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Rhapsody: Child of Blood
(Symphony of Ages #1)
by
The brilliant new saga is born ...
Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhap ...more
Rhapsody is a woman, a Singer of some talent, who is swept up into events of world-shattering import. On the run from an old romantic interest who won't take no for an answer, Rhapsody literally bumps into a couple of shady characters: half-breeds who come to her rescue in the nick of time. Only the rescue turns into an abduction, and Rhap ...more
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Mass Market Paperback, 656 pages
Published
June 15th 2000
by Tor Fantasy
(first published September 4th 1999)
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Jay Rose
not much sex. lots of rape though.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Rhapsody: Child of Blood (Symphony of Ages, #1)
There are aspects of this book that are worth more than one star. Achmed, one of the book's central protagonists, is reasonably awesome. Grunthor is pretty likeable in a gruff ogre sort of way. But things would be far more tolerable without Rhapsody, the third in the company, the heroine supreme. When you feel that way about the book's/series' namesake, it reflects poorly on the author. The plot was just interesting enough to keep me reading (did it for Achmed), but I just kept getting punished
...more
I absolutely adore this series. The characters are great, the world-building is AMAZEBALLS, and even my dad likes it (and my dad hates everything except LOTR).
...more
...more
Apr 20, 2008
Jocelyn No
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Romance-novel loving Faire-Goers.
Recommended to Jocelyn by:
Amy
Shelves:
fantasy
The good: This book is very well plotted - in fact the series is very well plotted. The overall story was gripping. I think I saw that the author is a musician, and used music theory to help structure the book. That's a pretty neat idea. The heroine consistently is the one moving the plot forward, and is clearly the hero, all men are rescued by her and not the other way around. Girl power! (Too bad she's such an idiot - which brings us to...).
The bad: The writing and characterization of the peop ...more
The bad: The writing and characterization of the peop ...more
I love sci-fi/fantasy and I was suckered in by many of the good reviews on Amazon. It did sound interesting, three people transported hundreds of years into the future, so I gave it a shot. I still can't believe I wasted two days on this book and the two following it. I curse the fact that I'm one of the sort of people that needs resolution, even if it means wading through three books of complete drivel.
Achmed and Grunthor were the only reasons I didn't use this book to start a bonfire. Those tw ...more
Achmed and Grunthor were the only reasons I didn't use this book to start a bonfire. Those tw ...more
Something else to go on that long list of awful things through which I put myself. Torturous volumes of Angel Sanctuary tops it, I think, but this has to come a close second.
Rhapsody is an awful Mary Sue and every sweet chime of her irresistible voice and sweeping charm was an affront to my very being. Why, then, did I put myself through four episodes before a) I couldn't take anymore and b) the school library ran out of copies? It was all for Achmed, my friends--one of the two likable character ...more
Rhapsody is an awful Mary Sue and every sweet chime of her irresistible voice and sweeping charm was an affront to my very being. Why, then, did I put myself through four episodes before a) I couldn't take anymore and b) the school library ran out of copies? It was all for Achmed, my friends--one of the two likable character ...more
Not quite 3 stars but more than 2, and kind of a bore, really.
Neither the characters or the story or even the world itself was of any interest to me. Not even the time travel arc got to me, which is a big deal because I tend to like time travel elements (when they're done well and made sense). Overall though, I can't really say what it is exactly that didn't engage me, other than all those things I just listed. Hah. The writing alone wasn't bad, nor was it any good. The whole thing was rather b ...more
Neither the characters or the story or even the world itself was of any interest to me. Not even the time travel arc got to me, which is a big deal because I tend to like time travel elements (when they're done well and made sense). Overall though, I can't really say what it is exactly that didn't engage me, other than all those things I just listed. Hah. The writing alone wasn't bad, nor was it any good. The whole thing was rather b ...more
I’m conflicted here.
I like this book.
But it’s a bad book.
The story, the basic premise and idea… They sound interesting.
I can’t tell you whether they actually are because, despite all pages in the book, the basic beginning force of the story isn’t explained. Not surprising really, as that’s most likely being saved for exploration further down the series. The plot contained in this particular book itself, the journey of Rhapsody, Achmed, and Grunthor, THAT part I did find quite enjoyable and would ...more
I like this book.
But it’s a bad book.
The story, the basic premise and idea… They sound interesting.
I can’t tell you whether they actually are because, despite all pages in the book, the basic beginning force of the story isn’t explained. Not surprising really, as that’s most likely being saved for exploration further down the series. The plot contained in this particular book itself, the journey of Rhapsody, Achmed, and Grunthor, THAT part I did find quite enjoyable and would ...more
Jun 13, 2015
Jana
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1-star,
library-books
DNFed at page 49. A fourteen-year-old royal-born boy is sent one thousand years backward in time, is completely unfazed by this process, instantly falls in love with The Most Beautiful and Obviously Intelligent Girl Ever in the History of Ever, and obviously they're soulmates, so it's totally cool that they have lots of sex. Oh, did I mention that they meet and sleep together on the night before her fourteenth birthday? Gosh, how utterly romantic, and obviously the truest and most important love
...more
Apr 09, 2009
Ariana Deralte
rated it
did not like it
Recommends it for:
people with low standards for fantasy, people who like Mary-sues
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
while i really enjoyed the world set up in this book (enough that i am willing to read the sequel), there were some major problems. i liked the entire first half of the novel where Rhapsody was kidnapped and traveled through the root of the world and ended up in the future. the part that i started having problems with was firstly, Rhapsody, in her travels, is transformed into the most beautiful woman ever. this isn't as annoying as her total refusal (read denial) that this is the case. she think
...more
4.0 to 4.5 stars. A wonderful beginning to a great trilogy. Love the characters, especially Achmed and Grunthor. Great emotional resonance among the players and an excellent plot.
May 13, 2019
Sotiris Karaiskos
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
high-fantasy
It is always nice to start a new series of high fantasy, to move again to a different fantastic world at the beginning of a long story and to know new people who will keep you company for too many pages. Of course, the new one in this genre is a relative concept but it does not matter. In the first book of the series we seem to have a beginning with the classic pattern of modern high fantasy, with a preface that seems to be totally irrelevant, a brief introduction to understand where we are and
...more
Seldom do I find an author so astounding that I would deem them a word smith. Yet I must say that Elizabeth Haydon is a word smith of no small skill. Within the first few chapters I was enraptured by the tale unfolding, nearly throwing the book away in despair and defiance after a poignant moment. Yet I couldn't help but read on enthralled at the same time. There's a certain way an author lays out a tapestry on which you can see every detail.
The imagery of the world, the characters and everythi ...more
The imagery of the world, the characters and everythi ...more
Dec 27, 2016
Nafiza
marked it as zz-dnf
I read the first 20 pages and decided this is not for me. No doubt you will think me irresponsible for judging an almost 700 page book on the strength of the first 20 pages but I have often found that if it's mushy on page one, it's going to be extra mushy on page 101. So nope.
I mean, if you don't mind overblown melodramatic love confessions twenty minutes after one person has met another, you won't mind this book. But he calls his soul mate, his wife right after he meets her. Also, this book b ...more
I mean, if you don't mind overblown melodramatic love confessions twenty minutes after one person has met another, you won't mind this book. But he calls his soul mate, his wife right after he meets her. Also, this book b ...more
If you're anything like me, you'll occasionally end up finishing a book that contains characters you absolutely hate that put themselves in the most ridiculous and over the top unbelievable situations. Those characters that you'd like to enter the book just so you could punch/shake them because they're so annoyingly stupid. I like to call it hate reading. Well, this series was like that for me. I've forgotten hundreds of books over the years but not these, no. I'll never forget how anger inducin
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I've been addicted to the fantasy genre since before I could read chapter books by myself. Rhapsody is the sort of book that still keeps my attention even though I've passed my 40th birthday, enough that I am now on my fourth re-read.
I don't want to spoil the story for you, but the elements that hold my interest, in no particular order, are:
a butt-kicking female protagonist, weird creatures with a nasty, sarcastic sense of humor that would give Hugh Laurie's Dr. House a run for his money, time ...more
I don't want to spoil the story for you, but the elements that hold my interest, in no particular order, are:
a butt-kicking female protagonist, weird creatures with a nasty, sarcastic sense of humor that would give Hugh Laurie's Dr. House a run for his money, time ...more
Audiobook
First off (don't you love it when a paragraph begins with "First off"), I could not believe the amount of time they were inside the tree. It felt like centuries to me too. So there goes 1000 pages or so of the first chapter (or it felt like 1000 pages) and then after more walking outside of the tree with a battle here and there, there's a cliffhanger ending. What the frick! After listening to over 3000+ pages (as I said it felt like 3000+ pages). I have no idea why anybody would love th ...more
First off (don't you love it when a paragraph begins with "First off"), I could not believe the amount of time they were inside the tree. It felt like centuries to me too. So there goes 1000 pages or so of the first chapter (or it felt like 1000 pages) and then after more walking outside of the tree with a battle here and there, there's a cliffhanger ending. What the frick! After listening to over 3000+ pages (as I said it felt like 3000+ pages). I have no idea why anybody would love th ...more
Second Review
Read: January 2, 2012 - January 13, 2012
2.5 - 3 stars
Second Review in progress
I reread this book for Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired Group Series Read in order to refresh my memory to properly read Book 2.
Having been exposed to much of the story and knowing what to expect, this read went more smoothly for me. I was less impatient. I was able to get a better feeling for the world-building. I appreciated the mythology. I found the magic system as interesting and as flawed a ...more
Read: January 2, 2012 - January 13, 2012
2.5 - 3 stars
Second Review in progress
I reread this book for Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired Group Series Read in order to refresh my memory to properly read Book 2.
Having been exposed to much of the story and knowing what to expect, this read went more smoothly for me. I was less impatient. I was able to get a better feeling for the world-building. I appreciated the mythology. I found the magic system as interesting and as flawed a ...more
The worst hunk of garbage I have ever had the displeasure of reading.
The character's were unlikable. The concern with purity was so extreme that it became fetishistic, and the main character going from attractive to so beautiful men couldn't control themselves around her is incredibly problematic.
The things this book says about the author are alarming.
I can honestly say I hate this book. It is the standard to which I set all other books that I don't like. My dislike is so powerful that when I ...more
The character's were unlikable. The concern with purity was so extreme that it became fetishistic, and the main character going from attractive to so beautiful men couldn't control themselves around her is incredibly problematic.
The things this book says about the author are alarming.
I can honestly say I hate this book. It is the standard to which I set all other books that I don't like. My dislike is so powerful that when I ...more
All of my original opinions from my status update still stand. I made it to page 50 and officially had to give up. I found myself skimming to try to block out some of the horrible cheesiness, and still I got tired of the taste of bile in the back of my throat from where I kept trying not to vomit from the totally false character interactions & the awful hyperbole.
I stole this from "Jocelyn Zombie's" review, because it was oh, so perfect that I couldn't have said it better myself:
"The Ugly: Oh, ...more
I stole this from "Jocelyn Zombie's" review, because it was oh, so perfect that I couldn't have said it better myself:
"The Ugly: Oh, ...more
This only gets two stars because Achmed and Grunthor are pretty cool characters. Otherwise, it would be a one star book for the atrocity that is Rhapsody.
The primrose, usually the first flower of spring (from the Latin “prima”), represents enduring love. In the Language of Flowers, it means “I can't live without you.” It tells your significant other, “I am yours forever.”
★★★★½ The world-building in this epic romantic-time-travel-fantasy is superior, the characters wonderful. Some people find Rhapsody, the heroine, to be too much of a “Mary Sue” – if that is even possible for someone with her back ground! I found her delightful and felt her losses ...more
★★★★½ The world-building in this epic romantic-time-travel-fantasy is superior, the characters wonderful. Some people find Rhapsody, the heroine, to be too much of a “Mary Sue” – if that is even possible for someone with her back ground! I found her delightful and felt her losses ...more
Rhapsody by Haydon, Elizabeth was the CHIZ!
i seen bitch ass bitcheZ talk shit on this book goin on about it being carp
them chumpz iz WRONG
Rhapsody: Child of Blood gets the DADDYS seal of approval
and it simply ROXXX
and ima tell you why
1: Writing - this book my have a few granny porn elements to it but over all the story keeps you enthralled. from all the books ive read this book actually had me laughing out loud. the shit in is is fucking funny, and sometimes invitingly filthy, i loved it. the wh ...more
i seen bitch ass bitcheZ talk shit on this book goin on about it being carp
them chumpz iz WRONG
Rhapsody: Child of Blood gets the DADDYS seal of approval
and it simply ROXXX
and ima tell you why
1: Writing - this book my have a few granny porn elements to it but over all the story keeps you enthralled. from all the books ive read this book actually had me laughing out loud. the shit in is is fucking funny, and sometimes invitingly filthy, i loved it. the wh ...more
I read the first fourty pages but this novel just didn't work for me.
The hero was time warped by some type of deity just before the fall of a previous civilization. So we then spend too much time as this character meets a potential love interest. To add to it, the meeting is flat, prosaic and predictable. Lastly, the mentalities are little too contemporary to fit into the equivalent of a medieval, agrarian culture without a special explanation.
My feeling is that this story would have prompted me ...more
The hero was time warped by some type of deity just before the fall of a previous civilization. So we then spend too much time as this character meets a potential love interest. To add to it, the meeting is flat, prosaic and predictable. Lastly, the mentalities are little too contemporary to fit into the equivalent of a medieval, agrarian culture without a special explanation.
My feeling is that this story would have prompted me ...more
I quite enjoyed this book. I am always a bit dubious before starting a trilogy as it is a bit of a commitment. Finished this book and immediately started the second.
The book is about a singer called Rhapsody. She has a bit of damage being a ex-courtesan. She is rescued from an unwanted suitor by two unsavoury types (who she adopts) and inadvertently ends up on an adventure with them both.
I liked how the book was told from the female perspective. She is a good female character and I am looking fo ...more
The book is about a singer called Rhapsody. She has a bit of damage being a ex-courtesan. She is rescued from an unwanted suitor by two unsavoury types (who she adopts) and inadvertently ends up on an adventure with them both.
I liked how the book was told from the female perspective. She is a good female character and I am looking fo ...more
Very crazy time travel story, several new and interesting non-human species. Main character is somewhat of a Mary Sue, but she's still interesting and likeable. There's a big thread of mystery running through this book, which kept me very interested throughout.
...more
This is a DNF at 60% or so. I just can't get past the constant 'I get a boner every time I look at her and it's her fault for being so hot' thing. I can't. And I don't really like any of the characters so.
...more
DNF, some point after the Fire Incident...pg 220 or so? Whatever.
There comes a time with mediocre doorstoppers when you put the book down, stare at the wall, check the page count yet again, & say: "I don't give a rat's ass about this. So why am I still reading?"
Friends, I've reached that point with RHAPSODY.
There's just too much waffling tedium (ffs, it takes for-fucking-ever to get out of the stupid root system) to excite my curiosity & push forward. It's the worst kind of epic fantasy -- th ...more
There comes a time with mediocre doorstoppers when you put the book down, stare at the wall, check the page count yet again, & say: "I don't give a rat's ass about this. So why am I still reading?"
Friends, I've reached that point with RHAPSODY.
There's just too much waffling tedium (ffs, it takes for-fucking-ever to get out of the stupid root system) to excite my curiosity & push forward. It's the worst kind of epic fantasy -- th ...more
Rating 2.0 stars - DNF
This book seemed like a bait and switch. When I read the synopsis it described a story about a woman named Rhapsody who got kidnapped. I listened to the audiobook for 2 hours and there was no Rhapsody! I looked a few times to see if I had the wrong book. Then I decided to go and read some reviews and found out the characters that I had listened about for those 2 hours, I wouldn't find out what happened to them until the last few chapters of the book. The book is 30 hours l ...more
This book seemed like a bait and switch. When I read the synopsis it described a story about a woman named Rhapsody who got kidnapped. I listened to the audiobook for 2 hours and there was no Rhapsody! I looked a few times to see if I had the wrong book. Then I decided to go and read some reviews and found out the characters that I had listened about for those 2 hours, I wouldn't find out what happened to them until the last few chapters of the book. The book is 30 hours l ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaginal Fantasy B...: SPOILER comments about "Rhapsody" our July Main | 47 | 335 | Aug 03, 2016 07:02PM | |
| Vaginal Fantasy B...: * Post your AUGUST 2nd discussion questions HERE! | 16 | 240 | Aug 02, 2016 06:11PM | |
| The Yearning Yinzers: Rhapsody: Child of Blood (alt) | 1 | 7 | Jul 10, 2016 07:32PM | |
| What's the Name o...: Fantasy/Romance/sci-fi [s] | 4 | 46 | Aug 31, 2013 06:24PM | |
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fantasy Three (?) people found a cave system while being pursued by someone. They traveled through it for a long, long time, and traveled through the world, ending on the other side of the world, and centuries/milennia later [s] | 5 | 37 | Jul 25, 2013 01:07PM | |
| Romance Lovers fo...: Series Read: Symphony of Ages, #1: Rhapsody: Child of Blood ("Buddy Read" DQs) Start Date: January 2, 2012 | 307 | 94 | Feb 11, 2012 05:28PM | |
| "Buddy Read" in January, 2012 | 1 | 31 | Sep 09, 2011 01:36PM |
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Elizabeth Haydon (* 1965 in Michigan) is a fantasy author, whose 1999 debut, Rhapsody: Child of Blood, garnered comparisons with Goodkind, Jordan, and even Tolkien. She has written two fantasy series set within the same universe, The fantasy/romance/whodunit fusion called The Symphony of Ages and the young adult series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.
An herbalist, harpist, and madrigal singer, ...more
An herbalist, harpist, and madrigal singer, ...more
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