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mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
This is the third book in the Spellsong Cycle, continuing the story of Anna, a former assistant professor now transported to a world where songs can cast spells. It was a week when I was looking for a book that would provide familiar, reliable entertainment, so I picked Modesitt, most of whose fantasy I've liked (and, in some cases, loved).
"Darksong Rising" was exactly what I'd anticipated, solidly engaging and enjoyable, though not among my favorites of Modesitt's works. This is detailed, methodical fantasy, neither lyrical nor flamboyant. Some readers won't care for it, but, for me, Modesitt is very immersive. That said, I was popped out of the story by the several times that Anna thinks to herself "this wouldn't happen in a novel." Yet I liked the various references to poetry, including repeated brief snippets from "Easter, 1916" by Yeats.
I note that the body count is high. Indeed it is high enough to make both this reader and Anna herself question her decisions. Modesitt ensures that there are no easy options.
Three and a half out of five rhymed stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
"Darksong Rising" was exactly what I'd anticipated, solidly engaging and enjoyable, though not among my favorites of Modesitt's works. This is detailed, methodical fantasy, neither lyrical nor flamboyant. Some readers won't care for it, but, for me, Modesitt is very immersive. That said, I was popped out of the story by the several times that Anna thinks to herself "this wouldn't happen in a novel." Yet I liked the various references to poetry, including repeated brief snippets from "Easter, 1916" by Yeats.
I note that the body count is high. Indeed it is high enough to make both this reader and Anna herself question her decisions. Modesitt ensures that there are no easy options.
Three and a half out of five rhymed stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
ppphanon's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Probably because I got into the groove from reading the first two books in the series that I enjoyed the third book the most. Still sucks that my copy doesn't have a map. And the characters and locations still aren't that memorable or distinguishable.
ibeforem's review
3.0
This was pretty good. I was surprised how easily I was able to fall back into the series, because it’s been several years since I read the first two. I haven’t been reading much fantasy, so this was a nice change of pace.
juliusmoose's review
3.0
This is the third installment in this series and it's perfectly fine. There is plenty of politics and conniving and scheming. The action is fairly straightforward.
I like that the main character is female and that she's working for more rights for women in this new world she's ended up in. Also I like that this is a pseudo-medieval fantasy thing that's not a generic Lord of the Rings knockoff.
I am not really keen on how tenses shift between the chapters focusing on the main character and the chapters focusing on other characters. I'm not really sure what changing tenses gets you. I mean, it's pretty clear that Lady Anna is or isn't the viewpoint character at any given time anyway and honestly it took me a while to figure out that there was a pattern to the tense changes. I guess this is really a complaint about the first book and now we're just following the convention laid down there, but really.
Overall, I like this book and I plan to read the next one, but I don't think it's, like, great literature.
I like that the main character is female and that she's working for more rights for women in this new world she's ended up in. Also I like that this is a pseudo-medieval fantasy thing that's not a generic Lord of the Rings knockoff.
I am not really keen on how tenses shift between the chapters focusing on the main character and the chapters focusing on other characters. I'm not really sure what changing tenses gets you. I mean, it's pretty clear that Lady Anna is or isn't the viewpoint character at any given time anyway and honestly it took me a while to figure out that there was a pattern to the tense changes. I guess this is really a complaint about the first book and now we're just following the convention laid down there, but really.
Overall, I like this book and I plan to read the next one, but I don't think it's, like, great literature.
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