A review by winterscape
Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff

4.0

After having come off of a more traditional, Tolkien knock-off paperback with a similar looking cover, I wasn't really looking forward to this book. The ultra-formal and dry style wore on me a little bit and I was not thrilled with the idea of trudging through another just like it.

So, when I opened the first pages and saw the more modern style of fantasy writing, I was very happy. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional fantasy style. I just needed a change of pace. It definitely didn't disappoint, either!

While I was initially concerned about being patronized by the author, (Come on, how many clues can you shove into so little words?

Spoiler

I knew she was pregnant from the very first puke scene!

) as well as worried that a message was going to be shoved down my throat, I was wrong. There is no agenda or sense of patronization throughout the book.

So much world building went into making this story come alive. There are many unique aspects to this world and I really enjoyed traveling through it with the unusual cast of characters. When I first realised that it was a series, I was a little disappointed. I thought it would be a great stand alone novel and didn't want to deal with whatever huge cliff hanger would inevitably try and hook me. Again, I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. This book does work fantastically well as a stand alone, but also, I find myself wanting to go back to this world and read more, even without a cliffhanger to hold me down.

I'll admit, I did have a few issues with the book. I found it hard to believe that

Spoiler

even the King could see that Pjerin was innocent.

This leads to my biggest problem, which was suspense. The author showed us EVERYTHING and left us with no secrets to work out.

Spoiler

The King wasn't actually sending the guard after them to capture the escaped convict, so the intensity of the chase was taken out. Stasya wasn't actually dead and found guilty of treason. You knew who the father was, Pjerin knew he was the father,and you knew who the actual traitor was at the keep.

This didn't detract too much from the story, but I think it would have greatly benefited from revealing less.

What I also found weird was the super negative reaction that I had towards

Spoiler

Pjerin asserting that it was his child. It made me so mad that I actually stopped reading for a few days. Huh. I'm not sure why I had such an extreme reaction to it, but the thought of the man taking the child from its mother once weaned just pissed me off to the extreme.

But still, if you're looking for an interesting fantasy with a unique take on the elemental magic system, not your average main characters, and an easy to read modern style, you'd do well to pick Sing the Four Quarters.

p.s. Annice on the cover looks a tad like my sister. I find this to be amusing, though no one else agrees with me.