The Harp of Kings (Warrior Bards, #1) by Juliet Marillier

Tags

5 stars x 2, Book Review, fantasy, favorite, Ireland, Juliet Marillier, magic, Mélanie Delon, music, series

About The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier

Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan’s burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.

Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision and is faced with a heartbreaking choice…

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Review of The Harp of Kings

I absolutely loved The Harp of Kings. If you have read any of Juliet Marillier’s books, you know that she is natural storyteller.

Tears are shed and heartstrings are pulled as you read the story told from the alternating veiwpoints of of Liobhan, Brocc and Dau while they take on their first and hopefully not last mission for Swan Island. In each character’s narration, they reveal the hopes and fears that magically transfer from the character to the reader. All three are young, but family and experience have given them wisdom beyond their years.

Although the story takes place in a different part of Erin than Marillier’s Blackthorn and Grim series, the atmosphere is the same. References to people and places of that series will delight fans. A wisewoman, a ruler that needs help, a bit of mysticism and people becoming friends are also familiar themes.

As the book blurb describes, the Crown Prince is a boor. Nobody believes he will make a good ruler, but there is no alternative. And our three heroes are tasked with finding the harp so the coronation can occur. Up until the very end, I was not sure how that part of the story would play out, but I was happy with the rightful ending.

Details of various character’s lives, especially Dau, Brocc and the child Aislinn are revealed throughout the book. Surprisingly, Liobhan’s background is the sparsest, even though she is the strongest character. The lovely cover by Mélanie Delon does a nice job of depicting Liobhan.  This lack of detail may be deliberate, but in the meantime, I was drawn to Dau, who’s tragic background had me cheering for him all the way! As an animal lover, he gets extra points too!

After finishing the story, I did a little research and read that the harp is significant in Irish history and mythology. So it is no wonder that it now inspires such a magical story. While the instrument itself may be just a plain harp, the effects of the music that springs are mystical. Take that as you like, but when Brocc plays his plain bard’s harp, listeners can’t help but dance or laugh or weep. Does the Harp of Kings have such magic? The myth surrounding it would have you believe so. And reading the book proves that magic does exist!

I am so in love with this story that I needed more than 5 stars to rate it. Full of dreams, youth, wisdom, and music, The Harp of Kings is heartbreaking, beautiful, hopeful and magical.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Dustwalker by Tiffany Roberts – Review

Tags

5 stars, artificial intelligence, Cheyenne, favorite, Isis Sousa, Post Apocalyptic, romance, scifi, Tiffany Roberts

Review by Riley

About Dustwalker

A SYNTH SEARCHING FOR PURPOSE…

Walk. Scavenge. Destroy. Trade. A simple cycle that’s suited Ronin for one hundred and eighty-five years. With no clear grasp of his programming, the barren wasteland known as The Dust offers him purpose, a place where his armored undercasing, amped-up processors, and advanced optics can be put to use. The ramshackle towns on the edges of the waste serve merely as resupply stations between increasingly long treks. But one night — one human woman — makes him question everything.

A WOMAN WHO BRINGS HIM TO LIFE…

Lara Brooks struggles to survive under the strict rules imposed by the bots in Cheyenne. With her sister missing, she’s been on her own for weeks, and fears the worst. Her only hope comes from Ronin, a bot she catches spying on her. He promises to provide for Lara and search for her sister. All she has to do is dance. It should be easy; she’s done it before. But the longer she spends with Ronin, the harder it is to see him as just another bot.

A SANCTUARY HIDING DARK SECRETS…

In a city where humans are relegated to live in squalor, Ronin discovers a threat greater than any in the Dust — Warlord, Cheyenne’s tyrannical leader. When Ronin ignores the rules, he unwittingly puts Lara in danger. Warlord is as intolerant of disrespect as he is of mankind.

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Warning: This book contains foul language, explicit sexual content, and violence and is intended for mature readers only.

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Review of Dustwalker

I’ll start this review by saying that Dustwalker is a new book for my favorites shelf! But, it did not start out that way.

I immediately connected with the two main characters. Ronin, or Dustwalker, is the main storyteller in the story. He has been re-activated for 185 years and remembers every minute of every day since then. He maintains his synthetic body by scavenging the post-apocalyptic, desert-like countryside for valuable materials. He is a sentient ‘bot’, modeled on humans. That he appears and acts human is evident from the beginning.

Lara Brooks is a human that has lost her best friend, Tabitha. She was the only family Lara had and now Tabitha is missing and Lara is alone. Lara also survives by scavenging, but she needs to trade for food.

These two characters both appeal to my sympathy as intelligent beings stuck in a horrible setting. Ronin and Lara are both introspective, civilized and, well, interesting. They drew me into the story.

But the first part of the story seemed lacking in plot development. This is why Dustwalker didn’t start out as a favorite. Other than the development of the relationship between Ronin and Lara, I could not see where the story was headed. Ronin often mused about not remembering his purpose, so that was my only hint about a possible direction – maybe Ronin would remember his purpose.

Ronin and Lara live in Cheyenne, Wyoming under the maniacal leadership of Warlord, a bot who has no inclination to look human. Bots live inside the wall with all the conveniences modern, post-apocalyptic technology can provide. Humans live outside the wall, in hovels, tents, trailers, any bit of shelter they can find. Fear and absolute tyranny mark the rule of Warlord. No one crosses Warlord. Warlord versus all the good people was another possible plot direction, but there were no early hints that was the direction of the story.

So why did Dustwalker become a favorite? Three reasons:

Reason number 1: I like character-driven novels and this book fits the bill. Ronin struggles to remember why he was created and re-activated. Ideas hover at the edge of his thought but he never really remembers. Lara is, at first a distraction, and later an obsession. Why does she intrigue him so? Why does Lara stay with Ronin when bots have caused nothing but pain in her life? The focus is so much on these characters that anything else just pulled me a long for the ride.

Reason number 2: I love these characters. Living in a world that is cruel and unmerciful, Lara and Ronin are able to find the individual moments that make the rest unimportant. Whether is is Lara’s dancing or Ronin’s protection of Lara or a shirt sewn for Ronin or a ring, lost and then found again. Really, it’s not all that different from everyday life. Like Ronin and Lara, we pick out the moments of happiness to remember our life is worth living.

Reason number 3: They way the plot ‘appeared’ to me. Yes, there is a plot, well a couple of different plot lines. One is the hard plot, good against evil, and one is softer, a bit more introspective. Both are awesome. Like I said, I focused so much on the characters that when things began to move, I was just drawn along right up until the great movie-worthy showdown at the OK Corral. I really, really like the way this worked for me. Looking back, all the clues were there. So when you read Dustwalker, don’t skip anything.

So here’s a question:  Can sentient bots and humans get along? Typical futuristic literature would tell you – no. In Dustwalker, opinions range from the optimistic view of the creators of the synthetics to the militaristic ‘NO’ of Warlord. Lara is human and Ronin is synthetic. They seem to get along, but they also have their struggles. The question won’t be answered until very near the end, so you will have plenty of time to form your own opinion.

Dustwalker is a standalone story (no waiting for a sequel.) It is gritty, emotional, and it is absolutely epic!

I received a copy of Dustwalker from the author so that I could bring you this honest review.

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Spear of Light by Brenda Cooper – Review

Tags

5 stars, artificial intelligence, Book Review, Brenda Cooper, favorite, robots, scifi, series, space opera

Review by Riley

About Spear of Light

When the post-human Next suddenly re-appear in a solar system that banished them, humans are threatened. Their reactions vary from disgust and anger to yearning to live forever like the powerful Next, who are casually building a new city out of starships in the heart of the re-wilded planet Lym. The first families of Lym must deal with being invaded while they grapple with their own inner fears.

Ranger Charlie Windar is desperate to save his beloved planet. The Next are building strange cities he never imagined, and other humans who want to destroy the Next are his worst enemies.

Ambassador Nona Hall strives to forge links between the powerful station she’s from, The Diamond Deep, and the people of Lym. The formidable merchant Gunnar Ellensson appears to be up to no good, and as usual his motivations are suspect. Why is he sending ships to Lym, and what does he intend to do with them when he arrives?

The Shining Revolution threatens to undo everything by attacking the Next on Lym, and their desire to eradicate the post-humans is greater than their desire to save humanity’s home. It is entirely possible that they will draw the wrath of the Next onto all of humanity.

In the meantime, the Next’s motives remain inscrutable. Why are they here at all? What do they want? Why are they interested in the ancient past of a planet that has been ravaged and rebuilt at least once?

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Review of Spear of Light

First, some background. Many humans refer to the Next as soul bots. What they are is a highly evolved community of complex intelligent beings. I actually grew to admire the Next when I read Edge of Dark. They evolved from robots created by humans but were eventually forced out into space because they were feared by their creators. Well, they are back and now have a distinct tactical advantage over humans. But there is a deal, worked out between the Next and representatives of both the planet Lym and the Diamond Deep space station/community. Those representatives, Charlie, the planet saver,and Nona the diplomat will have important roles in Spear of Light.

In Spear of Light, the focus is on the human reaction to the Next’s occupation of the planet Lym. They don’t occupy all of the planet, just carefully chosen territories. Why are they even on Lym? Can they be trusted? Why should the people of Lym just give in to them? What happens to human communities outside of Lym? And what, if anything, can the highly advanced Next do for humans? Questions lead to speculation which leads to opinions and taking sides. Sides that disagree as to how to handle the Next.

Despite having not the faintest clue about what the Next want on Lym, the some residents are determined to fight them. And to fight anyone that does not want to fight the Next. Other residents want to honor the agreement with the Next, just as the Next have also honored the agreement. There is a third, space-based contingent, that just wants to wipe out all soul bots. These human reactions are what makes the story ‘real’ to this human. Ignorance and fear are as motivating as reason and respect.

Putting the broader picture aside, a couple of characters stand out. Yi is one of the four humans-turned-Next that played a role in the current state of affairs between humans and Next. Yi and his family were Next representatives because they were closer to human. In Spear of Light, Yi embraces becoming Next and yearns to evolve further and know more. Yi seems to be an outlier in typical scifi where being forced to become a robot should be terrifying and abhorrent to humans. Yet, here is Yi, eager stretch into his new existence. He does this without forgetting what it means to be human. This depiction of Yi’s transformation is refreshing and hopeful.

Charlie Windar, the ranger has, perhaps, the most substantial human role in Spear of Light. He has always worked to restore the natural world of Lym, keeping the wilds safe from humans. He loves Lym and fears what the Next will do to his planet. Yet, as a broker to the current arrangement, Charlie has done everything he can imagine to save Lym from being completely taken over by the Next. Now he faces his friends and neighbors on Lym who believe Charlie is a betrayer because he gave in to the Next. Charlie’s struggle is the most poignant in Spear of Light and absolutely pulled at my heart. And because I am a romantic at heart, Charlie’s and Nona’s continuing romance, what they do for each other and how they even manage to stay together is an inspiring counterpoint to the struggles around them.

Without spoiling anything, I have to say that I did not see the ending coming at all. While I thought the Next’s motives were suspect, due to the fact that they were not at all willing to talk about them, when I found what they were up to I was surprised.  And I do like surprises.

Spear of Light is the awesome conclusion to The Glittering Edge duology. Book 1, Edge of Dark, was such an amazing story that I had a hard time believing it could be matched. Maybe that is why I let 7 months elapse between books, even though I had book two in hand. Spear of Light proved that, as a whole, The Glittering Edge duology is an insightful observation of humankind, filled with hope, hard hitting reality and a sense of humanity’s place in the future universe.

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NOTE:  If you haven’t read Edge of Dark, I highly recommend starting there.  If you are interested, here is my review of Edge of Dark.

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