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A review by sarahanne8382
Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff
4.0
In a land where bards manipulate the natural elements by singing the kigh, the talented bard Annice must deal with the double treason of the baby she is carrying by earning back the trust of her brother, the king, and clearing the traitorous name of her baby's father.
This is the basicpremise of Tanya Huff's Sing the Four Quarters, a solid example one of the fantasy genre's most basic subgenres: Sword and Sorcery. These books are set in a "world of adventure, in which magic works ... These tales feature sorcerers and magicians, large elements of the supernatural, much romance, and often quest with daunting hazards ... usual backgrounds are galactic or akin to medieval European kingdoms. Multivolume series are common"(Herald 259). These are the type of books you instantly think of when you think of fantasy.
The magic and sorcery in the roughly medieval kingdom of Shkoder is largely practiced by bards like Annice whose main talent is the ability to control the forces of nature through their magical songs. One of the bards' other talents that becomes central as P'jerin, Duc of Ohrid and the father of Annice's baby, tries to learn who has framed him as a traitor to Shkoder, is the power of Command. When placed under Command, a person can only speak the truth. Because P'jerin admits his guilt under Command, it is simply accepted that he must have committed treason. However he convinces Annice of his belief that his memories had been altered, and the two of them seek out the real traitor and how they were able make P'jerin disobey Command.
The book also contains many interwoven romantic entanglements. Annice, for example, became pregnant from a one night stand with P'jerin, but shares quarters at the Bardic Hall with her longtime lover Stasya, a fellow bard. While her ultimate loyalty is to Stasya, Huff never denies Annice's attraction to P'jerin, especially through the last half of the book when the two are forced to work together to clear P'jerin's name.
Another key relationship in the book is the estrangement of Annice and her brother Theron, King of Shkoder. Annice gave up her royal position in order to become a bard, which her brother took as a personal affront. In retaliation Theron decreed that Annice would be guilty of treason if she ever married or became pregnant without his permission. Annice's stubbornness keeps her from seeing that her once dear brother would never actually enforce his decree, and spends most of the book wrongly believing that she must keep her situation from him at all costs.
As has been suggested by the description of the story so far, there are a lot of action and adventure scenes throughout the book, especially as P'jerin and a very pregnant Annice make the arduous journey to P'jerin's mountain home in an effort to clear his name, evading the King's Guard and others eager for the bounty on P'jerin's head.
I was impressed by how much I enjoyed this book. While I've never disliked fantasy, it's not my usual reading. I could really enjoy reading more books like this, though. Its main advantage is that it has a little bit of everything. While there is a large focus on the mystical elements of the bards' ability to sing the kigh for hard core sci-fi / fantasy fans, it also spends a lot of time dealing with the interpersonal relationships and the importance of bonds of friends and family similar to a romance novel. And just so there isn't too much emphasis on feelings, there are several fights scenes for adventure fans. Also, the political intrigue behind P'jerin's alleged treason is as intellectually stimulating as any mystery.
Because there are so many different elements to this book, I have trouble picking specific groups of readers to recommend it to. Even though its setting and focus on magic clearly make this book fantasy, I might suggest it to the non-genre fiction reader, because it contains so many strong elements of other genres. It's fantasy that can be enjoyed by a larger audience. And while non-fantasy readers will enjoy Sing the Four Quarters, it's not fantasy-lite, so normal fantasy readers, especially Sword and Sorcery fans should enjoy it as well. Sing the Four Quarters is also the first in a four part series, so this would also be good for anyone looking for a gripping series.
Sources
Herald, Diana Tixier. Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction. 4th ed. Englewood, Col.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995.
Huff, Tanya. Sing the Four Quarters. New York Daw Books, Inc., 1994.
This is the basicpremise of Tanya Huff's Sing the Four Quarters, a solid example one of the fantasy genre's most basic subgenres: Sword and Sorcery. These books are set in a "world of adventure, in which magic works ... These tales feature sorcerers and magicians, large elements of the supernatural, much romance, and often quest with daunting hazards ... usual backgrounds are galactic or akin to medieval European kingdoms. Multivolume series are common"(Herald 259). These are the type of books you instantly think of when you think of fantasy.
The magic and sorcery in the roughly medieval kingdom of Shkoder is largely practiced by bards like Annice whose main talent is the ability to control the forces of nature through their magical songs. One of the bards' other talents that becomes central as P'jerin, Duc of Ohrid and the father of Annice's baby, tries to learn who has framed him as a traitor to Shkoder, is the power of Command. When placed under Command, a person can only speak the truth. Because P'jerin admits his guilt under Command, it is simply accepted that he must have committed treason. However he convinces Annice of his belief that his memories had been altered, and the two of them seek out the real traitor and how they were able make P'jerin disobey Command.
The book also contains many interwoven romantic entanglements. Annice, for example, became pregnant from a one night stand with P'jerin, but shares quarters at the Bardic Hall with her longtime lover Stasya, a fellow bard. While her ultimate loyalty is to Stasya, Huff never denies Annice's attraction to P'jerin, especially through the last half of the book when the two are forced to work together to clear P'jerin's name.
Another key relationship in the book is the estrangement of Annice and her brother Theron, King of Shkoder. Annice gave up her royal position in order to become a bard, which her brother took as a personal affront. In retaliation Theron decreed that Annice would be guilty of treason if she ever married or became pregnant without his permission. Annice's stubbornness keeps her from seeing that her once dear brother would never actually enforce his decree, and spends most of the book wrongly believing that she must keep her situation from him at all costs.
As has been suggested by the description of the story so far, there are a lot of action and adventure scenes throughout the book, especially as P'jerin and a very pregnant Annice make the arduous journey to P'jerin's mountain home in an effort to clear his name, evading the King's Guard and others eager for the bounty on P'jerin's head.
I was impressed by how much I enjoyed this book. While I've never disliked fantasy, it's not my usual reading. I could really enjoy reading more books like this, though. Its main advantage is that it has a little bit of everything. While there is a large focus on the mystical elements of the bards' ability to sing the kigh for hard core sci-fi / fantasy fans, it also spends a lot of time dealing with the interpersonal relationships and the importance of bonds of friends and family similar to a romance novel. And just so there isn't too much emphasis on feelings, there are several fights scenes for adventure fans. Also, the political intrigue behind P'jerin's alleged treason is as intellectually stimulating as any mystery.
Because there are so many different elements to this book, I have trouble picking specific groups of readers to recommend it to. Even though its setting and focus on magic clearly make this book fantasy, I might suggest it to the non-genre fiction reader, because it contains so many strong elements of other genres. It's fantasy that can be enjoyed by a larger audience. And while non-fantasy readers will enjoy Sing the Four Quarters, it's not fantasy-lite, so normal fantasy readers, especially Sword and Sorcery fans should enjoy it as well. Sing the Four Quarters is also the first in a four part series, so this would also be good for anyone looking for a gripping series.
Sources
Herald, Diana Tixier. Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction. 4th ed. Englewood, Col.: Libraries Unlimited, 1995.
Huff, Tanya. Sing the Four Quarters. New York Daw Books, Inc., 1994.