walks out of a movie no matter how bad. Being an avid reader since grade school I can honestly say I have never read a book that has made me want to put it down.Elspeth Cooper has a beautiful writing style that I found very engaging it was easy to get lost in her writing. I had no problems with the premiss or characters of the book. I can forgive bland characters, poor world...more I am at a loss here. No book has ever prompted me to join a website to write a review. I am the type of person that never walks out of a movie no matter how bad. Being an avid reader since grade school I can honestly say I have never read a book that has made me want to put it down.Elspeth Cooper has a beautiful writing style that I found very engaging it was easy to get lost in her writing. I had no problems with the premiss or characters of the book. I can forgive bland characters, poor world building and formulaic plots but I have NEVER read a book that was so poorly edited! Every time I would slip into the book I would be jarred out by characters entering scenes and then seemingly disappear from said scene only to reappear when exiting said scene. Or to have scenes and characters disjointedly jump around, and scenes end abruptly from one paragraph to the next. One example that just left me dumbfounded was having our protagonist playing chess with his new friend ( whom lives in the room next door) in one paragraph and the next paragraph finds said friend locked outside the school at night in the rain. We then spend a page following said friend on his quest to get back inside, hey there's a door I will go in it, the end.!?! Really? He's inside playing chess where he lives, then he's just locked outside with no explanation, spends a few paragraphs trying to get back inside, easily succeeds in doing so, end of meaningless side bar that has nothing to do with anything? Just thought we'd take a break from what was JUST happening to randomly skip through time and space to watch people do random things that have no connective threads to any of the surrounding story?!? Oh hey we are out frolicking, oops now we're playing chess and I bet you think my silent monologue is in response to the chess game I'm playing and being asked about but nope I'm thinking about the frolicking I just abruptly stopped doing which you will realize in two paragraphs when my monologue stops making sense in relation to my situation and I directly refer to the frolicking I was just doing! I don't understand how people have absolutely no problem with this. Most of the negative reviews have to do with characters or world building or predictability of the plot, all of which I have no problem overlooking. Bad editing on the other hand.... yet another bad editing choice is the constant switch between characters first names and races. It might not be bad if you didn't use both for your protagonist before even establishing the races, leaving the reader to assume they are using a characters last name until they use it on another person ten pages in causing you to suddenly wonder if the writer is talking about the protagonist and you just somehow missed them changing clothes and locations.... nope completely different person, maybe it's a rank or nickname or body type or character trait, oh it's a race of people well thanks for the unnecessary confusion. Oh and please make sure you switch from given names to race names every sentence so I have to backtrack to make sure I know whom your talking about! This book could have easily been a great read,and I really wanted it to be as I loved the premise and the writing style, not to mention the fact that my bar isn't set too high when it comes to fun fantasy reads. But bad editing to the extent of constant confusion does NO author any good. And there you have it, my first and probably last book review written out of my frustration at the inexplicably confusing editing choices of a potentially great book. (less)

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Jan 14, 2013 Tom Lloyd rated it 3 of 5 stars

This isn't really a review, which may strike you as odd I admit...

However, given the circumstances of me reading it and the length of time it took me, making much sense or intelligent criticism isn't possible so I'm going to say a couple of things and leave it at that.

Most importantly, I enjoyed it and I kept up with it. I'm not saying it's a complex book at all, quite the opposite, but it took me over six weeks to read as my firstborn arrived close to the start and frankly keeping up with anyt...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Alexis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, disappointing, annyoing-romance, first-half-was-good, beautiful-writing

I give it two stars because the beginning was good and the magic premise was pretty cool, but ugh, did this book crash and burn!

I so wanted to love it. I adore Carol Berg, so when I read the description and thought I felt a hint of her style in it, I was practically bouncing for joy. 100 pages in, I was still happy. The characters were okay; the world, while geographically and psychologically an obvious rip-off, was explained well, so I didn't mind. The prose was beautiful.

Then things began to g...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Dark Matter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper is epic escapist high fantasy based on Nordic mythology about the Wild Hunt. The protagonist, Gair, is a young man of mysterious origins with extraordinary magical powers. Narrowly escaping a death sentence due to political machinations by people he’s never met, Gair travels to an academy for students of magic where he makes friends for the first time and aggravates new enemies.

The hero with obscure origins finding himself, a forbidden romance, betrayal from...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Khelbiros rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was an okay first fantasy novel, but felt rather disjointed when I look back on it. Gair goes from being on trial for witchcraft, to being exiled and then attends 'magic school', where is one of the most powerful students ever and assists in defending the school from a terrible, demonic assault. While I don't mind a good 'classic' plot if told well, a few things nagged me.

Gair gets branded: "He will never be welcome in a place of worship again once he wears a witchmark. Never be able to we...more This was an okay first fantasy novel, but felt rather disjointed when I look back on it. Gair goes from being on trial for witchcraft, to being exiled and then attends 'magic school', where is one of the most powerful students ever and assists in defending the school from a terrible, demonic assault. While I don't mind a good 'classic' plot if told well, a few things nagged me.

Gair gets branded: "He will never be welcome in a place of worship again once he wears a witchmark. Never be able to wed, never to have his children blessed and taken into the faith. It will go with him to his grave, along with the hatred and suspicion of his neighbours..." But the brand is on his hand, which can easily be disguised, rather than his face, which I thought more inline with his witch-hating church.

Some interesting support characters with disabilities, such as Darin (the diabetic, magic-school buddy) or Aysha (Gair's crippled, shapechanging teacher) fail to last the book, which was a shame as they made Gair more interesting via his relationships with them. Tanith, an elven healer, is introduced in a style like she was the 'real' love interest of the story; which I disliked as I was enjoying the pairing between Aysha and Gair.

Also, Savin, the villain, is described early on in the book as a "...a liar, gambler and slippery as eels in oil, but I see no reason for him to try to harm us" is later revealed as a vile, demon-summoning murderer in the book's finale, after mind-raping Gair to find some hidden secret. However, I thought this latter portrayal was out of odds with his build-up, and certainly would have preferred a roguish, gambler type as the main villain rather than Damien from the Omen. (Savin was manipulating the mind of his mother and nurse when he was a baby, etc - he was presented as 'born evil' - but how much ethical development did these people reasonably expect a baby to have?) I wouldn't mind a 'turnaround' POV from him later in the series, if that's what Cooper is interested in exploring.

There were also some rather dull plot lines involving a church election, and a ranger-magician finding out some gates were closing. I couldn't see why they needed to be POV characters.

Things I liked about the book? Well, it read quickly and well. The support characters were fun when they were involved in Gair's life. I quite enjoyed the shape changing scenes with Gair and his teacher. The magic school was fun, if somewhat generic, but it entertained me. Gair is rather bland but serviceable protagonist. I might try the next book in the series and hope that it contains more of the things I like about this one than less.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Libby rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an entertaining read, although in places it shows that it is this author's first effort. I have read a couple of negative fan reviews, and I think they may be a little harsh. Some of the transitions here are a little clunky, but so was my Plymouth Valiant that I drove without fail for 13 years. This is a turn on the old trope of the young man searching to find himself and his place in the world. Viewed as such, this is a pretty decent effort. It is clearly meant as the lead-off hitter f...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Religious persecution against those with magic. Yes that always brings forth emotions in me. They are the perfect baddies, sitting in their cold towers preaching about salvation and hunting innocents with magic in their blood, even if those loves the Goddess just as much as the rest.

We got Gair, our hero, who is being tortured because he has magic. A good hero who finds his own way, friends and love down the road that is this book. He never loses faith either, something that is not easy after wh...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Craig Slater rated it 3 of 5 stars

A highly anticipated, much publicised, debut novel, this book by newcomer Elspeth Cooper is being marketed as “the Fantasy Find of 2011”. It is from the team that brought us Joe Abercrombie and
Patrick Rothfuss. So is this all it’s cracked up to be?

Well, the only way to tackle such a book is to ignore all the manufactured hype and let the book speak for itself.

Gair, a novice knight, can hear music that no one else can: beautiful, grave, captivating music that is rich in power. In the Holy City,
th...more A highly anticipated, much publicised, debut novel, this book by newcomer Elspeth Cooper is being marketed as “the Fantasy Find of 2011”. It is from the team that brought us Joe Abercrombie and
Patrick Rothfuss. So is this all it’s cracked up to be?

Well, the only way to tackle such a book is to ignore all the manufactured hype and let the book speak for itself.

Gair, a novice knight, can hear music that no one else can: beautiful, grave, captivating music that is rich in power. In the Holy City,
that can mean only one thing. For Gair, being tried as a witch means
death by fire… until an unlikely intervention offers him a chance to
flee the city, escape the prescribed death by purifying flames, and
more. With the Church Knights and their witch-finder pursuing Gair
and his sly and secretive companion across the land, Gair has little
time to learn how to control the power that is growing restless inside
him. And if he doesn’t learn to master it, his power will tear him apart. His only hope is the secretive Guardians of the Veil, although centuries of persecution by the church have almost destroyed their order. A powerful evil presence is hunting. The Veil between worlds is
weakening, strange forces are stirring, and turbulent times are ahead
for all. Although Gair is far from ready, he will find himself fighting for his own life, for the lives of those he has come to know and love, and for the very reality they all depend upon.
From the first few lines, I liked this book enough to carry on reading.
That’s a good start. Cooper has a writing style that I quite enjoy: light,while maintaining an eloquence that isn’t overbearing. It’s descriptive, but not cumbersome. It flows. The characters are well developed,dimensional and motivated enough to be realistic. More importantly,they’re likable enough to keep me interested. I like a character driven narrative and Gair is someone you don’t mind spending time with. That’s always a bonus for me, because I struggle to read a book if I can’t relate to the main character, regardless of how good everything else is. The story, although quite simple and predictable because of its simplicity, still has enough going on, and there are enough twists in the main story-line and enough threads of an alternate story-line, that I found myself too intrigued and involved in the reading of the book to think too much about what was going to happen next. There is enough history to give the story depth and there are a few moments when we’re shown that recorded history – namely how the Church’s account of events differs to what actually happened… cue ominous music.

Is this all that? Maybe. You be the judge. If you’re a fan of Kristen
Britain, Trudi Canavan or Elizabeth Moon, I think you’ll like this!(less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Morv rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Harry Potter fans, Lord of the Rings fans

Shelves: fiction, supernatural

This book really got me thinking, although it is set in an obviously fictional world, where magic is linked with 'The Song', magic is also looked down upon and those who wield its power are hunted down.
So far, no real connection for recent years, however I found that there were certain things that linked with the world today, the way that religion is held in such high regard and how it's not just about being religious but having the power and influence to go with it.

I really enjoyed this book, o...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Meg Laverick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

More like 3.5 but bumped up because it made me cry at the end.

This was an enjoyable read. It follows the fairly standard fantasy formula of boy from humble origins who has access to insane amounts of power and is destined to use it to save the world from some unspeakable evil (Considering how heavily the church feature in the novel, it's not exactly a stretch to point out that the boy is pretty much Jesus).

What sets it apart is its gorgeous writing and for that alone I'd recommend the book. This...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Scruffy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Songs of the Earth gets off to a really fast paced start. Gair is on trail for being a witch, something that the Church punishes with execution. However Gair is granted exile rather than execution and is given a short space of time to leave the city. Not everyone in the Church is happy about this though, so a Witchfinder is sent to hunt Gair down. I love when novels hit the ground running in this way, we're thrown in at the deep end with lots of things happening at once. We have to run to catch...more Songs of the Earth gets off to a really fast paced start. Gair is on trail for being a witch, something that the Church punishes with execution. However Gair is granted exile rather than execution and is given a short space of time to leave the city. Not everyone in the Church is happy about this though, so a Witchfinder is sent to hunt Gair down. I love when novels hit the ground running in this way, we're thrown in at the deep end with lots of things happening at once. We have to run to catch up, which immediately involves us in the story and the characters.

After this frantic opening Gair escapes with the help of the mysterious Alderan. Alderan takes Gair to a school where he can learn about his gift and the magic world that he's been mostly ignorant of up until now. This is where we spend the majority of the book and we loose the faster pacing of the opening in favour of a much slower pace. Elspeth Cooper wisely uses this time for some very important character development and world building.

For me the strongest aspect of the book is the world building. Magic is portrayed in a very original way with music and song used manipulate magic. The magic system is not overly explained, rather we spend time with the characters and witness them using their gifts allowing us to feel the magic out for ourselves. There is lots of room for the magic system to be fleshed out further in the future. We don't see much of the overall world that this story takes place in, the story is limited to just a few settings. However Cooper does a great job of giving us the feeling that there is a much larger world beyond the limits of the story. We are also given the feeling that this is a world with a rich history, again plenty of potential for future stories.

The characterisation is very strong here, the journey that Gair's character goes on is particularly impressive. When I got to the end I realised just how much he had changed over the course of the book. I couldn't point to one moment in the story where he suddenly changed, it was done very subtly throughout the book. Very impressive work. The supporting cast are also very well written. Gair gains friends, enemy's and lovers all of which are well fleshed out, often within a short space of time.

To be honest I did find the middle section to be a little too slowly paced, it seemed to take a little too long to get where it was going. Towards the end though things heat up again and everything comes to a very satisfying conclusion as the set up and character work pays off. Songs of the Earth works very well as a first novel in a new series, it introduces us to characters that we can care about and sets up a world with lots of possibilities. It feels like a lot of this novel was set up for the next book, at the end we're left with a lot that can be expanded on in the future. If the next book in the Wild Hunt series can live up to the potential shown here then it's definitely going to be one to watch out for.

For more of my reviews please visit http://www.scruffyfiction.co.uk (less)

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Apr 16, 2012 Caite N rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: phantom-book-blog-reviews

Proclaimed witch, Gair, is about to be burned at the stake by the very church he has devoted his life to. Gair has the ability to "hear the song" (hence title, Songs of the Earth, keep up folks) and can thus manipulate powers around him. The thing about Gair though, he's incredibly strong. Saved by a little bit of bureaucratic magic, Gair is instead exiled and starts his new life/journey with the Guardians of the Veil. Sworn to protect the delicate fabric between worlds which is thinning perilou...more Proclaimed witch, Gair, is about to be burned at the stake by the very church he has devoted his life to. Gair has the ability to "hear the song" (hence title, Songs of the Earth, keep up folks) and can thus manipulate powers around him. The thing about Gair though, he's incredibly strong. Saved by a little bit of bureaucratic magic, Gair is instead exiled and starts his new life/journey with the Guardians of the Veil. Sworn to protect the delicate fabric between worlds which is thinning perilously, Gair and the Guardians face both a powerful enemy in their plane, and the hungry creatures from beyond the veil.

For me, "Songs of the Earth" started off pretty slow, but I tend to like my fantasy to move at an exponential pace. (For those of you that are slightly mathematically challenged, see figure below.) The last 150 pages or so had me desperately craving this book when I was not reading it. Upon reading several reviews on GoodReads (Warning: reading a lot of reviews on GoodReads is bad for your health. It's pretty much like reading youtube comments at this point.) I saw that a lot of fantasy fans were disappointed by the use of repetitive, traditional fantasy canon (orphaned hero, rocky mentor/student relationship with deep secrets, etc.). I didn't feel that way while reading "Songs of the Earth". While I did feel as though I could predict the outcome of a few things, I usually accredit this to the fact that I read a lot. The only issue I have with this book is a huge spoiler, so I will keep it to myself ;) Definitely excited for the sequel!

Still in doubt? "Songs of the Earth" made the short list for the David Gemmel Morningstar award for best fantasy debut, not a small honour.

I also want to use this review to bring attention to the fact that the author herself, Elspeth Cooper, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful women writers to date. Not being a creeper, shes just crazy pretty.

9.5/10 stars! (docked it .5 a star for that spoilery thing I cant tell you about.)
(less)

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Aug 14, 2011 Maaike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reading

Ik wil meteen beginnen met een opmerking over de blurb. Die heeft op zijn best en globaal raakvlak met het verhaal en op zich klopt het wel wat er staat, maar het is allemaal weer erg gedramatiseerd. Ik vraag me af waarom, omdat ik op de blurb nou juist niet echt de behoefte zou hebben het boek te lezen terwijl het een erg leuk boek bleek.

Het verhaal is een klassieke epische fantasy. Het heeft zeker niet de diepte als een Tad Williams (mijn referentie naar goede echte epische fantasy), maar doet...more Ik wil meteen beginnen met een opmerking over de blurb. Die heeft op zijn best en globaal raakvlak met het verhaal en op zich klopt het wel wat er staat, maar het is allemaal weer erg gedramatiseerd. Ik vraag me af waarom, omdat ik op de blurb nou juist niet echt de behoefte zou hebben het boek te lezen terwijl het een erg leuk boek bleek.

Het verhaal is een klassieke epische fantasy. Het heeft zeker niet de diepte als een Tad Williams (mijn referentie naar goede echte epische fantasy), maar doet mij meer aan bijvoorbeeld Modesitt of Paolini denken. Het is namelijk een verhaal over een jongeman die zijn krachten moet leren te beheersen, terwijl hij op de vlucht moet en natuurlijk uiteindelijk de slechterik verslaan. Het mist op een aantal stukken wat diepte en achtergrond en dat had het boek beter kunnen maken dan het is. Neemt niet weg dat het lekker leest, maar soms neemt het te grote sprongen en is vaak iets te makkelijk.

Het boek wordt verteld vanuit meerdere POV’s. Hoofdpersoon is Gair, een jonge man (maar wel degelijk man) die op de vlucht moet voor de kerkridders en andere mensen die hem in hun macht willen krijgen vanwege zijn krachten. Krachten waarvan hij wel wist dat hij ze had, maar niet in welke mate. Sympathiek als hij is, doet hij toch niet echt mijn hart sneller kloppen als persoon. Ik vind andere verhaallijnen eigenlijk spannender. Bijvoorbeeld die van Ansel, hoofd van de kerkridders die een heel eigen spel probeert te spelen en Tanith, dochter van het Witte Hof. Door de stukjes van deze personen lijkt er een hele nieuwe laag te liggen achter het verhaal van Gair. Want de Sluiers tussen de werelden verzwakken en wie weet wat er vanuit de andere wereld deze in gaat komen.
Nog een positief punt was de Magie. Deze wordt gevormd door een lied wat zichtbaar en voelbaar is voor diegenen die hem kunnen gebruiken. Het wordt vrij indirect beschreven, maar ook wel grijpbaar voor de lezer.

Conclusie: een redelijk eenvoudige epische fantasy, maar een die lekker leest en voldoende originele momenten heeft om de moeite waard te zijn. Ik zal het 2e boek zeker graag lezen. (less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Fellipe Diogo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow so i just finished reading Songs Of The Earth. A really good book, better then what i thought. For me, it was hard to get into the story but once it caught my attention i wanted to read more. One quality about the book is that the author uses much vocabularies. It's amazing how much vocabularies you can learn here. The characters created in this story is another good quality: Gair with his talent or Alderan with his wisdom. The fantasy genre is the first time for me reading and i enjoyed the...more Wow so i just finished reading Songs Of The Earth. A really good book, better then what i thought. For me, it was hard to get into the story but once it caught my attention i wanted to read more. One quality about the book is that the author uses much vocabularies. It's amazing how much vocabularies you can learn here. The characters created in this story is another good quality: Gair with his talent or Alderan with his wisdom. The fantasy genre is the first time for me reading and i enjoyed the read of fantasy. The book is fantastic because of the writer's rich use of vocabulary, the characters involved made me care for, and the fantasy was a first time read for me and i enjoyed it.

Vocabulary is one quality that author put into Songs Of The Earth. When i got this book, i created a book marker. I do it by cutting folders in the correct measurement for the current book i'm reading. As i read, i just write what ever i want. The most common thing i written for Songs Of The Earth was the vocabularies like: revulsion, apostate, cobbles, rancour, void, hankering, dubious. In total, i wrote down an average of 20 vocabularies on my book marker. I reckon it will take a while for me to learn these vocabs?

The characters involved made me care for them. I don't want to give supporting evidence because it might ruin the story for those whom haven't read the book. I can say that the story has characters facing their fears. Characters who give guidance to the ones who are scared. It's very powerful because these characters are cool, fun, loving, and respectful. If someone does read this and they havent read the book yet, be glad because i don't want to give much away besides letting who ever reads know that it's a good book with awesome characters.

The fantasy theme was awesome because it was my first time reading fantasy genre. Would i make fantasy a favorite genre of mine now? i wouldn't make it a top genre for me because i have only begun reading. I can say that fantasy genres are worth the read. Some of the things the happened in the story was amazing. The details given at certain parts of the fantasy genre also blew my mind away. I was impressed by what a fantasy genre can hold in store for readers to read. I know that trinity moon is the next book in the series and if i got the chance, i'd read it.

The book was fantastic for me because of the writer's use of much vocabulary, the characters created makes me care, and the whole fantasy theme involved. I reckon that it would take a lot of time to learn all the vocabularies in the book used that i didn't know right away. When i caught a vocabulary like revulsion, i would look up on the dictionary. The characters involved in Songs Of The Earth are well made. The characters like Gair, the sepasthian, or Aisha had the power to compell me to care. The fantasy genre for me was great because it was my first time reading a genre fiction. I was impressed by Songs Of The Earth and the fantasy genre and i didn't expect that much from it.

Thanks for reading what i wrote.
(less)

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Jul 18, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: stephan

I’ve only been reading fantasy for about five years now. I did read all of Tolkien’s works and The Chronicles of Narnia when I was younger, but it wasn’t until I read Christopher Paolini’s Eragon that I got into the genre. Then I read books like Naomi Novik’s Temeraire, Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, James Clemens’ Banned and Banished, and Raymond E. Feist’s Riftwar. Very different titles, yet all of them have two things in common: they are all epic stories, and...more

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May 18, 2013 Gary Baker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Of all the fantasy books I have read this year, Elspeth Cooper had me more than enthralled within the pages of "Songs of the Earth." Each page brought new ideas of what fantasy can truly be when a writer puts their mind to it.

The main character, Gair, connected with my ideal for my own self and thus drew me right in until I felt consumed by the book as a whole and almost wished to live Gair's life. The tale Cooper weaves around this character as the pages pass is both intriguing and deep with so...more Of all the fantasy books I have read this year, Elspeth Cooper had me more than enthralled within the pages of "Songs of the Earth." Each page brought new ideas of what fantasy can truly be when a writer puts their mind to it.

The main character, Gair, connected with my ideal for my own self and thus drew me right in until I felt consumed by the book as a whole and almost wished to live Gair's life. The tale Cooper weaves around this character as the pages pass is both intriguing and deep with some emotional scenes alongside others that seem intentionally awkward and philosophical as with Gair's dreams.

The magic system is an older style with a new take, using the songs of nature to bring about alternate energies into the world, from casting fire to shielding from other magics to shape-shifting from one creature to the next. This magic, combined with the taboo and almost-illegal romance that Gair finds himself a part of, make great headway into new depths of where stories of magical powers and beings tend not to roam.

By far, this book passes from page to page as quick as a breath of hot, stagnant air, where the reader blows through them as though continually out of breath until the last page alights between the fingers and falls home with a soft hush at the end.

What I find interesting, too, is just how easily my mind turned famous actors and actresses into each character; resulting in Heath Ledger as Gair, Rachael Leigh Cook as Aysha (but with tawny skin), a bearded Kevin McNally as Alderan, and various others as the many important characters seen in the book. I know this is weird, especially as some of these actors/actresses tend not to match the characters by descriptions too too well, but the way Cooper wrote this book enabled this so very easily. From the get-go I was imagining Ledger as Gair without even having second thoughts through the rest of the book, all due to the descriptions that come through and last resoundingly to the final page. Because of this, I found the book made imaginary headlines in my mind with an imagined movie worth viewing more than a few times.

Needless to say, Elspeth Cooper officially has me hooked. May this series go on for many more editions.(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 Jacqie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: didnt-finish

Very, very average. I think I got talked into buying this one after several good reviews, and it's definitely hard to find good epic fantasy these days, but I put the book down and decided I didn't want to pick it up ever again.

Description isn't bad, there's a sense of place in the book. However, in the entire part of the book I read, there were no female characters. Literally none. I skipped ahead to see if this changed (there are several POV). Nope, no female characters, not even any female na...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Deb rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sf

When I first picked up this book, I secretly hoped that Elspeth Cooper was Tamora Pierce pulling a Richard Bachman since Elspeth & the Cooper clan are main characters in her Tortall books.

Nope. It was pretty apparent that the writing style was too different -- Cooper oversimplifies her plot, follows standard fantasy story arcs and uses character stereotypes. The naive "why me?" hero, the fiesty love interest, the wise old man who initially guides the hero, etc. It's like Cooper took a David...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Jose A. Sanchez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Jose A. by: Mi Hijo

Un chico descubre que puede oír música y con ella hacer cosas especiales, sin embargo, parece que éstas le traerán más problemas que bendiciones. Un anciano le ayudará en su exilio y en su camino se encontrará con aventuras, luchas, Magos, Brujos, demonios, incluso una intensa aventura amorosa.

En líneas generales está bastante bien. Sobretodo si te gusta el género fantástico. Sin embargo, es obligado decir que no destaca precisamente por su originalidad. Quitando el hecho de que la magia provien...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Marcus Nyahoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is so much better than 3 stars indicates, but there are some flaws which, for me, severely damage the pacing and flow of the book. Firstly it must be said that this is a very promising debut from a British fantasy writer. It has the feel of some of Katherine Kurtz's novels, with a powerful church and political intrigue, and I do look forward with some anticipation to her next book.

However I feel this could have been so much better if the chapters had been restructured slightly. As an e...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars. Really wish Goodreads let you give half stars :/

This book starts off right in the middle of a scenario, and it takes a few chapters to really grasp what is going on. Once the story starts to get into its groove, it is easy to get sucked in.

Overall, the story is well paced and a quick read. However there were multiple points of view, far to many and it really was jarring every time something important was happening and there would be a sudden change of perspective. The con...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Llana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh.
I blame it on the MC.
Gair the person who narrates most of this story character was like porridge.Bland,but not bad exactly.Because for someone for who was supposedly tortured, he sure was plain.It didn't help that the plot was a carbon copy of every other epic fantasy.Here are just some examples.
1)the narrator must suffer but survives
2)He special and oh so powerful
3)Handsome
4)honest noble ya blah blah all that good stuff and interestingly a virgin
And it goes on

The only reason this got two st...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Celici rated it 4 of 5 stars

There I was...stuck in town with nothing to read (since my brain had taken an early vacation, forgetting my book at home) and a long wait ahead of me - **PANIC!!** - so I rushed to the nearest library and pulled this one off of a random shelf, knowing absolutely nothing about it (and wishing I had phone #'s to some of my Goodreads book twins, even though many are halfway around the world and it would have been 3 in the morning their time!), but thought I'd give it a shot. Although the story wasn...more

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Songs of the Earth (Wild Hunt Trilogy #1)

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