Strap yourself in my friends, you're in for a wild ride! Nightingale is the whole package. Bron Jones is an orphan. Shipped from home to home over the years, he's never quite figured out what it is about him that is different. Try as he might he just doesn't seem to fit in with any family. Is it just bad luck, or is it fate? Bron's character isn't a confident one, he isn't comfortable in his own skin, at least not at the beginning. After so much heartache and disappointment, he's still managed to become a caring and sweet individual which really endeared me to him. There's a lot of hurt hiding there, but a lot of strength too.

Every character in this story, from those that steal the center stage for a bit to the more supporting ones, is extremely well written. David Farland shows his expertise at creating characters who are vivid and believable. There honestly wasn't a moment while I was reading that I wasn't fully immersed in the story. I cared about these characters. I loved, I loathed, I shivered with disgust. The evil and the good, it all bleeds off the page and into your heart. It was almost as if I was watching a movie unfold in front of me except, in this case, it was all happening in my mind as I read the words on the page. If you are a reader who craves character development, welcome to your Eden.

Nightingale just further proves to me why David Farland is considered to be a master of this genre. Bron's story navigates all types of twists and turns, and there is so much to fall in love with in every chapter. Perfectly paced, this is the type of book that will keep you reading fervently until the very end. Add in the stunning enhancements that the book provides to the readers, and this isn't just a story, it's an experience. Each chapter has it's own graphic novel page with moving characters, sound effects, and even a music track that fits the tone of where the story is going. I found myself excited to start a new chapter, just to get a glimpse at what was going to happen next.

Even without all the bells and whistles that Nightingale hides within its pages, I can assure you that this is one hell of a story. The animated pages at the beginning of each chapter were amazing. The music that fit just perfectly with that particular chapter drew you in. However when it comes right down to it, David Farland's uncanny ability to write an engrossing story is really what really brings it all home. I can promise you that Nightingale is unlike anything you've ever read or experienced before. It's an all encompassing, immersive experience that will draw you in and make you forget reality. If you aren't a David Farland fan yet, you will be. You will be. ( )

kind of ok for YA, but a bit odd, and not fully thought through. More a cross between Dan Brown and Twilight, (now there's a thought to make you shudder) but not that bad. There's a minority third species of humans (Neanderthals, Homo Sapiens and the Ela). The Ela have further split into two tribes (good and bad) and have special powers. Why this should be so is somewhat unexplained despite a digression into four hemispheres (quarter!) of the brain. They've also gained special finger sucker pads that allow them to communicate directly with the brain - and influence it in other ways. The good tribe are even more outnumbered by the bad and so live in secret among baseline humans, always being hunted by the bad (no reason given other than they're bad).

Bron our hero is a Nightinglae - one of the Bad children, given over to normal humans to foster and train to blend in, later to be recovered by the bad team and brought up as one of them. But he's luckily spotted by the good team first who coincidently happen to be a school teacher at a gifted arts school - somewhere that mental powers can really flourish. There are mostly all normal humans there of course including girls. Apparently the third race also have bizarre hormones as part of their change. This seems very unnecessary. All the usual shenanigans for an orphan being fostered at a new school happen. Then the bad guys turn up - really was this supposed ot be a surprise? - and everybody runs off to the swamps (what ? why? where the heck did this come from?) somewhere for the big showdown and sort of almost hook for the rest of the series.

I wasn't that bothered to look up the rest, but it's probably quite entertaining for a YA audience, sadly the best YA books have an appeal to all ages which this totally fails to manage to do. ( )

If you like sparkly vampires, this might be a good segue to more serious fantasy, without giving up all the juice of a good teen romance.

If sparkly vampires make you blanch, then you have nothing to worry about. Nightingale, though occasionally dark, is an enjoyable and satisfying story.

The worst thing about Nightingale, to be completely honest, is the cover, and I don’t much like the title, either. But, since we don’t judge books by their covers, or their titles either, for that matter, let me tell you about why the book beneath the cover is well worth a read.

Bron Jones is an orphan and has grown hard due to a life spent bounced between foster homes. Despite his best efforts to please and satisfy his foster parents, they reject him, one after another. Until one day, when his newest foster parent recognizes him for what he is, something special and magical, something he doesn’t even know about himself: a nightingale.

Within him lie hidden powers, depths that will thrust him at the center of a secret war between good and evil. He will face who he is, and he will make a choice.

This is the third of David Farland’s books that I’ve read this year, and it is also in the third genre. That alone is notable. On My Way to Paradise was science fiction, The Sum of All Men was fully in the epic fantasy genre, and with Nightingale, Farland is writing for teens, or what I think they call “Young Adult” or “Urban Fantasy,” though, to be clear, it really does border on science fiction, too…just a different kind than you expect. It says something about his versatility that he can write for such varied audiences and interests and with such success.

In Nightingale, Farland spins a plot that I think teens will very much enjoy. Bron is darkly handsome, occasionally the rebel, and he thrives as a musician and artist as he begins school in a special high school for the performing arts in the picturesque red canyons and mountains of southern Utah. Love triangles abound, not to mention the drama, intensity, and angst that accompanies them. Notably, Farland delicately handles issues puberty, sex, and love, keeping it clean and appropriate without pretending like teenagers don’t deal with those things.

All this, though, is backdrop to the underlying conflict–Bron’s nature. His powers are such that they could be used to build or destroy. He struggles to decide whether he will use them to do either, all the while hiding from those that are hunting him for what he can do.

This isn’t to say that I fully enjoyed Nightingale quite as much as I did the other two of Farland’s novels that I’ve read. It moves quickly and without the level of depth that I’ve come to expect in a Farland’s novels, though I suspect this is largely due to the audience he’s writing for. As the novel closes, Farland delivers on his audience’s expectations, developing his characters and resolving conflicts, even as he creates new ones for examination in future sequels. I flew through the last couple chapters, an exciting showdown as the hidden menace hunting Bron is revealed and confronted.

Again, the cover is the worst part of Nightingale. It’s a picture of some dude’s head, and it reminded me more of Derek Zoolander than of a magical race of beings caught in a struggle thousands of years old. The novel, though, is geared towards young adults, is fast and exciting, full of twists, colorful characters, and growing action. If you like sparkly vampires, this might be a good segue to more serious fantasy without giving up all the juice of a good teen romance.

Recently, David Farland’s son was in a catastrophic accident, putting him in a coma for a period of time and requiring a number of medical procedures. Take a moment to consider purchasing a Farland title (or even Nightingale) to help Farland out. Like every writer, he provides for his family on what readers buy, and each purchase puts bread on his family’s table. Plus, you’ll have the benefit of owning a great read. Farland never disappoints. Thanks! ( )

If you like sparkly vampires, this might be a good segue to more serious fantasy, without giving up all the juice of a good teen romance.

If sparkly vampires make you blanch, then you have nothing to worry about. Nightingale, though occasionally dark, is an enjoyable and satisfying story.

The worst thing about Nightingale, to be completely honest, is the cover, and I don’t much like the title, either. But, since we don’t judge books by their covers, or their titles either, for that matter, let me tell you about why the book beneath the cover is well worth a read.

Bron Jones is an orphan and has grown hard due to a life spent bounced between foster homes. Despite his best efforts to please and satisfy his foster parents, they reject him, one after another. Until one day, when his newest foster parent recognizes him for what he is, something special and magical, something he doesn’t even know about himself: a nightingale. Within him lie hidden powers, depths that will thrust him at the center of a secret war between good and evil. He will face who he is, and he will make a choice.

This is the third of David Farland’s books that I’ve read this year, and it is also in the third genre. That alone is notable. On My Way to Paradise was science fiction, The Sum of All Men was fully in the epic fantasy genre, and with Nightingale, Farland is writing for teens, or what I think they call “Young Adult” or “Urban Fantasy,” though, to be clear, it really does border on science fiction, too…just a different kind than you expect. It says something about his versatility that he can write for such varied audiences and interests and with such success.

In Nightingale, Farland spins a plot that I think teens will very much enjoy. Bron is darkly handsome, occasionally the rebel, and he thrives as a musician and artist as he begins school in a special high school for the performing arts in the picturesque red canyons and mountains of southern Utah. Love triangles abound, not to mention the drama, intensity, and angst that accompanies them. Notably, Farland delicately handles issues puberty, sex, and love, keeping it clean and appropriate without pretending like teenagers don’t deal with those things.

All this, though, is backdrop to the underlying conflict–Bron’s nature. His powers are such that they could be used to build or destroy. He struggles to decide whether he will use them to do either, all the while hiding from those that are hunting him for what he can do.

This isn’t to say that I fully enjoyed Nightingale quite as much as I did the other two of Farland’s novels that I’ve read. It moves quickly and without the level of depth that I’ve come to expect in a Farland’s novels, though I suspect this is largely due to the audience he’s writing for. As the novel closes, Farland delivers on his audience’s expectations, developing his characters and resolving conflicts, even as he creates new ones for examination in future sequels. I flew through the last couple chapters, an exciting showdown as the hidden menace hunting Bron is revealed and confronted.

Again, the cover is the worst part of Nightingale. It’s a picture of some dude’s head, and it reminded me more of Derek Zoolander than of a magical race of beings caught in a struggle thousands of years old. The novel, though, is geared towards young adults, is fast and exciting, full of twists, colorful characters, and growing action. If you like sparkly vampires, this might be a good segue to more serious fantasy without giving up all the juice of a good teen romance.

Recently, David Farland’s son was in a catastrophic accident, putting him in a coma for a period of time and requiring a number of medical procedures. Take a moment to consider purchasing a Farland title (or even Nightingale) to help Farland out. Like every writer, he provides for his family on what readers buy, and each purchase puts bread on his family’s table. Plus, you’ll have the benefit of owning a great read. Farland never disappoints. Thanks! ( )

Author's guest post at my blog:
http://bookfare.blogspot.com/2011/12/please-welcome-guest-blogger-david.html