Fire Arrow: The Second Song of Eirren [Paperback]

Edith Pattou (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Songs of Eirren

On the trail of her father’s murderers, archer Breo-Saight becomes involved in a grand battle against an evil sorcerer. In the sequel to Hero’s Song, archer Breo-Saight discovers her birthright, a magical golden arrow that strikes down its targets with a blast of eldritch flame. Each time Brie uses it, she and the arrow grow more alike: single-minded, driven, deadly. The arrow rekindles Brie’s forgotten vow of revenge on the men who murdered her father. And it leads her to a strange country where she finds the family she’s always longed for—but also the sinister doings of a one-eyed sorcerer—a sorcerer whose only fear is the young archer and her fire arrow.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-Brie, the archer who accompanied Collun on his adventures in Hero's Song (Harcourt, 1991), returns to continue her story in this action-packed sequel. Seeking revenge for her father's death, the young woman sets out to find the men who killed him. Before she has traveled far, she discovers an important clue to her own pastAa fire arrow given to her mother as a wedding gift. On her quest, Brie has numerous adventures and eventually kills two of her father's murderers. After spending some time in a fishing village, an interlude that marks a shift from Brie's personal conflict to a much more global one, she resumes her travels. She finally meets Balor, the third murderer, intent on becoming the most powerful force in the land, and after the compulsory high-fantasy battle, she alone defeats him. This long, somewhat episodic tale is occasionally awkward in style, and the major conflict is not always clearly articulated. Many of the minor characters are richly drawn, but a full exploration of Brie's character has been sacrificed to the fast-paced action. This fantasy, with its Celtic overtones, has echoes of the genre's mastersALloyd Alexander, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. At the same time, Pattou's energetic imagination has allowed her to create many memorable characters and scenes that are vivid and lively and will appeal to many fantasy readers.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 7^-10. The sequel to Hero's Song (1991) becomes the story of Breo-Saight (Brie), the master archer who joined Collun's quest in the first book of the Songs of Eirren series. At the deathbed of her beloved nursemaid, Brie learns of her birthright, a golden arrow given her mother by Brie's mysterious great-grandmother. A stalwart hero, Brie seeks revenge on her father's murderers, who may also be responsible for the nursemaid's death. And with the magic fire arrow, which seems to have its own agenda, Brie travels through the wilderness heading to Dungal, where she thinks she'll come across the murderers. But when she meets and kills the killer, who had tortured her father, she feels, not the expected triumph, but, rather, remorse. She bides her time in a friendly land, where she heals and finds happiness, until she finds herself summoned in her dreams to a mysterious bell tower. There she meets the evil one-eyed sorcerer, who's been involved in her father's murder and in assorted attempts on her life. With sympathetic characterizations (both human and animal), gruesome foes, and a sinister mastermind, as well as fast pacing, a well-realized landscape, violent clashes, and all the expected elements of good fantasy, Pattou offers a rousing story that is not only a strong sequel that begs yet another sequel but also a fine fantasy adventure that holds up on its own. Add this to the Top 10 on p.1618, even if it does make 11 titles. Sally Estes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Graphia (August 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152022643
• ISBN-13: 978-0152022648
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,438,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page turner, November 8, 1999

By 

C. J. Colli (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Arrow: The Second Song of Eirren (Paperback)

This is an excellent book and I recommended it to my 15 year old son, who normally only reads stuff about video games, and he loved it. He read both the first and second book in 2 days!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just as Great as the First, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fire Arrow: The Second Song of Eirren (Hardcover)

This is just as intoxicating as the first book. Like it, it looks like an ordinary old fantasy book. You know, prince goes to rescue princess who's been captured by evil dragon or ogre or some such. But this book is totally different. It starts out with Brie (you really should read the first ,Hero's song, before hand) reiceiving her birthright ,the Fire Arrow, from her dying nursemaid. She then travels to Dungal to avenge her father's killers. She acheives this, but does not feel happy like she thought she would. She travels to Ardara,where something almost happens that makes you want to punch Brie. Lom is not the one. She belongs with Collun. I won't say anything else, I might ruin it. It introduces a bunch of new characters,and reveals something very surprising about Brie and her family. I recommend this book to anyone who likes magic, fantasy, action or just a great book to get caught up in.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better than "Song", July 12, 2002

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire Arrow: The Second Song of Eirren (Paperback)

"Hero's Song" failed to get much of a response from me at all, aside from mild annoyance at the abundance of cliches and flat characterizations. "Fire Arrow" improves on some of those problems, but still has some deep flaws.

After destroying the Wurme in the previous book, Collun and Brie are living peacefully at his father's old home. Until, that is, Brie receives an alarming fortune from a wyll (wise-woman), and a summons from her aunt and uncle. Her old nurse is dying, and leaves Brie a mysterious golden arrow that becomes fiery when she touches it, and gives her visions. It also brings back her strong desire for revenge against the Scathians who killed her father, including a one-eyed man.

She sets off across the land of Dungal, and spends some time in a fishing village with a crazy wizard and a Ellyl waystation. But when danger comes closer, Brie must leave peace behind, and finds out who killed her father -- and about the impending invasion that threatens Dungal and Eirren.

In many ways, this book improves on the previous one. Pattou shows a greater sense of atmosphere, and is better able to sustain suspense and mystery. She also expands Brie from a stereotyped woman warrior into a more three-dimensional character, and is able to make the conflict seem more epic and realistic than ever before. Sago is an exceptionally-written character, a wiser-than-he-looks wizard who utters nonsense rhymes much of the time. Collun displays more depth and recognizable emotion than the-gardener-who-wants-to-go-home, with revelations about his family that hint at a possible future instalment.

Unfortunately, most of the cast of the previous book -- including the charming Taliesin -- is abandoned;; Silien and Collun are barely there, and Nessa and Taliesin are gone altogether, except for Collun briefly mentioning his sister. Ciaran the talking horse and Fara the Lassie-like Ellyl pet are more present than the characters that I was more interested in. There is a silly coffee joke early in the book, that Pattou refuses to let drop; also, a reference to chocolate in a mythical early Ireland. We are treated to a retread of Collun and Brie's bloodless romance, after Brie flirts aimlessly with a very boring fisherman, and Pattou introduces a long-lost-royalty cliche late in the book, that any adept fantasy fans will have spotted long before.

Brie has developed substantially from the previous book, in that Pattou effectively displays her conflicting feelings and her thoughts on revenge, whether it's wrong or right. Collun is, oddly, more intriguing when we see less of him; I would have preferred to see his fights with the Scathians instead of page after page of Brie in the fishing village. Silien is good, for what little there is of him; we see him taking an active stance against the Scathians. Hanna, the weather-woman, is an effective and interesting character, while the cowardly, nervy Monodnock sucked all the magic and mystery out of the Ellyl.

Despite this book's flaws, it remains a good read for fans of Celtic-themed fantasy, and plucks out some intriguing plot threads that will undoubtedly make any future stories intriguing, especially if Ms. Pattou brings back Talisen and dispenses with the silly coffee jokes.