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Mirage Makers #3
Song of the Shiver Barrens
Ligea's son, Arrant, leaves Tyrans for Kardiastan to take his place as Mirager-heir, while Ligea prepares to halt an insurrection. But Arrant's skills as a Magoroth are dangerously inconsistent, and his father, Temellin, finds it difficult to communicate with this secretive young man he barely knows. Arrant's singular ability to communicate with his half-brother, Tarran - a part of the collective mind known as the Mirage Makers - leads them both towards the possibility of a tragic clash with the encroaching Ravage. As Arrant's enemies among the Magoroth plot to ruin his family and his future as heir, he begins to realise there is a greater mystery to solve if he is to prevail. Praise for The Mirage Makers and Isles of Glory Trilogies: 'fresh, strange and intriguing' Sunday Age 'highly imaginative and entertaining' The Specusphere 'witty, gritty and enthralling' Trudi Canavan, author of The Magicians Guild 'a multi-layered story ... it just keeps on getting better' fantasticqueensland.com
- GenresFantasy
540 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2007
About the author
Glenda Larke
26 books376 followersGlenda was born in Western Australia, the daughter of a farmer. She was educated at government state schools and the University of Western Australia, where she obtained a degree in history and a diploma in education. Married to a Malaysian scientist, she has grown-up children, and now lives in Malaysia, where she is actively involved in rainforest conservation.
Author of The Isles of Glory trilogy (The Aware, Gilfeather, The Tainted); The Mirage Makers trilogy (Heart of the Mirage, The Shadow of Tyr, Song of the Shiver Barrens) and, writing as Glenda Noramly, a stand-alone book Havenstar.
Author of The Isles of Glory trilogy (The Aware, Gilfeather, The Tainted); The Mirage Makers trilogy (Heart of the Mirage, The Shadow of Tyr, Song of the Shiver Barrens) and, writing as Glenda Noramly, a stand-alone book Havenstar.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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April 28, 2008UK: Paperback original
December 1, 2018
I stayed up late last night to finish this book. I've enjoyed the series, although there are times when you want to shout at the characters.
There's a lot of political wrangling, mainly focussed on Arrant's future as well as the efforts to understand the Ravage and how to stop it. In Arrant's case, he's a bit predictable - it's fairly obvious he's meant to be a Chosen One-type hero, but, like many of those, he'd rather be a normal person. There's the obligatory sadistic villain and, considering she's been the main character for the previous two books, Ligea/Sarana doesn't have much to do in this one except react to whatever's happening with Arrant.
Having said that, I thought it was good how the book dealt with one character's blindness - the rest of the group automatically assume "blind" = "weak and unsuitable for their role", but that character resists the prejudice, adapts to their disability and proves them wrong. That makes a refreshing change from the numerous other fantasy books which label disabled characters as "useless" and just shove them in the corner.
Overall, the book is a good one. The settings are interesting, the author has clearly put a lot of thought into world-building, mythology etc - and the scary beasts do sound properly scary!!
There's a lot of political wrangling, mainly focussed on Arrant's future as well as the efforts to understand the Ravage and how to stop it. In Arrant's case, he's a bit predictable - it's fairly obvious he's meant to be a Chosen One-type hero, but, like many of those, he'd rather be a normal person. There's the obligatory sadistic villain and, considering she's been the main character for the previous two books, Ligea/Sarana doesn't have much to do in this one except react to whatever's happening with Arrant.
Having said that, I thought it was good how the book dealt with one character's blindness - the rest of the group automatically assume "blind" = "weak and unsuitable for their role", but that character resists the prejudice, adapts to their disability and proves them wrong. That makes a refreshing change from the numerous other fantasy books which label disabled characters as "useless" and just shove them in the corner.
Overall, the book is a good one. The settings are interesting, the author has clearly put a lot of thought into world-building, mythology etc - and the scary beasts do sound properly scary!!
June 17, 2025
Really enjoyed this. After book 2, I was feeling quite lukewarm on the series, but this one redeemed it and I'm leaving the series in a good place.
The issues I had in book 2 were around the authorial choice to have so much driven by Arrant's pre-teen angst and acting like a petty, selfish child... which is all very realistic to how a kid would react to the situations he had, but wasn't terribly fun to spend time with. In this book, instead of doubling down on that and having Arrant continue to be a brat, this one has him having learned and grown from his mistakes and acting with a new maturity in dealing with the dangers coming at him in book 3. I appreciated that this caused some subversion of the "typical" way things would have played out in other stories of this type. I wasn't spending the whole book being frustrated at our hero for not telling people about his problems, and was able to appreciate him for making honorable choices, even when they are sometimes the wrong ones.
The issues I had in book 2 were around the authorial choice to have so much driven by Arrant's pre-teen angst and acting like a petty, selfish child... which is all very realistic to how a kid would react to the situations he had, but wasn't terribly fun to spend time with. In this book, instead of doubling down on that and having Arrant continue to be a brat, this one has him having learned and grown from his mistakes and acting with a new maturity in dealing with the dangers coming at him in book 3. I appreciated that this caused some subversion of the "typical" way things would have played out in other stories of this type. I wasn't spending the whole book being frustrated at our hero for not telling people about his problems, and was able to appreciate him for making honorable choices, even when they are sometimes the wrong ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2019
I enjoyed the finale of this series as much as the other two, but at the same time, I can't help but have been left feeling slightly disappointed. I thought the writing itself was great, and I really enjoyed the characters (even Ligea/Sarana), but I ended it feeling like more needed answering. We found out what the Ravage was... kind of. I am still not completely clear on what it actually was. And the fact that Arrant never discovered what was wrong with his power. I definitely felt there needed to be some explanation/answer to that, but he was left still without his power.
What I did like was the addition of Firgan. What. A. Villain. For a generally pleasant race of people, he was true evil and I loved it! Really well written.
I also adored the relationship between Arrant and Tarran, right until the end, and the scenes between those two were always my favourite to read.
What I did like was the addition of Firgan. What. A. Villain. For a generally pleasant race of people, he was true evil and I loved it! Really well written.
I also adored the relationship between Arrant and Tarran, right until the end, and the scenes between those two were always my favourite to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2017
I’m torn between 3-4 stars. The book was good I just felt it was really long and some parts dragged a bit. The plot of this series was one of a kind for me and really good. I loved reading about Ligea/Sarana and at the start kind of disappointed in the change to Arrant. He turned into a good man though. The development of characters was great. Like Samia who I really liked as a character. The ending was great as well. I loved that you didn’t know what was going to happen to Arrant and what the plans were although I should have worked it out easier with a little hint that’s given 😂 also one question that never gets answered bugs me. Why can’t Arrant use his cabochon work without Tarran?
May 26, 2018
For the final book in a trilogy "Song of the Shiver Barrens" was a bit disappointing. It felt very disjointed, stretched in parts, and the conclusion wasn't as thrilling as it could have been.
January 19, 2019
I didn't work out the ending so it came as a surprise which is always good.
April 27, 2019
4.5. I do so enjoy the worlds, characters and magic that Glenda Larke creates 😃
February 16, 2025
This book is what fantasy should be. ♡
April 19, 2013
1. “Song of the Shiver Barrens” actually made me care about a new character.
A lot of the time, when an author introduces a set of main characters and then shifts away from them as a series goes on, I have trouble getting emotionally invested in the new characters. That’s especially true when you have a great pairing (like Ligea and Temellin) and they have a kid and suddenly, the “main character” shifts to become their child. I should’ve known that if any author could make me care, Larke would be that author.
Ligea and Temellin are now both in positions of power, and their struggles are more of the same we’ve already seen. Larke probably knew that might get boring, so she did some sneaky authoring and gave us the opportunity to get to know Arrant in “The Shadow of Tyr.” In Song, she completely shifts so that the majority of the book is from Arrant’s perspective. She checks in with Tem and Ligea through limited POV chapters and letters.
2. Larke focuses on time and character growth, both in years and in maturity.
Larke also took a risk by having a great deal of time pass in this book. The first 300 pages takes place over about 3 years and then there’s a section break and 4 years passes. That whole thing really worked for this story, however, because the story is focused on Arrant’s assimilation into Kardi culture. It also focuses on his inability to control his power and the unease that causes in the Kardi community. If Arrant is going to grow up to come after his father Temellin as the Mirager, he needs to be able to control his power. They can’t have a dangerous, weak leader, and their rivals will stop at nothing to undermine Arrant’s standing in the community and force him to give up his claim to the Mirager title. Arrant’s rival is one of those completely evil, conniving toe rags that you just hope gets stabbed before the last page, and it’s in this conflict that you see how much he has grown from the jealous, immature boy we met in “The Shadow of Tyr.” He’s always aware that no matter what he feels personally, Kardiastan needs a good leader who wants the position not for the power it will give him but to look after the welfare of his people.
On top of his power issues, there’s the larger battle between the Ravage and the Mirage. If the Mirage falls, everyone will lose their magical abilities AND they’ll be hunted by these Ravage beasts that are killing people. Because of Arrant’s mental connection to his brother, Tarran, he’s able to keep Temellin updated on how the battle is going, and the Kardis become involved in that conflict as the Mirager Makers grow weaker.
3. Song was a strong, powerful conclusion to the series.
The pacing of this book was great. Larke’s books are heavy, and they always take me about 100 pages to really sink into and then suddenly, I cannot stop reading them. Once I hit that point in the book, I didn’t stop reading for the entire day. One of the things I love the most about Larke’s style of fantasy is that she’s not afraid to hurt her characters. Larke doesn’t wrap up everything in a neat little bow and every character skips off unscathed into the sunset, emotionally unaffected by the trauma they’ve just gone through. Larke puts her characters through some incredibly tough battles and they have to do a lot of growing and getting tough and being brave.
In the End:
Series conclusions are often hard to judge as a reader. We don’t know what to expect for the ending, and sometimes what we get is just kind of … not enough. That was absolutely not the case with the Mirage Makers series. Larke set her characters up to face this horrible, literal world-eating enemy, with no solution in sight. She made them strong enough to see the conflict through and she did it in a way that complemented the story she had to tell. She didn’t write it all better just because it would’ve been momentarily satisfying. Larke gives you a conclusion you can chew on, not just the first time you read her books, but every time.
Song of the Shiver Barrens was a very worthy conclusion to another stunning Larke series. In the last two years, I’ve read her Isles of Glory series, the Water Givers series, and the Mirage Makers series. I’m excited to start the Forsaken Lands series next and see what else Larke has in that amazing authorial brain of hers.
This review for "Song of the Shiver Barrens" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
A lot of the time, when an author introduces a set of main characters and then shifts away from them as a series goes on, I have trouble getting emotionally invested in the new characters. That’s especially true when you have a great pairing (like Ligea and Temellin) and they have a kid and suddenly, the “main character” shifts to become their child. I should’ve known that if any author could make me care, Larke would be that author.
Ligea and Temellin are now both in positions of power, and their struggles are more of the same we’ve already seen. Larke probably knew that might get boring, so she did some sneaky authoring and gave us the opportunity to get to know Arrant in “The Shadow of Tyr.” In Song, she completely shifts so that the majority of the book is from Arrant’s perspective. She checks in with Tem and Ligea through limited POV chapters and letters.
2. Larke focuses on time and character growth, both in years and in maturity.
Larke also took a risk by having a great deal of time pass in this book. The first 300 pages takes place over about 3 years and then there’s a section break and 4 years passes. That whole thing really worked for this story, however, because the story is focused on Arrant’s assimilation into Kardi culture. It also focuses on his inability to control his power and the unease that causes in the Kardi community. If Arrant is going to grow up to come after his father Temellin as the Mirager, he needs to be able to control his power. They can’t have a dangerous, weak leader, and their rivals will stop at nothing to undermine Arrant’s standing in the community and force him to give up his claim to the Mirager title. Arrant’s rival is one of those completely evil, conniving toe rags that you just hope gets stabbed before the last page, and it’s in this conflict that you see how much he has grown from the jealous, immature boy we met in “The Shadow of Tyr.” He’s always aware that no matter what he feels personally, Kardiastan needs a good leader who wants the position not for the power it will give him but to look after the welfare of his people.
On top of his power issues, there’s the larger battle between the Ravage and the Mirage. If the Mirage falls, everyone will lose their magical abilities AND they’ll be hunted by these Ravage beasts that are killing people. Because of Arrant’s mental connection to his brother, Tarran, he’s able to keep Temellin updated on how the battle is going, and the Kardis become involved in that conflict as the Mirager Makers grow weaker.
3. Song was a strong, powerful conclusion to the series.
The pacing of this book was great. Larke’s books are heavy, and they always take me about 100 pages to really sink into and then suddenly, I cannot stop reading them. Once I hit that point in the book, I didn’t stop reading for the entire day. One of the things I love the most about Larke’s style of fantasy is that she’s not afraid to hurt her characters. Larke doesn’t wrap up everything in a neat little bow and every character skips off unscathed into the sunset, emotionally unaffected by the trauma they’ve just gone through. Larke puts her characters through some incredibly tough battles and they have to do a lot of growing and getting tough and being brave.
In the End:
Series conclusions are often hard to judge as a reader. We don’t know what to expect for the ending, and sometimes what we get is just kind of … not enough. That was absolutely not the case with the Mirage Makers series. Larke set her characters up to face this horrible, literal world-eating enemy, with no solution in sight. She made them strong enough to see the conflict through and she did it in a way that complemented the story she had to tell. She didn’t write it all better just because it would’ve been momentarily satisfying. Larke gives you a conclusion you can chew on, not just the first time you read her books, but every time.
Song of the Shiver Barrens was a very worthy conclusion to another stunning Larke series. In the last two years, I’ve read her Isles of Glory series, the Water Givers series, and the Mirage Makers series. I’m excited to start the Forsaken Lands series next and see what else Larke has in that amazing authorial brain of hers.
This review for "Song of the Shiver Barrens" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
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March 15, 2017See book one review
October 11, 2013
"Der Bund der Illusionisten - Brennender Wind" ist der Abschluss von Glenda Larkes Reihe um Ligea Gayed.
Arrant ist auf dem Weg zu seinem Vater. Währenddessen versucht Korden Temellin zu überzeugen Arrant nicht als Erbe einzusetzen, wenn er die Magormacht nicht richtig einsetzten kann. Als er dort ankommt muss er sich mehreren Problemen stellen. Bei der offiziellen Begrüßung lässt Kordens ältester Sohn ihn spüren, dass er ihn nicht mag und er ihn ihm einen Rivalen sieht. Sein Vater begrüßt ihn nicht herzlich und später drängt er Arrant dazu die Geschichte mit Brand zu erzählen. Zu alldem kommt noch hinzu, dass die Illusion immer mehr schwindet und die Illusionisten mehr verlieren.
Dieser Teil ist viel aus Arrants Sicht geschrieben und spielt größtenteils in Kardiastan. So kann man die Konflikte dort gut verstehen und nachvollziehen. Karden und seine Familie wollen Arrant nicht als Illusionisten-Erben haben, sondern ihren ältesten Sohn. Sie können nicht offen gegen ihn vorgehen, daher müssen sie ihn bi jeder Gelegenheit bloß stellen. Arrant leidet richtig unter Mobbing. Er wird nicht nach dem beurteilt was er kann, sondern ihm wird immer vorgehalten was er nicht kann.
Arrant lernt auch aus seinen Schwächen und immer erwachsener und verantwortungsvoller.
Auch die Vater-Sohn-Beziehung ist anfangs nicht gerade gut. Doch im Laufe des Buches nähern sich Arrant und Temllin. Sie können eine Familienbande aufbauen und auch eine Gesunde Beziehung, die ihm hilft. Auch Taran wird eingebunden, so dass beide Söhne etwas vom Vater haben und umgekehrt.
Glenda Larke schließt auch einige Bögen die sie im Laufe der Bücher gezogen hat. Tyran, welches ja einst ein Imperirum mit Sklaverei war, dann von Ligea gestürzt wurde, regiert sich heute freidlich durch einen Rat. Die ganze Tyrannei hat ein Ende.
Die Verheerung in der Illusion ist nicht nur einfach ein negativer Effekt. Es wird später im Buch gklärt was es damit auf sich hat und warum sie da ist. Sie hat einen Zweck erfüllt.
Auch Ligeas/Sanaras Geschichte schließt sich. Sie konnte dem, was ihr angetan wurde, entkommen und sich was neues aufbauen, nicht nur sich sondern auch vielen anderen. ACHTUNG SPOILER!!! Sie kann am Ende glücklich Leben. ENDE!!
Auch die Liebe darf nicht fehlen, auch wenn sie hier nicht eine große Rolle spielt. Zwischen Arrant und Samia entwickelt sich eine Leibe, die trotz der Klassenunterscheide Bestand hat.
Ja das ist echt ein fantastischer Abschluss einer grandiosen Trilogie. Glenda Larke hat sich bei allem was sie geschrieben hat etwas gedacht und es zum Ende gebündelt. Es war spannend, gefühlvoll und alles hat gepasst.
Arrant ist auf dem Weg zu seinem Vater. Währenddessen versucht Korden Temellin zu überzeugen Arrant nicht als Erbe einzusetzen, wenn er die Magormacht nicht richtig einsetzten kann. Als er dort ankommt muss er sich mehreren Problemen stellen. Bei der offiziellen Begrüßung lässt Kordens ältester Sohn ihn spüren, dass er ihn nicht mag und er ihn ihm einen Rivalen sieht. Sein Vater begrüßt ihn nicht herzlich und später drängt er Arrant dazu die Geschichte mit Brand zu erzählen. Zu alldem kommt noch hinzu, dass die Illusion immer mehr schwindet und die Illusionisten mehr verlieren.
Dieser Teil ist viel aus Arrants Sicht geschrieben und spielt größtenteils in Kardiastan. So kann man die Konflikte dort gut verstehen und nachvollziehen. Karden und seine Familie wollen Arrant nicht als Illusionisten-Erben haben, sondern ihren ältesten Sohn. Sie können nicht offen gegen ihn vorgehen, daher müssen sie ihn bi jeder Gelegenheit bloß stellen. Arrant leidet richtig unter Mobbing. Er wird nicht nach dem beurteilt was er kann, sondern ihm wird immer vorgehalten was er nicht kann.
Arrant lernt auch aus seinen Schwächen und immer erwachsener und verantwortungsvoller.
Auch die Vater-Sohn-Beziehung ist anfangs nicht gerade gut. Doch im Laufe des Buches nähern sich Arrant und Temllin. Sie können eine Familienbande aufbauen und auch eine Gesunde Beziehung, die ihm hilft. Auch Taran wird eingebunden, so dass beide Söhne etwas vom Vater haben und umgekehrt.
Glenda Larke schließt auch einige Bögen die sie im Laufe der Bücher gezogen hat. Tyran, welches ja einst ein Imperirum mit Sklaverei war, dann von Ligea gestürzt wurde, regiert sich heute freidlich durch einen Rat. Die ganze Tyrannei hat ein Ende.
Die Verheerung in der Illusion ist nicht nur einfach ein negativer Effekt. Es wird später im Buch gklärt was es damit auf sich hat und warum sie da ist. Sie hat einen Zweck erfüllt.
Auch Ligeas/Sanaras Geschichte schließt sich. Sie konnte dem, was ihr angetan wurde, entkommen und sich was neues aufbauen, nicht nur sich sondern auch vielen anderen. ACHTUNG SPOILER!!! Sie kann am Ende glücklich Leben. ENDE!!
Auch die Liebe darf nicht fehlen, auch wenn sie hier nicht eine große Rolle spielt. Zwischen Arrant und Samia entwickelt sich eine Leibe, die trotz der Klassenunterscheide Bestand hat.
Ja das ist echt ein fantastischer Abschluss einer grandiosen Trilogie. Glenda Larke hat sich bei allem was sie geschrieben hat etwas gedacht und es zum Ende gebündelt. Es war spannend, gefühlvoll und alles hat gepasst.
April 20, 2012
Arrant is on his own in a homeland he barely remembers with a father he has only met once, and somehow, he has to overcome his flawed magic to become Mirager-heir.
No pressure.
Add to that, the whole family of children trying to discredit him and taunt him into making a fatal mistake...
I enjoyed reading this final instalment of the Mirage Makers series because it focused almost exclusively on Arrant, a character who has made many mistakes but always had the best of intentions. He and his half-brother Tarran are adorable together, especially as Arrant begins to enter adolescence and Tarran constantly teases him about girls.
As the stakes increase, and the mirage looks like it may be about to disappear completely, it is Arrant's courage and honour that shines through. Ligea and her husband, Temellin, take a definite back seat in this story as the next generation ploughs ahead to try and save the day.
A satisfying conclusion to an excellent and intricately detailed story. Glenda Larke is a master telling epic fantasy with plenty of heart and real characters.
No pressure.
Add to that, the whole family of children trying to discredit him and taunt him into making a fatal mistake...
I enjoyed reading this final instalment of the Mirage Makers series because it focused almost exclusively on Arrant, a character who has made many mistakes but always had the best of intentions. He and his half-brother Tarran are adorable together, especially as Arrant begins to enter adolescence and Tarran constantly teases him about girls.
As the stakes increase, and the mirage looks like it may be about to disappear completely, it is Arrant's courage and honour that shines through. Ligea and her husband, Temellin, take a definite back seat in this story as the next generation ploughs ahead to try and save the day.
A satisfying conclusion to an excellent and intricately detailed story. Glenda Larke is a master telling epic fantasy with plenty of heart and real characters.
August 30, 2012
Another great series from Larke, who has become one of my favourite authors. She's a real expert at world-building. This is based roughly on the Roman empire, but only very approximately, with a couple of cultures that have magic in any form, and only one that has substantial powers. I love the fact that she has also created a magical force ("The shiver barrens", and to a degree, "the mirage") and relating to geography, rather than persons. Again, this moves away from the standard medieval setting of most fantasy. The system of magic is particularly interesting.
January 1, 2009
Once again, this book was good - I really liked it - but somehow it was just missing that indefinable spark that would make it a 5 star book. I think part of it is the pace of the books. I'm also not a huge fan of reading books about people getting bullied (see my review re: Pillars of the Earth) and this book had some of that going on too, though not nearly so drawn out or unsatisfactory.
October 20, 2010
superb greco roman type era tale set also in arabian type desert type environment
August 6, 2011
I thought this was another brilliant book by Glenda, but I thought the ending could of been a little bit better.
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August 26, 2012I could not put this book down . I read all night to finish it. However the ending was just slightly Missing something. Almost perfect though:) I wanted more!
December 30, 2012
Great series all the way through.
April 29, 2013
I cant say i really enjoyed this book it was ok and very much like the last one. i lost interest about 100 pages from the end and i found it all quite slow moving.
January 15, 2014
This fantasy series was so imaginative, and dare I say, fantastical? I loved all of it.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews