Rating: 
Summary: Singing In the Rain and Fire
Review: The Soprano Sorceress is the first novel in the Spellsong Cycle. In the world of Erde, sorcerers and sorceresses can use songs to build or destroy. Lord Brill uses song to build the foundations and walls of a fortress and then uses another song to destroy one of his musicians, Culain, whom he accuses of humming despite prior warning. Culain's son, Daffyd, wants revenge for this wrongful death and asks his friend Jenny to bring a sorceress from the mists to kill Lord Brill.In this novel, Anna Marshall is a singer and music instructor at Iowa State University. She is a divorcee and has recently lost her daughter. She is on her way to sing at the Founders' Dinner for major donors when the world swirls around her. After a swaying step, she finds herself in a small, gloomy room in a peasant cottage on the world of Erde. Trying hard to remain calm, Anna questions Daffyd and Jenny to learn how and why she was brought to Erde. Meanwhile, Lord Brill is notified of the arrival by his magical alarm system and is shown the view in Jenny's cottage. When Brill arrives at Jenny's cottage, he invites Anna to join him for supper at his Hall. On the way back in his carriage, he explains something of the nature and hazards of sorcery and tries to persuade her of his good intentions and the dangers facing Defalk. Her quarters are sumptuous and even has its own jakes. The Hall is guarded by armored men with swords and bows, yet is cooled by Lord Brill's magic. After washing her face and hands, Anna comes down for dinner, but is more interested in learning more about Erde and magic. Lord Brill is building a fortress to defend against the Dark Monks, who have used massed Darksong to conquer Ebra. Now they threaten both Defalk and Ranuak. Lord Brill wants Anna to stand with him against the dark ones. When Anna is brought through the mists to Erde, another alarm sounds among the Dark Monks. The Songmaster is informed that a Sorceress has been taken to Lord Brill's Hall, but nothing is known of her origins. He orders a thorough investigation of the new Sorceress. This novel is a sword and sorceress fantasy with a number of twists and differences. Of course, the use of song to produce magic is not new; Foster's Spellsinger series exploits the same gimmick. However, this tale is a little more serious, with a more developed sociological and political structure as well as a cast of powerfully portrayed characters. Moreover, the energy losses from using spellsong are well-considered. While the author shows snippets of Anna's inner thoughts, he does not fully explain her actions, so there is a continual suspense generated by her behavior. At first, she waits and gathers information, but then she cuts loose with her own sorcery. The autobiographical aspects of this novel, and Of Tangible Ghosts, are intriquing. The author is married to a classical concert singer and some of the concerns and behavior probably come from real life. I wonder if his wife is also an instructor of music and voice tutor? The academic irritations and rewards seem to reflect modern academia. Highly recommended to Modesitt fans and anyone who enjoys sword and sorceress tales with a strong heroine.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: This is one of the best books I've read, not only does it have intrigue and action, but the main character, Anna, actually stands up for herself instead constantly ranting on about how horrible this world is and how she can't see her children anymore and so on and so forth. The author really knew how to create a fantasy world and not get caught up with such details as to explaning how the peble in Armsman Steve's boot is bothering him. Even though this book had some problems, the one thing that really kept me reading is the rate at which the plot progressed. I was amazed. After reading Jobert Jorden's "A Crown of Swords" (in which the plot couldn't beat a snail in a race) I was very happy to find a book where the main character actually did something. In my opinion it would take Jorden three one thousand page books for the main character to do what Anna did in this book.
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