Rating: 
Summary: Fortunately I catched a cold...
Review: ...when I started to read this book. I wasn't quite sure if I ever have read a book as boring as "The infinity concerto". Just because sleeping seemed to be the only alternative, I chose to continue.A salute to all that little germs or viruses or whatever it is, forcing a young guy to stay in bed and read a book. After opening the pages of Serpent Mage everything changed. - Suddenly the book held the magic I didn't knew I was searching for. If it is really possible to do marvels and create worlds by making something perfect, I'm pretty sure Greg did this trick by writing "Serpent Mage".
Rating:
Summary: Why couldn't I give a six-star rating?
Review: A fair number of years ago I went to my favourite bookseller. She called me to the shop counter, and told me that something pretty exciting had come in that morning. Accordingly, I was the first person in town to buy Greg Bear's "The Infinity Concerto". Several years later I became the first person to own "The Serpent Mage". I am an inveterate lender of books. However, I have never loaned anyone either of these two books. I just know I shan't get them back. Great writing, great visualising, great characters, great nasties - and a superb serpent. What more could you possibly want? Well, yes, all right: "Eon". But Bear gave us that as well, didn't he?
Rating:
Summary: Imagery to go to bed with
Review: And I thought Greg Bear was "just" a sci-fi author.... The first section, The Infinity Concerto, was his first published book and is pretty damn impressive, considering. His technique may have improved since but that's irrelevant; do you listen to the song or the singer? Being an atheist (It's far more exciting, people), I need to immerse myself in possibilities - and not believe anything outright - and this book has them in very beautiful, coherent, bucketloads. Also, tomorrow, I am going to take a first swim in the murky waters of Classical Music and by some Máhler (sic, I know, but I can't get the proper "a"). In summary, buy this book, read it and wake up to all that could or should be....
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Definately a book I would recomend to others. I have some contentions, but let's start with what I liked. 1. In Book 1, Excellent use of Celtic mythology, theme and language
2. In Book 1, Excellent use of knowledge and magical training
3. In Book 2, An excellent picture of the structure of reality and its relation to the arts.
4. In Book 2, Keeping Michael's role as saviour hidden from the populace is a refreshing twist to an old plot line. This was really well done. As I mentioned, there were some contentions. 1. After leaving the Sidhe city in Book 1, the characters became more transparent. Less real.
2. After leaving the Sidhe city, the plot became similar to Piers Anthony's 1994 Through the Ice. Also began to followed the hurried, and subsequently hockey plot lines of a page boy sent to destroy the evil overlord of the Realms.
3. Both books were a little too irrevrent for me. Not that I'm a holier-than-though. I respect everyone's beliefs. However, this book takes the approach of insulting religious foundations and tossing it aside as a false illusion of reality. Which is fine if that's how you feel, but don't adress it over and over unless that's the whole point of the book. Which I don't think it is. Maybe I'm reading too deep.
4. Book 2 had a nice plot line, but was written in a hurried style - as though written for a fast approaching deadline. Character development became trite as it was tossed by the wayside as events began to speed up and unfold. The speed and hastiness of writing was inconsistent with the urgency of the plot. Sorry to nitpick - certainly worth reading. Four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Definately a book I would recomend to others. I have some contentions, but let's start with what I liked. 1. In Book 1, Excellent use of Celtic mythology, theme and language
2. In Book 1, Excellent use of knowledge and magical training
3. In Book 2, An excellent picture of the structure of reality and its relation to the arts.
4. In Book 2, Keeping Michael's role as saviour hidden from the populace is a refreshing twist to an old plot line. This was really well done. As I mentioned, there were some contentions. 1. After leaving the Sidhe city in Book 1, the characters became more transparent. Less real.
2. After leaving the Sidhe city, the plot became similar to Piers Anthony's 1994 Through the Ice. Also began to followed the hurried, and subsequently hockey plot lines of a page boy sent to destroy the evil overlord of the Realms.
3. Both books were a little too irrevrent for me. Not that I'm a holier-than-though. I respect everyone's beliefs. However, this book takes the approach of insulting religious foundations and tossing it aside as a false illusion of reality. Which is fine if that's how you feel, but don't adress it over and over unless that's the whole point of the book. Which I don't think it is. Maybe I'm reading too deep.
4. Book 2 had a nice plot line, but was written in a hurried style - as though written for a fast approaching deadline. Character development became trite as it was tossed by the wayside as events began to speed up and unfold. The speed and hastiness of writing was inconsistent with the urgency of the plot. Sorry to nitpick - certainly worth reading. Four stars.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better fantasy novels
Review: For those of you interested in seeing how good fantasy can actually
be, you should read this book and give it the chance to show
you. "Songs of Earth and Power" is epic in scope, with the
title character battling to preserve life on Earth. What is
refreshing, however, are the physics of how the interconnected worlds are
portrayed. The basic premise is that "Songs of Power,"
create new worlds or change them when played in certain ways. Only the
creators of these songs, and sometimes not even them, know to what
extent this actually happens. A "Song of Power" can be any item which takes artistry to create - a poem, painting, wine, etc. The story is told as a sort of coming
of age story for the main character, Michael Perrin. When he starts,
he is a bookish, self-proclaimed young poet attempting to discover
intrigue. A mysterious neighbor gives him the chance. Before he knows
it, Michael is thrust into another world where he must adapt to
survive. Ultimately, he must become more powerful than he ever
anticipated to save the human race. Any author or artist has to like
the idea of their work changing the world. I would recommend this book
to any young dreamer searching for inspiration. While some of the
basic premises have been done in other terrible works before
(i.e. young boy versus the world), the execution here is novel enough
to warrant a read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better fantasy novels
Review: For those of you interested in seeing how good fantasy can actuallybe, you should read this book and give it the chance to showyou. "Songs of Earth and Power" is epic in scope, with thetitle character battling to preserve life on Earth. What isrefreshing, however, are the physics of how the interconnected worlds areportrayed. The basic premise is that "Songs of Power,"create new worlds or change them when played in certain ways. Only thecreators of these songs, and sometimes not even them, know to whatextent this actually happens. A "Song of Power" can be any item which takes artistry to create - a poem, painting, wine, etc. The story is told as a sort of comingof age story for the main character, Michael Perrin. When he starts,he is a bookish, self-proclaimed young poet attempting to discoverintrigue. A mysterious neighbor gives him the chance. Before he knowsit, Michael is thrust into another world where he must adapt tosurvive. Ultimately, he must become more powerful than he everanticipated to save the human race.Any author or artist has to likethe idea of their work changing the world. I would recommend this bookto any young dreamer searching for inspiration. While some of thebasic premises have been done in other terrible works before(i.e. young boy versus the world), the execution here is novel enoughto warrant a read.
Rating:
Summary: inspirational, well-done, descriptive
Review: Greg Bear really wrote a gem with these two novels... they grab you by the wrist and pull you along the entire story...full of adventure, mysticism, mystery, and even a hint of truth behind the words... its hard to praise it enough, the books in themselves are a song of power in their own right
Rating:
Summary: My favorite fantasy book ever!
Review: Greg Bear's "Songs of Earth and Power" is amazing in its mix of logic and creativity. It is hard to put this book down and return to the "real" world once you've started reading it. I have read some of Greg Bear's other works but have found nothing quite as good as this, read this if you can!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, Marvelous. A triumph.
Review: Greg Bear's re-work of an older effort gives new meaning to the term Master. As a re-write of an earlier effort, Greg Bear once again proves he is the king of story telling. His most recent work describes the trials of a young man dealt a place in history he is ill-prepared for. In a present day setting, Bear takes the reader to the realm of folk lore with a magical twist. The earth itself is moved to a new level as magic and fate twist the balance of human existence. New dimensions of thought and history permeate this masterpiece. The story telling is classic Greg Bear.
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