The Lesser Kindred

Rating:
Summary: A great read....
Review: I enjoyed the first book, I really did. And I was excited when this one seemed to carry on the plot. But after reading several chapters, I was just bored. The cute little love scenes REALLY got to me after a while...and the plot just seemed to drag through the middle of the book. It did pick up a little toward the end...and left you hanging. Overall, I like the writing style...all the characters in first person (a little confusing at times, when I forgot who was speaking) but that made it a little more interesting. And I liked the new characters...they helped make the book more bearable. I would say that if you read the first one, you should probably read this one, too. Even when it seems like you're never going to finish it, the end kind of makes it worth while. Still, I'm hoping the third book is more like the first. :X

Rating:
Summary: Alright
Review: I enjoyed The Song in the Silence, but when I picked up The Lesser Kindred, I was originally repulsed by the terrible mush at the beginning! I mean... it was just too much and I gave up on the book. I generally enjoy a good romance, but I have no desire to listen over and over to Varian and Lanen's repeated expressions of love for eachother.

I decided to give The Lesser Kindred another chance, about a year later, and once I skimmed past the mushy stuff, it was an alright read. I enjoyed Jamie and Rella's parts, but truthfully, I skimmed the parts with the dragons, because i did not care. The mages were very cool, but I would have prefered to meet Maran instead...

Altogther an okay read.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent sequel
Review: I wasn't sure Elizabeth Kerner could write a sequel that would live up to the first, but she has. One of the best parts of "Song in the Silence" was the element of discovery, wonder, learning and new emotions. To my delight, I found everything that made the first book so entertaining in this book.

Soon after Lanen and Varien are married, they must leave (not that Lanen would settle down anyway). The demonmaster Berys is still after her. The prophecy about "Marik of Gundar's blood and bone" means that Berys needs Lanen, and he will stop at nothing to get her. But, for all the darkness of the plot, "The Lesser Kindred" gives the reader a wide range of emotions. There are moments of fear, anger, joy, wonder, happiness, disgust and laughter. This is part of what makes this sequel so enjoyable.

The beginning of the book is kind of slow for anyone who read the first book. The characters take a long time to conveniently remember everything that happened to them in the first book. After that, though, the plot and the rest of the book really take off. Elizabeth Kerner brings back the multiple first-person format of her first novel. This might interfere or cause confusion for some readers, but overall, it is a good device. The reader can see the characters thoughts and plans before they are revealed to the other characters.

Lanen, Varien, Shikrar, Idai, Kedra, Berys, Jamie, Rella, Marik and Maikel return. The characters are developed further while staying within the personalities they showed in the first book. New characters, including more healers and more dragons, are introduced. The elements of Farspeech, soulgems, demons, healing, lansip and dragons also return.

In all, I think this is a fabulous sequel. It doesn't stray from the ideas, rules and personalities of the first book, but it also has new and surprising revelations. And yes, it does have a cliffhanger ending. Never fear. Elizabeth Kerner is hard at work on the third book.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!!!! (and you will too!) :)
Review: The Lesser Kindred is the breath-taking sequel to Song in the Silence, continuing the story of Lanen Kaeler and her born again husband. Kerner writes with the same resonance as in her first book, and gives the reader a deeper look into the wonderfully vivid characters and their all too fragile world Kolmar. Starting out precisely where her last book left off helps the reader get into the book all the more quickly. Do not be put off by the repetive first chapters of the newly wedded couple, the story takes off soon enough. As with the first book, The Lesser Kindred weaves several plots seamlessly together, leaving the reader enthralled and wanting more. The final book in the trilogy, tentatively titled Redeeming the Lost, is due out the summer of 2004. I know that anyone who reads this book will be marking their calenders for this coming summer. Song in the Silence and Reedeming the Lost are honestly two of the best fantasy books out there!

Rating:
Summary: The Lesser Kindred
Review: This book is good and very realistic, but it has some major faults. First off it makes the reader sit through 50 pages of redundant wedding bliss.It seems that Lanen is too happy and the world too perfect. What i'm trying to say is that it is to good to be true. When the story finally gets going, Kerner spends more time talking about Berys and Marek thans does with Lanen and Varien. That information about the antagonists may become crucail later but it's definetly not crucial now. The Lesser Kindred is one of those books you read once and never revisit.

Rating:
Summary: The Lesser Kindred
Review: This is a continuation of what we now know is a trilogy (Song in the Silence is the first book, which you really do need to read first).

The book is a little slow at the beginning, but so was the first one ... it builds up quickly, though, and we learn a lot more about dragons, soulgems, healers, and the demon network. We meet a couple new characters who are obviously going to be pivotal in the third book ... and learn about the Lesser Kindred, too.

All in all, a graceful continuation of the story begun in Song in the Silence - and as others have noted, it ends with an incredible cliffhanger!! The next book must be coming out soon, I hope?? I don't know how much longer I can wait!!

Rating:
Summary: A very good effort for a sequal!
Review: This is definately worth the read if you enjoyed "Song in the Silence" also by Elizbeth Kerner. It is greatly suggested that you read "Song in the Silence" first! While the pace of this book is a bit slower, than the first book in the series, it is definately worth the read. Lanen and her husband are on the run, this time its humans and demons that are the danger rather than dragons. Yet there is exciting things happending to both the greater and lesser kindred as well!! Definately a very decent connecting book, between the first book and the 3rd farther on into the series! A very enjoyable read!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but it seemed to be missing something
Review: This, the sequel to Song in the Silence, was not quite as good as the first. I know most people liked it just as well, and in most ways I would have to agree.
The characters were as well written and diverse. The writting style was just as wonderful, giving us a chance to look through the eyes of many of the different characters. The tempo was good, even though it was a little slow at the beginning.
The problems for me were with the story itself. The solution to the problem of the lesser kindred seemed to easy, too much a chance discovery. It didn't have quite the same flow as the first book, and to me it just wasn't as interesting.
Now, that's not to say this wasn't a good book. It was very good, and well worth reading, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as the first. But don't let me stop you from reading it. Any fantasy lover should give this series a try.