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brianpipa's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't finish this audiobook it - not sure why but it just didn't hold me.
mellhay's review against another edition
5.0
Sive is to marry the fey man she once had feelings for, but now knows he is not the same man who left to find a cure for the plague haunting the fey and killing them slowly. He has changed, but yet doesn't know what that change is. She just knows she doesn't want to marry him and her brother, the king, is requiring it believing Mordant knows of a cure from his travels around the distant realms. Sive learns from her Aunt a human child is born in the mortal world possessing the great power of the Bard and this child could be the salvation of all fey. Sive sends he cousin, Puck, to guard this child from any dangers. Sive decides later, when the child is older, that she wants to know what her evil husband is up to. She takes books from his library to Will so he can teach her to read. In this time together Sive learns of a new side of herself. Which could put her and Will in more danger, along with their loved ones and worlds.
I purchased this book after reading Geist by Philippa Ballantine. I enjoyed the story and her writing in Geist so, that I wanted more. Searching her site I came across this book and was taken with the description. This book is very different from Geist, but I have to say I loved the writing and the tale she wove. By page nine I was hooked on the writing style. The words flowed smoothly for me and sounded poetic in their form. This is one talented author, and one to keep an eye on, I can see many great and different pieces of work coming from her in the future.
I'm going to start right off and say I loved this book. If William Shakespeare was could read of this fey filled, adventurous, heroic side of his life, he would be flattered and love it too.
This book takes place in both the Fey realm and Human realm, along with the in between of the veil. This book isn't really about William Shakespeare as it is a tale spun with the fey and how they touched his life and he theirs. The story here is one of an evil presence trying to eliminate all the realms connected, for itself. There is love and lose here also.
I loved the way the fey where portrayed and the growth of their kind and the characters. In the beginning they are the fun loving fey who are created to make music and dance. They are naive and ignorant to the mortal ways, feelings, and such. Then I was moved by them through their happenings, more through Sive and Puck. And later in the book by Aberon, Sive's king brother, in how he shows the contrast of the way Sive once was and how much she changed along with himself. Then I realized along the way, they where stronger than thought and I loved them, not wanting to see them fight a war to the death for their home and the destruction of another realm. One that the Queen now loves with all her heart, thanks to her lover.
In the end, I had an idea where the story would go at the close of a life. But it still brought me to tears.
I enjoyed this book very much for many reasons. I would definitely suggest this read to anyone who enjoys the fey and a little Shakespearean twisted in. But, don't go in looking for a Midsummer Night's Dream tale as that's not what lies between these covers.
I purchased this book after reading Geist by Philippa Ballantine. I enjoyed the story and her writing in Geist so, that I wanted more. Searching her site I came across this book and was taken with the description. This book is very different from Geist, but I have to say I loved the writing and the tale she wove. By page nine I was hooked on the writing style. The words flowed smoothly for me and sounded poetic in their form. This is one talented author, and one to keep an eye on, I can see many great and different pieces of work coming from her in the future.
I'm going to start right off and say I loved this book. If William Shakespeare was could read of this fey filled, adventurous, heroic side of his life, he would be flattered and love it too.
This book takes place in both the Fey realm and Human realm, along with the in between of the veil. This book isn't really about William Shakespeare as it is a tale spun with the fey and how they touched his life and he theirs. The story here is one of an evil presence trying to eliminate all the realms connected, for itself. There is love and lose here also.
I loved the way the fey where portrayed and the growth of their kind and the characters. In the beginning they are the fun loving fey who are created to make music and dance. They are naive and ignorant to the mortal ways, feelings, and such. Then I was moved by them through their happenings, more through Sive and Puck. And later in the book by Aberon, Sive's king brother, in how he shows the contrast of the way Sive once was and how much she changed along with himself. Then I realized along the way, they where stronger than thought and I loved them, not wanting to see them fight a war to the death for their home and the destruction of another realm. One that the Queen now loves with all her heart, thanks to her lover.
In the end, I had an idea where the story would go at the close of a life. But it still brought me to tears.
I enjoyed this book very much for many reasons. I would definitely suggest this read to anyone who enjoys the fey and a little Shakespearean twisted in. But, don't go in looking for a Midsummer Night's Dream tale as that's not what lies between these covers.
hellsfire's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a big Shakespeare fan but as of late I've been reading a lot of things involving him. The main reason I bought Chasing the Bard was because I "know" Pip. If it wasn't for that, I honestly wouldn't have bought it.
There are a few problems I have with Chasing the Bard. One is a technical reason. I bought it for the Kindle and it was very hard to read on it. For some strange reason, the formatting was messed up. I'd read it and suddenly there'd be shifts of point of views with no paragraph changes or line breaks. I got confused on who was saying what and where I was at. If that weren't bad enough, there were also paragraphs with multiple speakers instead of a new paragraph. Shame on you, Dragon Moon Press for not double checking this. It wasn't THAT bad though. I've read other e-books with more and worse problems. Still, made it hard to read.
Another problem I had was that Chasing the Bard started off very slow. The first few pages hooked me but after that I was bored for quite awhile. It needed more tension. If I didn't "know" Pip I was half-tempted to put it down.
But the biggest problem with Chasing was the villain, Mordant. He was just a stereotypical villain. He wanted to destroy. He reminded me of the villain in Lord of the Rings but where LotR was a coming of age/journey story, Chasing wasn't. Mordant was also a lot more important here. He was the reason, cause, and obstacle to the entire story but he was very one-dimensional. He needed to be fleshed out more. He never struggled with what he did, it was never shown that at one time he loved Sive and she him, and it was never shown as to why he went on the journey and how it changed him.
That also made me feel as if this was a sequel. There's an entire previous adventure/backstory involving Mordant, Anu, Sive, and Brigit that I was actually interested in. There would have been more tension and I could have seen the changes in the characters. Shame she didn't start the story there. Instead, I felt like I was missing a lot as if I skipped the first book.
That's not to say I don't like some things. I do like the relationship between Sive and Will. I just wish there was more of it. I also like Puck. He's one of the reasons that hooked me in the beginning. Sadly, it shifted away from him but I did enjoy him whenever he was on page.
I believe it was her first book so it was fine for what it was but if you're expecting something delving into Shakespeare or a villain to care about, you will be disappointed.
There are a few problems I have with Chasing the Bard. One is a technical reason. I bought it for the Kindle and it was very hard to read on it. For some strange reason, the formatting was messed up. I'd read it and suddenly there'd be shifts of point of views with no paragraph changes or line breaks. I got confused on who was saying what and where I was at. If that weren't bad enough, there were also paragraphs with multiple speakers instead of a new paragraph. Shame on you, Dragon Moon Press for not double checking this. It wasn't THAT bad though. I've read other e-books with more and worse problems. Still, made it hard to read.
Another problem I had was that Chasing the Bard started off very slow. The first few pages hooked me but after that I was bored for quite awhile. It needed more tension. If I didn't "know" Pip I was half-tempted to put it down.
But the biggest problem with Chasing was the villain, Mordant. He was just a stereotypical villain. He wanted to destroy. He reminded me of the villain in Lord of the Rings but where LotR was a coming of age/journey story, Chasing wasn't. Mordant was also a lot more important here. He was the reason, cause, and obstacle to the entire story but he was very one-dimensional. He needed to be fleshed out more. He never struggled with what he did, it was never shown that at one time he loved Sive and she him, and it was never shown as to why he went on the journey and how it changed him.
That also made me feel as if this was a sequel. There's an entire previous adventure/backstory involving Mordant, Anu, Sive, and Brigit that I was actually interested in. There would have been more tension and I could have seen the changes in the characters. Shame she didn't start the story there. Instead, I felt like I was missing a lot as if I skipped the first book.
That's not to say I don't like some things. I do like the relationship between Sive and Will. I just wish there was more of it. I also like Puck. He's one of the reasons that hooked me in the beginning. Sadly, it shifted away from him but I did enjoy him whenever he was on page.
I believe it was her first book so it was fine for what it was but if you're expecting something delving into Shakespeare or a villain to care about, you will be disappointed.
branch_c's review
3.0
A clever idea to intertwine the reality of Shakespeare's life with faerie fantasy, and although I'm not a huge fan of either, the combination works. I did find the antagonist to be one of those "pure force of evil" bad guys and thus not so interesting as a character, but the complexities of the various protagonists made up for it. Also as others have said, there were numerous minor typos and formatting problems in the Kindle edition... but it was a free download after all.
wychwoodnz's review
4.0
Chasing The Bard is an interesting idea, and Philippa's writing is chock-full of evocative and imaginative descriptions. The book covers a wide timeframe and I found that I liked some parts more than others, primarily because of the different dynamics of the key relationships at the different stages. Overall I enjoyed this, even thought I never really warmed to the character of Sive.
brianpipa's review
2.0
I couldn't finish this audiobook it - not sure why but it just didn't hold me.
stitchandwitch's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the history involved, the factual Shakespearean knowledge portrayed as well as the fantasy. Overall a great "read" (I actually listened to it...)
I'm looking forward to my new jobs commute to work so that I'll have time to move on to another work of Ms Ballantine's.
I'm looking forward to my new jobs commute to work so that I'll have time to move on to another work of Ms Ballantine's.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
2.0
I hate giving this two stars, I really do. Got this as a Kindle freebie and apparently it was Ms. Ballantine's first book. (BTW- I liked the books she did with Tee Morris, going to get the second one in that series).
I'll start off with what I didn't like and end with what I did.
Didn't like:
Most of the characters were sterotypes; this is very true of the villan.
It should have been shorter.
The pacing is off.
The whole Fey thing didn't quite work. It seemed too blah. Un-magic like.
The romance subplot didn't work.
What I did like -
The characterization of the real people, such as Shakespeare and Elizabeth I. This would've been a better book if it had been straight historical fiction.
The quotes at the start of each chapter - Guess the play.
The overall look at Shakespeare's family life.
Puck - at least until the half way point.
I'll start off with what I didn't like and end with what I did.
Didn't like:
Most of the characters were sterotypes; this is very true of the villan.
It should have been shorter.
The pacing is off.
The whole Fey thing didn't quite work. It seemed too blah. Un-magic like.
The romance subplot didn't work.
What I did like -
The characterization of the real people, such as Shakespeare and Elizabeth I. This would've been a better book if it had been straight historical fiction.
The quotes at the start of each chapter - Guess the play.
The overall look at Shakespeare's family life.
Puck - at least until the half way point.
More...