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sarahrheawerner's review
5.0
Most of the high fantasy I read is written for men (with the exception of Jacqueline Carey's _Kushiel's Dart_ and its successors). Most of the time, I just roll my eyes and forgive & forget what is either a blatant ignorance of female characters (and feminine wants/needs/motivations/anatomy/etc.) or a blind ignorance of what a female reader would want to read (none of that melodramatic, overwrought "POWER SURGED THROUGH THE YOUNG HERO AS LORD VOKOZIM RAISED HIS BLOOD DAGGER OF BLOODLETTING AND..." crap dripping with machismo). And yet I love the fantasy genre. So what's a nerdy girl to do?
I *finally* stumbled across Elizabeth Haydon's _Rhapsody_ trilogy and devoured the first (very thick) book in what could only be described as a montage of delight. There is romance and wit and humour and good dialogue and even though it gets a little bogged down at times (it essentially takes place in three parts, each of which sort of sag as they get a little too far drawn-out), the names can get really bad (Grunthor, Achmed, Cymrian, and... Stephen?), and the heroine can be a little TOO feminine (she cries a lot and "chuckles" tolerantly even more), YAY I am excited to have read this book.
I won't go in to a feminist critique about who held power at what time (male vs. female) and what symbolized what. I don't even care that it's poorly written and uneven. I'm just pleased that someone is finally trying to write enjoyable epic high fantasy for women.
I *finally* stumbled across Elizabeth Haydon's _Rhapsody_ trilogy and devoured the first (very thick) book in what could only be described as a montage of delight. There is romance and wit and humour and good dialogue and even though it gets a little bogged down at times (it essentially takes place in three parts, each of which sort of sag as they get a little too far drawn-out), the names can get really bad (Grunthor, Achmed, Cymrian, and... Stephen?), and the heroine can be a little TOO feminine (she cries a lot and "chuckles" tolerantly even more), YAY I am excited to have read this book.
I won't go in to a feminist critique about who held power at what time (male vs. female) and what symbolized what. I don't even care that it's poorly written and uneven. I'm just pleased that someone is finally trying to write enjoyable epic high fantasy for women.
sam_smith_of_tencendor's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
astraia_sun's review against another edition
1.0
This book was terrible. I didn't even finish it (though I was close to the end). It started off really rough, because I had no idea what was going on in the first page. Then even more confusion and some hearty distaste for a sex scene between two fourteen year olds (excuse me, the girl was a day shy of fourteen). I don't want to read about adults doing it, why would I want to read about children doing it?
When we finally got into the 'story', it ended up a mess of plot and crap I didn't care about. The only characters I had any affection for were Achmed and Grunthor. They deserved a better story. And a better heroine. Rhapsody was thick. I really didn't like her. I wanted to see where the author took this interesting backstory and Rhapsody ended up generic bland fantasy heroine, and when she reached god-tier levels of beauty I wanted to throw the book. No, but seriously, why was it necessary to not only make her so beautiful that people threw flowers at her feet and thought she was some spirit or goddess, but restore her virginity? Why is that a thing? Why did this author make so many terrible writing choices?
For such a tragic backstory, Rhapsody is just... so bland. And I got frustrated at how the author bludgeoned us over the head with her inability to accept that she was the most beautifullest person ever to beautiful. No lie, at one point she thinks a character thought she was freakish (and said character actually groped her... like... straight up groped her).
Furthermore, I stopped reading during the "pickpocket" scene with Jo (aka, when the book jumped the shark like WHY IS JO A NECESSARY CHARACTER I HATE HER SO MUCH). WHY WOULD THE AUTHOR HAVE RHAPSODY GROPE A DUDE IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREET LIKE WHY WHY WHY DID THIS BOOK MAKE SO MANY CREEPY CHOICES I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
I stopped reading and took it back to the library and I want some mind bleach, thank you very much.
When we finally got into the 'story', it ended up a mess of plot and crap I didn't care about. The only characters I had any affection for were Achmed and Grunthor. They deserved a better story. And a better heroine. Rhapsody was thick. I really didn't like her. I wanted to see where the author took this interesting backstory and Rhapsody ended up generic bland fantasy heroine, and when she reached god-tier levels of beauty I wanted to throw the book. No, but seriously, why was it necessary to not only make her so beautiful that people threw flowers at her feet and thought she was some spirit or goddess, but restore her virginity? Why is that a thing? Why did this author make so many terrible writing choices?
For such a tragic backstory, Rhapsody is just... so bland. And I got frustrated at how the author bludgeoned us over the head with her inability to accept that she was the most beautifullest person ever to beautiful. No lie, at one point she thinks a character thought she was freakish (and said character actually groped her... like... straight up groped her).
Furthermore, I stopped reading during the "pickpocket" scene with Jo (aka, when the book jumped the shark like WHY IS JO A NECESSARY CHARACTER I HATE HER SO MUCH). WHY WOULD THE AUTHOR HAVE RHAPSODY GROPE A DUDE IN THE MIDDLE OF A STREET LIKE WHY WHY WHY DID THIS BOOK MAKE SO MANY CREEPY CHOICES I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
I stopped reading and took it back to the library and I want some mind bleach, thank you very much.
ngreads's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. I really, REALLY wanted to. It's been one that I've been pestered to read for years now. I've had it hyped to me for so long.
I had to keep reminding myself of a few facts - this is the first book in a series that does, from what I heard, get better, and that this is Elizabeth Haydon's first book in general. The problem is that I had to keep reminding myself of that, like I was trying to tell myself that I should be less critical of it because it's a debut.
The thing is, I've read a lot of debut novels that are OUTSTANDING. They often have flaws, but they also have concepts and parts that are so well done that the flaws can be easily looked past in favour of how great everything else is.
Unfortunately, I can't look past those flaws here. I'm not saying this book is bad, and I'm not saying I have no hope or interest in the sequels, but there were some really rough points in this one that really irk me personally as a reader.
The only reason I finished it is because I deeply care about the person who recommended it to me. If it hadn't been for that recommendation and obligation, I probably would have DNF'd it.
But, there are still some good things. Let's go over them.
The Good:
- The characters (most of them), were fairly likeable. Especially Achmed and Grunthor.
- There were some really interesting worldbuilding ideas.
- The first part of the book (past the prologue - we'll get to that) was interesting.
- There were some really fun scenes and moments, and the banter, for the most part, was fun and felt fairly organic.
The Bad:
- The biggest issue this book has is an utter and complete lack of focus. This was my biggest gripe, and the thing that made me want to put down the book the most. Once the second section of the book is reached, I could not tell you what the heck this book was supposed to be about. It went from being a story about running from literal demons to randomly flitting about the world without purpose. I didn't feel like there was any direction.
Look, I like books that are long journeys that kind of meander and explore the world - heck, the Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman is a trilogy I love, and I'm becoming a huge fan of the Saga of Recluce, both of which are known to be long and meandering. The difference with them and this is that they still give a sense of purpose. There's a destination at the end, and a motivation for the characters to be pursuing.
In Rhapsody, however, it felt like characters were just doing things for the sake of doing things - ESPECIALLY in the last quarter of the book, when one of them - OUT OF NOWHERE - decides to just randomly conquer an entire nation of people for no reason aside from...what, exactly? He felt like it? There was no reason for it. And sure, the situations they got into were interesting enough to read on the surface, but without the focus of an actual plot and defined character motivation, it lacked the investment that I craved. Why should I care about what's going on when the characters can't even bother telling me why I should care? The worst part of it was that it was something that would be so easy to fix with a few lines of dialogue. Have the characters discuss their direction and why they're taking it, and relate it back to the main issue presented in the beginning of the book.
- The prologue made me almost DNF the book on the spot. It could have been cut, and replaced - once again - with a few lines of dialogue or a flashback. I generally like prologues, but something about this one really rubbed me the wrong way.
- Jo. I found her character to be generally pointless and really annoying. With nothing to really endear her to me, I found her to be a chore to read. Maybe a few scenes from her perspective could have fixed that so we actually know what's going on inside her head, I don't know.
- Ashe should have had scenes with just him before showing up out of nowhere in the last quarter. If he had a separate storyline alongside the main group and then joined with them. It would have made his character more solid in the story, especially since I do know that he becomes more important later. As it was, he felt like a really random addition. I think he's interesting enough, but needed more page time to actually feel truly important and like part of the story.
- The POV switches randomly mid - scene sometimes. I'm not sure if she was intending to make it third person omniscient, but parts were also written like third person limited. Stylistic choice, but I found it didn't work for me.
- I find Rhapsody to be fine as a lead character, but there was a lot about her that really annoyed me. Mostly the fact she was SO oblivious to her own beauty. I get it, she can't see it in herself, but do you really expect me to believe a woman who was a prostitute for at least ten years can't tell when a man is aroused while looking at her? Her obliviousness to it got old after a while.
- On that last note, why did we need an entire uncomfortable sex scene dedicated to a fairly inconsequential man who saw Rhapsody literally one time basically mooning over his lust for her while having relations with his lover? Why was that necessary? It's not often a scene gives me the bad kind of heebie-jeebies, but oh boy. That was one of them. Maybe he becomes important later, but as far as this book goes, he wasn't that ingrained in the story.
Overall:
A book with some great potential, but with some really rough execution that didn't work for me. Where there were a lot of good moments and scenes, they were put together in a way that didn't feel cohesive, leading to the story feeling unconnected and aimless for me. There wasn't enough foreshadowing for important events, not enough scenes with side characters that were meant to be important but ended up feeling random, and not enough explanation of character motivation to make certain decisions feel properly formulated. The characters were generally solid and three-dimensional with enough intrigue to them for me to be curious about where they go next, though I don't know when that will be.
Will I read the rest? Maybe. Eventually.
But for now I'm glad to put this one back on the shelf.
I had to keep reminding myself of a few facts - this is the first book in a series that does, from what I heard, get better, and that this is Elizabeth Haydon's first book in general. The problem is that I had to keep reminding myself of that, like I was trying to tell myself that I should be less critical of it because it's a debut.
The thing is, I've read a lot of debut novels that are OUTSTANDING. They often have flaws, but they also have concepts and parts that are so well done that the flaws can be easily looked past in favour of how great everything else is.
Unfortunately, I can't look past those flaws here. I'm not saying this book is bad, and I'm not saying I have no hope or interest in the sequels, but there were some really rough points in this one that really irk me personally as a reader.
The only reason I finished it is because I deeply care about the person who recommended it to me. If it hadn't been for that recommendation and obligation, I probably would have DNF'd it.
But, there are still some good things. Let's go over them.
The Good:
- The characters (most of them), were fairly likeable. Especially Achmed and Grunthor.
- There were some really interesting worldbuilding ideas.
- The first part of the book (past the prologue - we'll get to that) was interesting.
- There were some really fun scenes and moments, and the banter, for the most part, was fun and felt fairly organic.
The Bad:
- The biggest issue this book has is an utter and complete lack of focus. This was my biggest gripe, and the thing that made me want to put down the book the most. Once the second section of the book is reached, I could not tell you what the heck this book was supposed to be about. It went from being a story about running from literal demons to randomly flitting about the world without purpose. I didn't feel like there was any direction.
Look, I like books that are long journeys that kind of meander and explore the world - heck, the Coldfire Trilogy by C. S. Friedman is a trilogy I love, and I'm becoming a huge fan of the Saga of Recluce, both of which are known to be long and meandering. The difference with them and this is that they still give a sense of purpose. There's a destination at the end, and a motivation for the characters to be pursuing.
In Rhapsody, however, it felt like characters were just doing things for the sake of doing things - ESPECIALLY in the last quarter of the book, when one of them - OUT OF NOWHERE - decides to just randomly conquer an entire nation of people for no reason aside from...what, exactly? He felt like it? There was no reason for it. And sure, the situations they got into were interesting enough to read on the surface, but without the focus of an actual plot and defined character motivation, it lacked the investment that I craved. Why should I care about what's going on when the characters can't even bother telling me why I should care? The worst part of it was that it was something that would be so easy to fix with a few lines of dialogue. Have the characters discuss their direction and why they're taking it, and relate it back to the main issue presented in the beginning of the book.
- The prologue made me almost DNF the book on the spot. It could have been cut, and replaced - once again - with a few lines of dialogue or a flashback. I generally like prologues, but something about this one really rubbed me the wrong way.
- Jo. I found her character to be generally pointless and really annoying. With nothing to really endear her to me, I found her to be a chore to read. Maybe a few scenes from her perspective could have fixed that so we actually know what's going on inside her head, I don't know.
- Ashe should have had scenes with just him before showing up out of nowhere in the last quarter. If he had a separate storyline alongside the main group and then joined with them. It would have made his character more solid in the story, especially since I do know that he becomes more important later. As it was, he felt like a really random addition. I think he's interesting enough, but needed more page time to actually feel truly important and like part of the story.
- The POV switches randomly mid - scene sometimes. I'm not sure if she was intending to make it third person omniscient, but parts were also written like third person limited. Stylistic choice, but I found it didn't work for me.
- I find Rhapsody to be fine as a lead character, but there was a lot about her that really annoyed me. Mostly the fact she was SO oblivious to her own beauty. I get it, she can't see it in herself, but do you really expect me to believe a woman who was a prostitute for at least ten years can't tell when a man is aroused while looking at her? Her obliviousness to it got old after a while.
- On that last note, why did we need an entire uncomfortable sex scene dedicated to a fairly inconsequential man who saw Rhapsody literally one time basically mooning over his lust for her while having relations with his lover? Why was that necessary? It's not often a scene gives me the bad kind of heebie-jeebies, but oh boy. That was one of them. Maybe he becomes important later, but as far as this book goes, he wasn't that ingrained in the story.
Overall:
A book with some great potential, but with some really rough execution that didn't work for me. Where there were a lot of good moments and scenes, they were put together in a way that didn't feel cohesive, leading to the story feeling unconnected and aimless for me. There wasn't enough foreshadowing for important events, not enough scenes with side characters that were meant to be important but ended up feeling random, and not enough explanation of character motivation to make certain decisions feel properly formulated. The characters were generally solid and three-dimensional with enough intrigue to them for me to be curious about where they go next, though I don't know when that will be.
Will I read the rest? Maybe. Eventually.
But for now I'm glad to put this one back on the shelf.
kayteeem's review
3.0
The protagonist was a bit too perfect, but the plot and world were interesting.
theappleking99's review
4.0
A short musician, an eight-foot-tall war-general, and an average-sized assassin meet outside a bar.
This sounds like the start to a bad joke, but I tell you, it's nothing of the sort. This is one of the first events of Rhapsody: Child of Blood, the first book in one of my all-time favorite series. After a desperate attempt to weasel herself out of capture, Rhapsody, the title character, and newly invested Lirin Namer(who have the power to reweave the threads of time with their words) finds herself dragged along by the assassin, now named Achmed, and the general, a Firbolg named Grunthor, to their destination, the Oak of Deep Roots, Sagia a landmark within the land. While chased by a contingent of soldiers, these unlikely allies make their escape, into the tree.
Now trapped inside Sagia, they have no place to go but forward, a journey that takes far longer than expected, and lands them on the other side of the world. From that point, they kickstart their destiny as the Three, heroes bound to two times, and to three elements, Blood, Earth, and Sky, come to fight the reemerging F'dor, ephemeral demon spirits.
Rhapsody: Child of Blood, caught my attention almost instantly because after having read so many books, I was able to notice that this series had weaved within its words, a sort of musical flow—fitting, since the title character is a Singer, and the author is a harpist and madrigal singer. This sweeping epic tells the tale of this new land Roland, and threads together an intricate and lovingly crafted story. The Symphony of Ages is filled to the brim with loveable characters for all types, whether you enjoy the sweet and caring type, the upbeat and crude jokester, or the irascible grating sort, among many others. The world lore crafted into this series, which draws lightly of Celtic mythology, runs immensely deep, and it was a joy to learn every little thing about this amazing world throughout the full nine-book series. When I first learned what sort of book it was, I'll admit, I was a little worried. I liked the concept, but generally books heavy in romance are a major turn-off for me. I understand the importance of love in a story, to drive the plot, and make the characters more relatable, but romance has never been my style. The Symphony of Ages, however, dispelled my worries. The characters were lovable enough, and the romance well-implemented enough into the story that it never once seemed wanton, or like fanservice, which I greatly appreciated. Elizabeth Haydon is a wonderful author, and this is a series that I will deeply miss as I go forward into new tales of sweeping adventure.
This sounds like the start to a bad joke, but I tell you, it's nothing of the sort. This is one of the first events of Rhapsody: Child of Blood, the first book in one of my all-time favorite series. After a desperate attempt to weasel herself out of capture, Rhapsody, the title character, and newly invested Lirin Namer(who have the power to reweave the threads of time with their words) finds herself dragged along by the assassin, now named Achmed, and the general, a Firbolg named Grunthor, to their destination, the Oak of Deep Roots, Sagia a landmark within the land. While chased by a contingent of soldiers, these unlikely allies make their escape, into the tree.
Now trapped inside Sagia, they have no place to go but forward, a journey that takes far longer than expected, and lands them on the other side of the world. From that point, they kickstart their destiny as the Three, heroes bound to two times, and to three elements, Blood, Earth, and Sky, come to fight the reemerging F'dor, ephemeral demon spirits.
Rhapsody: Child of Blood, caught my attention almost instantly because after having read so many books, I was able to notice that this series had weaved within its words, a sort of musical flow—fitting, since the title character is a Singer, and the author is a harpist and madrigal singer. This sweeping epic tells the tale of this new land Roland, and threads together an intricate and lovingly crafted story. The Symphony of Ages is filled to the brim with loveable characters for all types, whether you enjoy the sweet and caring type, the upbeat and crude jokester, or the irascible grating sort, among many others. The world lore crafted into this series, which draws lightly of Celtic mythology, runs immensely deep, and it was a joy to learn every little thing about this amazing world throughout the full nine-book series. When I first learned what sort of book it was, I'll admit, I was a little worried. I liked the concept, but generally books heavy in romance are a major turn-off for me. I understand the importance of love in a story, to drive the plot, and make the characters more relatable, but romance has never been my style. The Symphony of Ages, however, dispelled my worries. The characters were lovable enough, and the romance well-implemented enough into the story that it never once seemed wanton, or like fanservice, which I greatly appreciated. Elizabeth Haydon is a wonderful author, and this is a series that I will deeply miss as I go forward into new tales of sweeping adventure.
sunstormc's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
teachinsci's review
3.0
This book seemed very uneven... fast changes with exciting plot movement one chapter, millennia of fighting & eating for the next few. They are together for years of time in their view and still can't fully learn each other's languages? Or trust each other? The sweeping amounts time covered in parts of this book would have made a couple of novels alone if the authors pace were consistent.
The other problem I have is that, while I can appreciate that you must have versatile characters in an epic fantasy, Rhapsody (and to a lesser extent Achmed) seem to be able to do EVERYTHING. Impressive appearances? Check. Amazing sword-work? Check. Weapon designers? Check. Carpentry, plumbing, HVAC on mystery technology? Check. Psychology, history, linguistics? Check. Yes, people can do amazing things but no one can do the impressive variety of things these three can accomplish.
It did have good enough ideas that I will attempt the second book of the series, but I am hoping for a maintainable of idea quality and an evening of pace.
The other problem I have is that, while I can appreciate that you must have versatile characters in an epic fantasy, Rhapsody (and to a lesser extent Achmed) seem to be able to do EVERYTHING. Impressive appearances? Check. Amazing sword-work? Check. Weapon designers? Check. Carpentry, plumbing, HVAC on mystery technology? Check. Psychology, history, linguistics? Check. Yes, people can do amazing things but no one can do the impressive variety of things these three can accomplish.
It did have good enough ideas that I will attempt the second book of the series, but I am hoping for a maintainable of idea quality and an evening of pace.
highlady_ofthe_nightcourt's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Let me start by saying I've read the Symphony of Ages Trilogy at least 10 times and have happily loaned my copies to friends.
5/5 recommend Rhapsody (as well as Prophesy and Destiny) as high fantasy featuring a strong female lead, excellent world building, loveable cast of characters (hello, Grunthor!), and a great plot across all three novels. Don't sleep on the audio books, either. The narrator is very good, especially the voice for Grunthor!
5/5 recommend Rhapsody (as well as Prophesy and Destiny) as high fantasy featuring a strong female lead, excellent world building, loveable cast of characters (hello, Grunthor!), and a great plot across all three novels. Don't sleep on the audio books, either. The narrator is very good, especially the voice for Grunthor!