Sing The Four Quarters (Paperback)

Instead of going to live in Cemandia with whoever it was the King had wanted her to marry, Annice became a Bard. And she's a most powerful Bard indeed; she sings all four Quarters of the magic system (Earth, Air, Water and Fire) equally. Not many can do that.

And in this world/universe, Bards are powerful. They save kids by using the power of the Earth, Air, etc., they hear news quickly due to Air Elementals bringing it to them (if they have the gift to "sing" Air), they create music and put the power of their magic behind it.

What Theron doesn't know is this. If Annice had gone to Cemandia, she'd have been stoned to death or driven out of the country. Cemandians do not believe in Bards; they do not like them. It disagrees with how they view the Universe or something, and they really can't stand it.

So, Annice, in her insistence to be trained, did the right thing.

However, there's a new problem. The man she's picked to become the father of her child (her life-mate is a woman, so she needed to find a man, as this world/universe does not have sperm donating technology) lives on the Cemandian border. As she swells in pregnancy, she has to protect him from being put to death by Theron (who doesn't know all the facts) and his own people (who are being actively misled).

What will happen? Some of what you expect -- and some of what you wouldn't. :)

There's lots of humor in this book, and I liked Annice very much. Only reason I can't really give this book five stars is that Annice seems much too old and wise for someone in her early 20s. She just shouldn't be as old and mature as she has been drawn. I'd have bought into it easier if Annice had been in her early 30s. Also, some of the threat is because Annice has dared to have a child out of wedlock (like I said, she didn't have much choice, because of her life-partner being female), and because Annice is still of royal blood.

Simply put, I just don't buy that Theron ever would have put her to death because she wanted to have a child. I just don't buy it, not once.

Oh, one of the bright spots of the book is Jazep, the Bard who sings only Earth. (He's the most powerful singer of Earth they've ever known, though. Don't feel too sorry for him.) He's very strong and committed, but has a very good sense of humor -- the implicit understanding, at least for me, was that if Annice had been interested in taking a male lover, Jazep would have been it. Making it all the more puzzling why she'd go and find someone else to father her child . . . (of course, she knew she wouldn't stay with Jazep, either. That was probably it. She had her own wife to deal with.)

Very strong novel from Ms. Huff. Very enjoyable.

First of all, there were three strong characters that stood out
Annice, Pjerin, and King Theron, ruler over the Seven Broken Islands. Annice "The Princess-Bard" knows that she was born with the talent to sing all four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The highest magic a bard can attain. When her brother, then Prince Theron, heir to the throne of Shokoder, requests that she join with Prince Rajmand, of Cemandia to form an alliance with that nation, she refuses on the grounds that she'd rather enter Bardic Hall and train to sing the kigh then bwcome a political tool for her brother to use. Her brother, now king, makes Annice forfeit her rights as a princess, even her right to procreate. When the healer, Elica, told Annice she was pregnant, she had a real problem: to procreate meant death for her and her baby. It wasn't until the captain of the army told King Theron that the Cemandian nation executed anyone who had the gift that Annice took for granted, even the ambassador from Shokodor was executed for relaying the message that Annice could sing the kigh. Pjerin, sixth Duc of Ohrid, was tricked into saying under command that he broke his oath to Shodoker by letting trade exist between the Cemandians and allowing their army to go through the pass and thus was condemned for treason. Pjerin is also the father of Annice's baby, so she helps him escape from the dungeon to clear his name.

King Theron recognizes he may have made a mistake with his sister Annice after discovering her pregnancy and condemning the Duc of Ohrid to death for treason so he intends to have Pjerin in effect tracked down by Otik and his army and returned to Elbassan for retrial but Otik intends to hunt down Annice and Pjerin, bringing back his body, but it was Otik who was buried after Vidor and before Ohrid, after a blow to the head by Pjerin.

Now there were some really bad people in this plot to over throw the Duc. Olina, the previous Duc's sister, wants to own some of the power her nephew has and open the pass at Ohrid with trade with the Cemandians, so she has her current boy-toy, Albek, a Cemandian by birth and an untrained bard, place a potion in the Duc's wine and hypnotizes him to repeat that he broke his oath to King Theron. With Pjerin out of the way, his son, Gerek, a 4 year-old would be easier control with Olina as regent to guide him. She wants to turn Ohrid into a prosperous trade center, make the kigh obsolete by executing all the bards, and eventually overthrow King Theron by war. Olina doesn't count on her plot being discovered by the Duc, Annice, and eventually King Theron. She also doesn't realize that she has been betrayed by Albek. Gerek is also pretty resourceful finding out that Lukas, his steward, and Olina, put Annice's friend Stasya in the dungeon after Lukas clubbed her over the head with a rock. He also had enough sense to not tell anyone of his plan to search for his father.

Olina realizes that her nephew intends to kill her when he returns to Ohrid, so she runs toward the Cemandian border, seeking asylum by Prince Rajmand leaving Lukas to suffer Pjerin's anger.

The funniest part of this book was when Pjerin had to crawl through the sewers of Ohrid's keep to the kitchen while a very pregnant Annice walked through the castle gate as a trader.

Realizing he had a lethal weapon to use against the Cemandians, King Theron used the kigh to frighten them. Annice's labor amplified the kigh's aggitation (LOL!)and it didn't cause the bards to break any vows about using the kigh against another bard. I do think, however that there should have been a stiffer penalty for Albek using a potion to undo a bardic Command, but he already suffered a death, of sorts, because the Cemandians would have executed him if they found he could sing the kigh.

There were some other good parts too. Annice relishes the attitude that she is "always right" when she argues with Pjerin over the long trip back to Ohrid. Even though he complains about their unfortunate lot, Annice manages to throw his treason in his face at least three times during the trip, but she refuses to listen when Pjerin points out to her the crisis that would occur if Olina discovered that Annice was the "Princess-Bard" and that she was carrying a baby. Olina wouldn't hesitate to execute them both after getting the ransom from King Theron.

I intend to read more of Tanya Huff in the future.

All is going well until Annice is found to be pregnant. And the father of her unborn child is charged with treason. Annice must rescue her lover, prove him innocent, and save the life of her child.

One important point: the characters do have a sense of humor, and are not the flat, "I-know-exactly-what-I'm-doing" heros/heroines from other authors.

The book has much of the flavor of Mercedes Lackey's early Valdemar novels (Arrows of the Queen, etc.).

Although there are several more novels set in the "Four Quarters" world, this novel is truly a "stand-alone" book. You may, however, want to visit the world again to understand the mysteries of the kigh.