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From Library Journal
A singer/music instructor becomes a sorceress in this first in a new series.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Modesitt takes leave from Recluce, the scene of his successful series of fantasies, in a new take on the classic situation of someone from our world being tossed into a fantasy realm. In this case, the one tossed is singer and music teacher Anna, who is recovering from the death of her eldest daughter. She finds herself in a world in which songs are spells, music is the source of power, and she herself is a potent sorceress. That status promptly makes her the target of at least three villains who, for grittily realistic and unpleasantly plausible reasons, seek to exploit or destroy her. In fact, a tone of gritty realism pervades the whole book, as Modesitt develops his variation on a venerable plot with his usual intelligence, so that more than just his staunch fans will be busily turning pages. Moreover, few will be unmoved when Anna routs a hostile army with her (literally) spellbinding rendering of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Roland Green
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
A dozen musicians sit on stools under the oblong white silk awning held in place by four sturdy poles, each pole anchored by heavy cords to a pair of stakes. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A dozen musicians sit on stools under the oblong white silk awning held in place by four sturdy poles, each pole anchored by heavy cords to a pair of stakes. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
a very slow read with limited thrills,
By Morley "canbritboy" (canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Soprano Sorceress: The First Book of the Spellsong Cycle (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm currently more than half way through the book and am still waiting for the story to lure me in. Between the over-eating of food, the making of new dresses, the purifying of water, the singing of nursury rhyme magic spells, and the sweaty heat, lies the occassional thrill that one expects in a book with over 600 and some pages. I am very dissappointed, but will still finish the book just to get if off my chest.
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm Puzzled . . .,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Soprano Sorceress: The First Book of the Spellsong Cycle (Mass Market Paperback)
by all the favorable reviews of this book (and the others in this series). Most of the book consists of trivial and repetitive daily events. If you took out all the episodes of Anna sweating (annoying and unattractive), or rubbing her nose to keep from sneezing, or patting her horse (which always replies with a 'whuff'), or wishing for a bath - well, it would be a much shorter book. She is constantly eating, her meals consisting exclusively of bread, cheese, and occasionally apple slices or meat in sauce (I predict some serious constipation), but although she is supposedly starving, she is never really hungry.Nothing happens for chapter after chapter while suspense is supposedly building, but then the battles are resolved more-or-less immediately by her overwhelming power, which is never adequately explained. What bothered me the most, though, was the lyrics of her spellsongs. We are given to understand that the spells are very sensitive to the words used, and the way those words work with the music, but then the actual poetry Anna uses is drivel - badly rhymed garbage, quite possibly the worst I have ever read! Your average angst-ridden, under-educated teenager could write better verse, and I can hardly believe that a popular, widely published author couldn't come up with something better. If you have any literary standards whatever, skip these books.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Over and over and over...,
By
This review is from: The Soprano Sorceress: The First Book of the Spellsong Cycle (Mass Market Paperback)
Normally, I have no problem taking Anne McCaffrey's recommendations on reading material. However, this time I have to wonder. The story line in this series of books is pretty good. The problem I have with them is the extremely repetitive writing style. You could probably put all 5 books in this series into 3 if you eliminated all the unnecessary repetition. Did you know that all doors in Erde, when knocked upon, go "thrap"? No booming, knocking, rapping - just "thrap". All horses "whuff". No neighing, whinneying, trumpeting, etc. And the protagonists, Anna and her successors, are some seriously angst-ridden folks - you feel guilty - WE GET IT ALREADY! I've read other books by Modesitt and the writing style seemed quite different. These books almost condescend to the reader by implying you can't remember what you read a chapter or even a paragraph before! I've NEVER before thrown a book down in frustration because I told myself that if the character "said that one more time.......". I honestly don't know if I recommend this series or not. I gave it 3 stars for story content only. But the writing style at least makes it a good read for ADD or Alzheimer's patients, I guess. I'm just finishing up the 5th book and I will be glad when it's over but still enjoyed the story. Weird, huh?
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