Rating: 
Summary: Cliche, but still very good
Review: As a new reader of this genre (I suppose due to the Lord of the rings ect...), It became my first venture into the world of fantasy novels and although it took me a little while to become familiar with that world, I enjoyed it very much. The main characters are believable and engaging, the other characters have depth and personality, the writing is sure-handed, and the plot is quite satisfying. I was disappointed when it was over. I have heard that Volume 2 has already been relased in her homeland and wait with anticipation for the second installment.
Rating: 
Summary: AMAZING
Review: As a new reader of this genre (I suppose due to the Lord of the rings ect...), It became my first venture into the world of fantasy novels and although it took me a little while to become familiar with that world, I enjoyed it very much. The main characters are believable and engaging, the other characters have depth and personality, the writing is sure-handed, and the plot is quite satisfying. I was disappointed when it was over. I have heard that Volume 2 has already been relased in her homeland and wait with anticipation for the second installment.
Rating:
Summary: A spectacular entry
Review: Constable has made a fully realized fantasy world. Tremaris spans a globe, and is home to many types of people, all wonderfully diverse and vividly described. She does the same for her settings: lush descriptions and clever figurative language spare no color on this world. It's a beautiful place.Calwyn is a wonderful heroine: idealistic, strong-willed, yet she knows of her own weaknesses at times. I had a brilliant time imagining her voice as she sang (Personally, I am a Japanese-pop music fan, and the opening theme of Record of Lodoss War became a sort of anthem in my head for Calwyn's voice). I really do recommend busting out your foreign language tracks (OH what a candidate for a book with a soundtrack!) The supporting cast is well fleshed out with physically and emotionally differing characters, as well. From Darrow to Mica, everyone is their own. Anyone who is a fan of fantasy should read this book. It will leave you impatient for the next in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent fantasy
Review: I won't go into the plot, because it's already described in the Amazon review, but I will tell you what I thought of this book during and after I read it. Well, I don't usually read fantasy, but this was really, really good, and I don't regret reading it. When I saw the book, I made an exception because I skimmed through it beforehand, and it looked easy to read. And it was! It wasn't boring, dull or hard to read... like how I find some fantasy books (though those are mainly adult ones). I loved the characters, and their descriptions were excellent. Everything was well described, and I could actually see in my mind what was happening as I read it. I don't usually say 'wow' after I read a book, but after 'The Singer of All Songs', I did! I couldn't put the book down. I recommend this series to anyone who likes Tamora Pierce, Marion Zimmer Bradley, or just fantasy books in general. I'm dying for book 2 to come out. Kate, come out with it soon!!!
Rating:
Summary: excellent fantasy for teens.
Review: I'm a big fantasy fan and I loved this book. calwyn was a great character and I loved the world the author made. I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy!!!
Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars for content, plus .5 for promise...
Review: I've reached a point where the thought of reading about yet another fantasy heroine who is a) sixteen, b) spunky, c) beginning to discover a vast amount of magical potential, and/or d) of mysterious parentage, makes me groan and reach for another book. It is a sort of compliment to Kate Constable that, in spite of endowing her heroine Calwyn with all four qualities, she has written a book I enjoyed and think I'll probably read the two forthcoming sequels to.
The plot of The Singer of All Songs, reduced to basics, involves the quest of a small group of young people trying to prevent a power-hungry prince from achieving world domination through the mastery of magic. This should sound familiar to all fantasy readers, and it isn't necessarily a discommendation-- after all, everyone from Tolkien to Lloyd Alexander has used something similar. The details, of world, characters, and magic, are what determine merit, and Kate Constable's aren't quite up there yet. The Singer of All Songs is a very readable YA fantasy that falls short of true excellence.
The magic of the world of Tremaris is based on sung 'chantments' in nine disciplines: ice, iron, wind, fire, tongue, beast, seeming, becoming, and a final ineffable one related to the Goddess. Differing vocal range and pitch have something to do with the practice of each, but exactly how the chantments work and why is largely left unexplained. It's an interesting idea, but as a previous reviewer has pointed out, there aren't enough guidelines to govern the magic. Similarly what details are provided about the lands of Tremaris are wonderful, from the way honey is integral to Antaris's culture and used at breakfast and in the sickroom alike, to the unvocal speech of the tree people and the university at Mithates. They are too few of them to make the world feel convincingly real. It's like getting snapshots when you've been promised a full tour. It's also a shame that a map hasn't been included inside an otherwise beautifully designed book.
The Singer of All Songs has so much potential that it is frustrating that it doesn't realize it to the fullest. Kate Constable's clear prose is capable of a brilliance and beauty that it only periodically delivers. Her characters are similarly uneven. Trout, a school boy who has 'mad inventor' written all over his future, is also refreshingly down to earth and likable; on the other side of the spectrum, the healer boy Halasaa, with his quiet insistence that "this life is a dance, not a battle," is an intriguing and mystical figure. Unfortunately, the story centers around sixteen year old Calwyn, an acolyte of the priestesses of Antaris. She is virtually undistinguishable from a host of other sixteen year old fantasy heroines with unknown origins and an abundance of powers. Calwyn isn't dislikable, but nor is she a compelling enough character to really make her tale sparkle. And I *will* groan if there turns out to be a Star Wars type revelation about her father's identity in later books...
For being the first in a proposed trilogy, Kate Constable's debut stands pretty well on its own, perhaps to the detriment of relationships that could be (and ought to be) more thoroughly and convincingly developed throughout the series. Without being enamored of The Singer of All Songs, I'm still definitely interested in seeing where Kate Constable takes her world and characters in subsequent books. Recommended, with some reservations, to YA fantasy readers, especially those interested in the combination of music and magic. Also try Katherine Roberts's Song Quest and Shalanna Collins's Dulcinea: Wizardry A-Flute for more musical YA fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Cliche, but still very good
Review: I've read more than my share of fantasy books, and at first, this one didn't seem much different from anything else I've seen on a shelf. But, as the characters develop more, and the plot thickens, you get sucked into this incredible world that Kate Constable has created for you. If you've read fantasy before, you'll know it's not very different from any other fantasy book, but once in while (especially with this book), it's good to get back to the bare essentials of fantasy. The heroine has a compelling and realistic personality and the storyline never stops catching your interest.
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: If it were possible to rate something a three and a half, so I would have rated this. Since I cannot, I went with the higher number. "Singer of All Songs" is a wonderful introduction to the fantasy genre (though I would not go so far as to say it's on a par with the Golden Compass). I especially love Constable's emphasis on music in the world of magic, as they're something I've often felt go hand in hand. Hardcore fantasy readers may find that some of the elements are overused (which is difficult to avoid in fantasy), though it's still an entertaining read. My main complaint is that, as the book progresses, there seems to be a lack of development as far as the laws of the magic go. I began to feel as if pretty much anything were possible, which is a nice idea until one realizes that there can be no real challenges for the characters to overcome if they can do everything. The magic in the story is not consistent with what the author wants us to believe. For instance, in the beginning we are lead to believe that learning the different chants and magical modes is something extremely difficult and rare. Yet, Calwyn runs into so many master enchanters completely at random, and then herself learns so many modes in a matter of days and with little effort, that one begins to doubt that there is any difficulty to learning the chantments at all. In a nutshell, Constable is a little to impressed and self-indulgent with her characters to fully satisfy those readers who look particularly close at the story and are not satisfied with being only partially convinced (me). That being said, I feel I should point out that the above is a magnified close-up of my critical opinion, and the book is by no means lacking merit. It kept my interest the entire way through, the descriptions were good, and it was overall an enjoyable book. And I would certainly be interested in reading the next book in the trilogy... when will it be published?!
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Read
Review: Kate Constable's first book is an overall pleasant read. It tells of Calwyn, who lived in Antaris where women learn the chantment Ice-call. This magic is performed by singing, and is one of nine forms of chantment in the world. She leaves the cloistered Antaris and goes on a voyage with the Sorceror Darrow, travelling to many places in order to defeat Samis, who is trying to take over the world by mastering each of the nine forms of chantment.
There were two major flaws in the book. This first was that the minor characters lacked depth. Even though a good part of the book centered on the death of a minor character, I did not feel attached to him or sad about his death. This is common for first novels, and I expect it to improve in the sequel. The second flaw was that the plot resolved itself fairly predictably. Veteran fantasy readers will find no suprises in the last hundred pages. However, I expect that as Constable gains confidence, this, too, will change in the second and third volumes.
Overall, the prose is enjoyable, and the main characters are likeable. This book is recommended for light reading during down time.
Rating:
Summary: Something For Everyone - Never Been Better!
Review: Kate Constable's first novel, The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy: The Singer of All Songs, combines action, a hint of romance, sly humor, and fantasy into one amazing book. The descriptions are amazing! The characters are fully developed and well-rounded, and you'll find that you relate to at least one of them! Read the following first paragaph, and you'll see what I mean:
"Long before sunrise, even before the first faint blush of gold had touched the snowy peaks that ringed the valley of Antaris, the bells began to peal. The sky was still dark overhead, and the three moons sailed silver-bright between fading stars as the priestesses gathered under the cloisters. A hundred women shuffled and rustled in their yellow robes, their breath rising in puffs of mist into the cold air..."
|
