Andy Stone

A weird story. It's very clearly a first novel - a lot of the language, especially the dialog, is quite clumsy; there's an awful lot of tell rather than show for emotions; and the POV switches around very confusingly at times. And all that aside, it's magnificent and I finish it with tears in my eyes every time. I've never found another book by him, unfortunately! The basic plot is more-or-less a classic quest - go through impossible terrain and past unfriendly people to find the goal and solve everything. In this case, the goal is a magical song trapped in a mountain, and the questers are three young musicians in a land where music is outlawed because it is magic. It's an odd group precisely because they're so similar - one's female, one doesn't really believe in the magic, but they're all young, relatively inexperienced, and without other options. They take turns being the inspiration, the slogger who pulls the group through difficulties or despair, the dreamer, the one with the quick answer - rather than each character having a single aspect. Much more realistic than most quest tales. Interesting lands and people, friendly and not; interesting take on magic; and a lovely ending. I've read it probably a dozen times or more and I'll read it as many times again.… (mehr)