A review by sahanac
Sistersong by Lucy Holland

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Okay was so fucking proud of myself for guessing the twist with Tristan!! Like pretty early on. And sometimes when I can guess a twist it's because of bad writing, but with this one, I'm pretty sure it's because Lcuy Holland set this up really early on with Tristan. I think the way the story was framed was just incredible, getting the viewpoint of all three siblings, understanding their minds and their magics before we got into the conflict of the story, setting the world, their relationships, and all the minor tensions that would lead to the larger conflict being far more explosive, was so good. Like, we see Keyne and Gildas set up against each other from the jump, so the reveal that Gildas can do magic and is what he fears was a great one, not to mention Gildas and Constantine turning to one another as allies in the face of a larger enemy. And we saw Riva and Sinne have tension from the jump too, so for that to blow up into a far bigger thing by the end was crazy too. It was just really well formatted and plotted out and it made it really satisfying, because like we've discussed, there was no other way for Riva's story to end, despite it being annoying, and that's because we saw the logic in each and every choice that was made through the course of the book. I was really surprised when I opened it up and started reading and it was trans, also. That was a real surprise, but not an unwelcome one. I think adding that dimension in really allowed for some perspective we don't get within the context of the ballad upon which this book is based. I appreciate also an attempt to sort of go back and see these histories that were unwritten, because we all know trans people existed in this time. The siblings at the heart of the novel were so good, but also let's talk about the MERLIN figure!!!!!! I love a Merlin centuries before Arthurian myth would exist!! It means that this Merlin could be That Merlin, and that's what the ending sort of implies by having Myrdhin still at the very end while Constantine is an ancient ghost king guy. Very cool to maintain and support the idea that the premise for a real British tradition within Arthurian legend is based on this sort of native perspective and magic that is inherent to the land. I was also thinking a lot about indigeneity and colonialism thru Christianity thru the course of this book, and obviously vey different time periods, but similiar premise of "fuck listening to the land and the indigenous groups who know it best, the Christian God is the answer", while those perpetuating that narrative (hem hem Gildas) are tied to the land themselves. Anyway.