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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
So What’s It About?
The Singing follows the separate journeys of Maerad and Cadvan, and Maerad's brother Hem, as they desperately seek each other in an increasingly battle-torn land. The Black Army is moving north and Maerad has a mighty confrontation with the Landrost to save Innail. All the Seven Kingdoms are being threatened with defeat. Yet Maerad and Hem hold the key to the mysterious Singing and only in releasing the music of the Elidhu together may the Nameless One be defeated.
Can brother and sister find each other in time to fight the Nameless One, and are they strong enough to defeat him??
What I Thought
This’ll be a short and sweet review of this finale. The Singing holds up to the quality of the rest of the Books of Pellinor, and I’m so glad that I discovered this series last year. I wrote a joking note in my review doc that these books are 90% aimless travel, 5% Maerad taking baths and 5 % plot developments, but I can’t help but love them and be so thoroughly charmed by them. The writing is lovely, and there is such a sense of Pellinor being a real, ancient, beautiful world. More than anything, what I enjoy is how grounded the books are in kindness and coziness and good living - friendship, love, compassion, simple comforts. As Cadvan says, maybe one of the biggest differences between Maerad and the dark lord Sharma is that Sharma would never be able to sit in the sunlight and enjoy a pear. :)
Speaking of Sharma, I will say that he always feels quite vague and nebulous as a villain; the book’s climax doesn’t even feature him being present in person to be defeated and feels pretty anticlimactic as a result. I also feel obligated to mention that the romance between Maerad and Cadvan does blossom here, to my eternal disappointment - I’ll just never be onboard for the teenage girl x ancient man romances that are so prevalent in YA fantasy. That being said, though, I stand by my overall conviction that these books make up a lovely reading experience that I already look back on fondly.
The Singing follows the separate journeys of Maerad and Cadvan, and Maerad's brother Hem, as they desperately seek each other in an increasingly battle-torn land. The Black Army is moving north and Maerad has a mighty confrontation with the Landrost to save Innail. All the Seven Kingdoms are being threatened with defeat. Yet Maerad and Hem hold the key to the mysterious Singing and only in releasing the music of the Elidhu together may the Nameless One be defeated.
Can brother and sister find each other in time to fight the Nameless One, and are they strong enough to defeat him??
What I Thought
This’ll be a short and sweet review of this finale. The Singing holds up to the quality of the rest of the Books of Pellinor, and I’m so glad that I discovered this series last year. I wrote a joking note in my review doc that these books are 90% aimless travel, 5% Maerad taking baths and 5 % plot developments, but I can’t help but love them and be so thoroughly charmed by them. The writing is lovely, and there is such a sense of Pellinor being a real, ancient, beautiful world. More than anything, what I enjoy is how grounded the books are in kindness and coziness and good living - friendship, love, compassion, simple comforts. As Cadvan says, maybe one of the biggest differences between Maerad and the dark lord Sharma is that Sharma would never be able to sit in the sunlight and enjoy a pear. :)
Speaking of Sharma, I will say that he always feels quite vague and nebulous as a villain; the book’s climax doesn’t even feature him being present in person to be defeated and feels pretty anticlimactic as a result. I also feel obligated to mention that the romance between Maerad and Cadvan does blossom here, to my eternal disappointment - I’ll just never be onboard for the teenage girl x ancient man romances that are so prevalent in YA fantasy. That being said, though, I stand by my overall conviction that these books make up a lovely reading experience that I already look back on fondly.
A fabulous end to the series! Some of the language was so beautiful I had to read passages over and over, particularly the climax of the novel.
Spoiler
I’m glad that it remained an epic adventure and didn’t turn into a soppy romance although the fact that Maerad and Cadvan were in love was a pleasing end to the tale.
3.5 Stars
I'm sad that the last book had to be so short. There was a couple of things I disagreed with but in the end the book was still good. :D
(I'm very happy with the epilogue though. <3)
I'm sad that the last book had to be so short. There was a couple of things I disagreed with but in the end the book was still good. :D
(I'm very happy with the epilogue though. <3)
I am satisfied with the ending, I am not particularly invested in Maerad and Cadvan so I don't care about seeing their lives or romance together. Honestly, he seems super critical and not someone she'd wanna be with, especially since Maerad hasn't even had the chance to spend much time with any men under normal circumstances. Adult me likes Suleiman so much better, he's so much more reasonable and pleasant than Cadvan. Moody/broody doesn't do it for me anymore, I like my men kind, open and generous. It really didn't seem necessary to end all the adult main characters paired up, but that's YA for you. Gotta shoehorn it in even when it does absolutely nothing for the overall plot. Luckily, none of the romances take up much space since I don't care about any of them.
I didn't get why Maerad lost her elemental powers though ? She didn't get them from the song, she got them from an ancestors so I thought it was odd that she lost them in the end. Did they rip some of her DNA out ? Who knows, it just didn't really make sense to me and I didn't see a real reason for it.
I didn't get why Maerad lost her elemental powers though ? She didn't get them from the song, she got them from an ancestors so I thought it was odd that she lost them in the end. Did they rip some of her DNA out ? Who knows, it just didn't really make sense to me and I didn't see a real reason for it.
I did not enjoy this one as much as I could have, possibly due to the fact that I read it so quickly. However, it is still well written, but it seems a little much, and then has an abrupt ending. The characters get a little more fleshed out, and the conclusion works, I guess. Just not what I was expecting.
In the final novel of Pellinor, this is the final showdown between the Light and the Dark. And it’s hard to tell what side is wining. Disaster is ravaging the country, monsters and shadows are chewing the land, and now there are only a handful of people who can save the Seven Kingdoms from a dark and devastating fate. And it all rests squarely on Maerad’s shoulders.
But she has a weapon that nobody else can play…and nobody else can save.
In the thrilling and fast-paced end to the winning series, The Singing is bound to satisfy.
For more reviews on novels like this (and longer reviews), visit http://whataboutthatbook.wordpress.com/, a book blog for book lovers.
In the final novel of Pellinor, this is the final showdown between the Light and the Dark. And it’s hard to tell what side is wining. Disaster is ravaging the country, monsters and shadows are chewing the land, and now there are only a handful of people who can save the Seven Kingdoms from a dark and devastating fate. And it all rests squarely on Maerad’s shoulders.
But she has a weapon that nobody else can play…and nobody else can save.
In the thrilling and fast-paced end to the winning series, The Singing is bound to satisfy.
For more reviews on novels like this (and longer reviews), visit http://whataboutthatbook.wordpress.com/, a book blog for book lovers.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I felt like this book was better than the others because it didn't get as bogged down with the details of food and wilderness camping pains. In fact much of the book took place in one of the Schools. I thought the battle with the Landrost was ten times better than the final battle. Though I actually wasn't especially warm to Hem in [b:The Crow The Third Book of Pellinor|393147|The Crow The Third Book of Pellinor|Alison Croggon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1190691794s/393147.jpg|382709] I actually liked his parts in this book. Sometimes more than Maerad. Mostly because Maerad was just the same thoughts and insecurities over and over and over again until the end battle. I also liked Hekibel, as I did in The Crow.
I just didn't get Maerad and Cadvan getting together. I mean it was sort of there under the surface in the other books. But mostly, I didn't get that Cadvan was madly in love with Maerad. In [b:The Riddle The Second Book of Pellinor|393145|The Riddle The Second Book of Pellinor |Alison Croggon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174407955s/393145.jpg|858967] Maerad says that he is like a father to her. In my opinion, no matter how close you get to someone, a person who at any point is a father figure is not also a lover. That's just creepy.
Plus, because we don't even read Cadvan and Maerad coming together, we only read the afterthought of it, it makes it seem even further away as a possibility. Making the kissing and winking scenes in the Epilogue feel strange and out of character for both of them.
Now, it is also probably true that because of all they had been through together, no one else could have matched the other. Cadvan had never wanted to be around another person but could have Maerad around him 24/7. Maerad, for all her wildness and then fame, could not likely have found someone who could understand her outside of Cadvan. So I kind of get that. But I think the author could have done more with making this story line apparent before it sucker punches the reader. And I don't mean to distract from her poetic writing and storyline, but there could have been a few more than some subtle hints of "tender gazes."
All in all, I still had the same problems as I always do with Croggon's writing. It's beyond detailed, though beautifully so, and I found that I would occasionally skim or not realize what I had just read and have to re-read.
One really good point about this book, and it almost got it an extra star, is that it moves at a much quicker pace than the others. Perhaps I was just interested in seeing how it ended, or perhaps something had changed a bit in Croggon's writing style. Either way, it was welcome.
I just didn't get Maerad and Cadvan getting together. I mean it was sort of there under the surface in the other books. But mostly, I didn't get that Cadvan was madly in love with Maerad. In [b:The Riddle The Second Book of Pellinor|393145|The Riddle The Second Book of Pellinor |Alison Croggon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174407955s/393145.jpg|858967] Maerad says that he is like a father to her. In my opinion, no matter how close you get to someone, a person who at any point is a father figure is not also a lover. That's just creepy.
Plus, because we don't even read Cadvan and Maerad coming together, we only read the afterthought of it, it makes it seem even further away as a possibility. Making the kissing and winking scenes in the Epilogue feel strange and out of character for both of them.
Now, it is also probably true that because of all they had been through together, no one else could have matched the other. Cadvan had never wanted to be around another person but could have Maerad around him 24/7. Maerad, for all her wildness and then fame, could not likely have found someone who could understand her outside of Cadvan. So I kind of get that. But I think the author could have done more with making this story line apparent before it sucker punches the reader. And I don't mean to distract from her poetic writing and storyline, but there could have been a few more than some subtle hints of "tender gazes."
All in all, I still had the same problems as I always do with Croggon's writing. It's beyond detailed, though beautifully so, and I found that I would occasionally skim or not realize what I had just read and have to re-read.
One really good point about this book, and it almost got it an extra star, is that it moves at a much quicker pace than the others. Perhaps I was just interested in seeing how it ended, or perhaps something had changed a bit in Croggon's writing style. Either way, it was welcome.
The fourth book of the Pellinor Saga finds Maerad and Cadvan struggling with the onslaught of a formidable army including several elemental beings whereas Hem is looking for Maerad along with Saliman. Finally reunited, brother and sister now have to make the Treesong whole again, but this is not as easy at it seems.
Somewhat low-key ending to an enjoyable series. I think it could be good movie material.
Somewhat low-key ending to an enjoyable series. I think it could be good movie material.
Last book of the series. These were good but I feel they could have been a little shorter without losing anything.
Great book. My only complaint is that it all happened very fast, and then everything between Maerad and Cadvan (which I've been waiting for for 4 freaking books!) happened in the epilogue -_-
*note from an hour later: i didn't realize just how much i enjoyed this book until i started trying to decide what to read next and realized that i don't want to read about other characters, i want to read about THESE characters (especially Cadvan, who was my favorite character; judging by the fact that she's writing a prequel about him now, i'm guessing i wasn't the only one that thought he was awesome...but i want to read about him with Maerad, not separately...).
*note from an hour later: i didn't realize just how much i enjoyed this book until i started trying to decide what to read next and realized that i don't want to read about other characters, i want to read about THESE characters (especially Cadvan, who was my favorite character; judging by the fact that she's writing a prequel about him now, i'm guessing i wasn't the only one that thought he was awesome...but i want to read about him with Maerad, not separately...).