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A review by nonesensed
Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Annice is a bard, a powerful one who not only can sing to communicate with the elemental spirits called 'kigh' but can sing to all four kinds of kigh. She's also a former princess who has forsaken her royal title to pursue her chosen profession. This choice has left a heavy weight on her shoulders - she has been ordered to never have children without the approval of her brother-turned-king and the approval of such a thing seems close to impossible with how they went their separate ways. Imagine Annice's delighted horror when she realizes she's pregnant. As if the issue with treason by pregnancy wasn't enough, the child's father and a brewing war adds extra trouble upon extra trouble.
My experience of Tanya Huff has been "author writes tired tropes and just surprises you with how interesting they end up" and that strikes here too! The fantasy genre is full of royal drama, especially exiled princes and princesses, and politics around royal inheritance is very common. But while this story definitely has a lot of that it's played out in a fun and interesting way - though explaining how would spoil a lot, so I'll leave it at that.
Another neat thing about this book is that it reminded me of how things I, as a child of the 80s, have become used to find only in more "modern" media actually also were a thing in media (though definitely not as common as today). For example, our dear main character is in a loving romantic but open relationship with another woman. The father of her child is a one-night-stand and while she does interact with him plenty, there's no romance between them.
Highly recommended if you want interesting worldbuilding, queernorm fantasy culture, and interesting treason and threat of war plots mixed with emotional stakes!
My experience of Tanya Huff has been "author writes tired tropes and just surprises you with how interesting they end up" and that strikes here too! The fantasy genre is full of royal drama, especially exiled princes and princesses, and politics around royal inheritance is very common. But while this story definitely has a lot of that it's played out in a fun and interesting way - though explaining how would spoil a lot, so I'll leave it at that.
Another neat thing about this book is that it reminded me of how things I, as a child of the 80s, have become used to find only in more "modern" media actually also were a thing in media (though definitely not as common as today). For example, our dear main character is in a loving romantic but open relationship with another woman. The father of her child is a one-night-stand and while she does interact with him plenty, there's no romance between them.
Highly recommended if you want interesting worldbuilding, queernorm fantasy culture, and interesting treason and threat of war plots mixed with emotional stakes!