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platanus's review against another edition
4.0
This was a decent fantasy adventure book. The characters were colorful, the story progresses from multiple sides that weren't too many, there was a sense of nostalgia that drove the whole plot (would've liked it better if it were better explored), and it could've been even more satisfying if a couple of people would not have survived from the brinks of death.
Read it as an adventure novel, because otherwise you won't enjoy much of it.
Read it as an adventure novel, because otherwise you won't enjoy much of it.
fieldofhats's review against another edition
The premise is fantastic and immediately drew me in. I’ve never read Elaine Cunningham before, but this seemed as good a place as any to start. Forgotten Realms novels are always a risk — they can be absolutely fantastic, just okay, or plain awful. The reviews of this book seemed mixed, but I wanted to give this author a shot and this is the one that interested me the most. Sadly, this one probably wasn’t the best place to start.
The prologue is incredible. The prose are so lyrical, the plot set-up is wonderful, and the characterization is incredible. I adore dragons, so that was an automatic plus for me, and Garnet’s interaction with Grimnosh was tense and tactful, as any interaction with a dragon should be. Her characterization beyond that was really great, and I was immediately sold on her as a villain. Villains of the Forgotten Realms can be a bit lackluster sometimes (Salvatore, I’m looking at you), but not here. The introduction of Wyn and Kerigan was also great, and I loved how their clashing personalities blended so well and so comedically. And the descriptions of all four of these characters not only served to give us a mental image, but to give us a sense of their personality and values.
The problem is, the energy in the prologue stops at the prologue. The characters we’re so beautifully introduced to aren’t our main characters. Instead, we’re introduced to a new main character, a carefree rogue named Danilo. He was interesting enough, but I honestly just didn’t care about him as much as Wyn and Kerigan. I wasn’t invested in him at all. Wyn is sort of around, but Danilo doesn’t clash as well with him like Kerigan did.
All-in-all, I felt narratively betrayed that the characters I put stick into were abandoned in favor of other that were shoe-horned into the story. There were reasons that Danilo had to be the main character (he’s a bard with magic), but it feels like an extremely flimsy excuse… Why couldn’t she have written Wyn that way? Then we could have had the Wyn-Kerigan duo throughout. To make the story more cohesive, she either needed to do away with Danilo entirely, or have him be the one we’re introduced to in the prologue.
I do want to try out another of Cunningham’s works, because she is a master at writing prose — but this was one was odd.
The prologue is incredible. The prose are so lyrical, the plot set-up is wonderful, and the characterization is incredible. I adore dragons, so that was an automatic plus for me, and Garnet’s interaction with Grimnosh was tense and tactful, as any interaction with a dragon should be. Her characterization beyond that was really great, and I was immediately sold on her as a villain. Villains of the Forgotten Realms can be a bit lackluster sometimes (Salvatore, I’m looking at you), but not here. The introduction of Wyn and Kerigan was also great, and I loved how their clashing personalities blended so well and so comedically. And the descriptions of all four of these characters not only served to give us a mental image, but to give us a sense of their personality and values.
The problem is, the energy in the prologue stops at the prologue. The characters we’re so beautifully introduced to aren’t our main characters. Instead, we’re introduced to a new main character, a carefree rogue named Danilo. He was interesting enough, but I honestly just didn’t care about him as much as Wyn and Kerigan. I wasn’t invested in him at all. Wyn is sort of around, but Danilo doesn’t clash as well with him like Kerigan did.
All-in-all, I felt narratively betrayed that the characters I put stick into were abandoned in favor of other that were shoe-horned into the story. There were reasons that Danilo had to be the main character (he’s a bard with magic), but it feels like an extremely flimsy excuse… Why couldn’t she have written Wyn that way? Then we could have had the Wyn-Kerigan duo throughout. To make the story more cohesive, she either needed to do away with Danilo entirely, or have him be the one we’re introduced to in the prologue.
I do want to try out another of Cunningham’s works, because she is a master at writing prose — but this was one was odd.
dark_reader's review
1.0
I regret that I have to rate this with "I did not like it", because Elaine Cunningham is a better Forgotten Realms writer than others who garnered one-star ratings from me (Ed Greenwood, I'm looking at you). I simply did not like this book, despite my efforts. Before starting, I thought back to it's predecessor, [b:Elfshadow|19855|Elfshadow (Forgotten Realms The Harpers, #2; Songs & Swords, #1)|Elaine Cunningham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924906l/19855._SY75_.jpg|353259], and realized that aside from the main characters and a general sense of enjoyment, I did not recall much of the events of that book. So, I read a plot synopsis, and oh boy was it ever complicated. We see a bit more of that here; unnecessary complication with multiple factions. It seems to make for good tabletop RPG campaign fodder, but I don't think it made a good book in this instance. For one thing, the story depends on an interest in bardcraft in the D&D world, as well as a familiarity with the bard's power status following the Time of Troubles in the TSR-endorsed overriding storyline at the time of the game edition transition from 1st to 2nd or to 3rd or whatever was going on at the time this book was written. I like D&D, but I can't stand the bard character concept. I find them wussy and annoying. Despite this, I promise that I did NOT intentionally kill the bard in my current D&D group's first session (for real, Todd!) In Elfsong, the main villain's goal is to restore the glory and heritage of the now-defunct bardic colleges, which seems... not really an evil thing to do, so I'm not sure why she's going about it all evilly?
If you have not read [b:Elfshadow|19855|Elfshadow (Forgotten Realms The Harpers, #2; Songs & Swords, #1)|Elaine Cunningham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924906l/19855._SY75_.jpg|353259] AND the short story "The Bargain" found in the [b:Realms of Valor|529609|Realms of Valor (Forgotten Realms Anthologies, #1)|James Lowder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312046551l/529609._SY75_.jpg|517293] anthology, I recommend you do so before starting this book, as both works are referenced frequently. As such, this book is only for die-hard Forgotten Realms novel readers, a group to which I belong for reasons which are increasingly unclear. If I did not already enjoy the character of Danillo Thann from those slightly earlier works, there would have been nothing to keep me even slightly interested in Elfsong, and I didn't really like him here. Elaine Cunningham is seen as one of this publishing line's best authors, so hopefully I will find her next books more enjoyable.
If you have not read [b:Elfshadow|19855|Elfshadow (Forgotten Realms The Harpers, #2; Songs & Swords, #1)|Elaine Cunningham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924906l/19855._SY75_.jpg|353259] AND the short story "The Bargain" found in the [b:Realms of Valor|529609|Realms of Valor (Forgotten Realms Anthologies, #1)|James Lowder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312046551l/529609._SY75_.jpg|517293] anthology, I recommend you do so before starting this book, as both works are referenced frequently. As such, this book is only for die-hard Forgotten Realms novel readers, a group to which I belong for reasons which are increasingly unclear. If I did not already enjoy the character of Danillo Thann from those slightly earlier works, there would have been nothing to keep me even slightly interested in Elfsong, and I didn't really like him here. Elaine Cunningham is seen as one of this publishing line's best authors, so hopefully I will find her next books more enjoyable.
mw2k's review
4.0
A complex and knotty plot in a D&D book? Yes, that's what we have here, and for once, the motives of the main antagonist aren't entirely dire. In fact, the true villains are the motley assortment of folks this antagonist gets to do her dastardly deeds, even if a few of them are simply misguided.
Some stronger characterisations at play too, which makes this novel one of the stronger installments in this series. I'm beginning to like Elaine Cunningham's stories.
Some stronger characterisations at play too, which makes this novel one of the stronger installments in this series. I'm beginning to like Elaine Cunningham's stories.
brian's review
4.0
Elaine Cunningham is one of the better D&D novelists out there.
This one follows Danillo Thann from Elfshadow (book 1) as he has to try and find out why the old songs of the bards are being subtly changed.
Unlikely alliances are formed as he tries to get to the bottom of things.
Interesting mix of characters, fair amount of action as well as intrigue and picking at clues.
This one follows Danillo Thann from Elfshadow (book 1) as he has to try and find out why the old songs of the bards are being subtly changed.
Unlikely alliances are formed as he tries to get to the bottom of things.
Interesting mix of characters, fair amount of action as well as intrigue and picking at clues.
khardan's review against another edition
3.0
Bueno, teniendo en cuenta que del libro anterior dije que el personajes que más me gustaban eran Arilyn y Elaith, lo cierto es que cuando me encontré con que en este libro todo el protagonismo recaía en la figura de Danilo... pues fue una ligera decepción, por mucho que en la sinopsis me prometiera la aparición de Elaith. Me temía que iba a ser una aparición fugaz, al fin y al cabo, la verdadera unión entre Elaith y Danilo era Arilyn... así que sin ella no veía cómo iban a poder interesarse el uno por el otro.
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