Customer Reviews

Shadowsinger (Spellsong Cycle, Book 5)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In Book Four (The Shadow Sorceress) of this five-book Spellsong Cycle, Secca, the ward and foster-daughter of Anna, the Great Sorceress, takes center stage after the latter dies. There is already a disruption in the harmony in the land, as it were. Combating malevolent home-grown sorcerers and staving off the invasion of the women-hating Sea Priests from afar have almost killed Secca.

The Shadowsinger, as Secca is now called in Book Five, along with her sorcerer-husband Alcaren, and a remnant of lesser sorceresses, take the war to the Sea Priests home islands [1]. When the climatic batte is fought, the Sea Priests are vanquished. Secca becomes the first ruler-sorceress of her homeland Defalk. Defalk remains the only super-power at the end of this saga.

Characteristic of Modesitt's writings is the familiar theme on the struggle for geopolitical power and authority and how they are used or abused [2]. In the Shadowsinger, essential leadership qualities with power and authority are contrasted among the relative good (Secca the Shadowsinger), the bad (Robero the Lord of Defalk), and the ugly (Maitre of the Sea Priests).

Modesitt could have written more on music and its effect on the lives of his characters. Afterall, music conveys loneliness and of pain, of strength and freedom, of life and love, of death and sorrow, and of disappointment and never-satisfied love. All these he has written, though contrained and under-developed, in the five books.

If there were a juncture where Modesitt would come through in writing love and music other than music and war, it is between the courtship and marriage of Secca and Alcaren. It would be a spark to the reader if Alcaren, the destined husband and music partner for Secca, says to her bride, "Ich bin mit einem obligaten Accompaniment auf die Welt gekommen"[3]. She then in turn patiently explains and demonstrates to the obliging husband the technique of playing Fernando Sor's "Obbligato on Etude in B minor."

It is ironic Modesitt selects music as the conduit for sorcery. This is a one-dimensional and warped exercise on the speech of the angels. Then again, this is a fantasy - everything is allowed and then some. On balance, it is a fairly good read.

A few final remarks on this last book of the Spellsong Cycle. They all pertain to editorial oversights.

1. The familiar map of the Continent of Liedwahr is curiously omitted in this final book. If one were
to read this book, he would have no reference as to what's where and where battles are fought.

2. The age of Secca and her assistant-sorceress are different in Book Four (The Shadow
Sorceress) and Book Five (Shadowsinger).

* Secca is 25+ years old (Chapter 13, The Shadow Sorceress)
* Secca is 35+ years old (Chapter 6, Shadowsinger)

* Richina, assistant sorceress to Secca, is but a" few years more than a girl" (Chapter 9, The Shadow Sorceress)
* Richina, assistant sorceress to Secca, is now "more than fifteen years younger than Secca"
(Chapter 2, Shadowsinger)

3. This one is really a salient oversight on Modesitt's part. He thinks he is writing about Candar
from the the Recluse series. Here is the quote made by the Maitre of the Sea Priests as he and
his command are out-maneuvered by Secca and her allies.

"Wards that are not wards, or more than wards. Ships from all across Candar..." (Chapter 75,
Shadowsinger)

__________

[1] The crux of the geopolitics and ideological elements in the Shadowsinger parallels the war actions post-September 11, 2001 when United States takes the war of terrorism to Afghanistan. The Shadowsinger is first published in February 2002.

[2] The Saga of Recluse is a long and skillfully crafted study on power and authority. There is the cut -and-dry "black" or "white" ideology, and the in-between "grey" ideology. All are expressed or represented by the respective ideological magic/sorcery.

[3] Attributed to Beethovan: "I was born with an obbligato accompaniment"

I read both book 4, Shadow Sorcceress and book 5 Shadow Singer in tandem which was helpful in keeping the story line fresh to mind. Initially, at the beginning of this series, I found it a stretch to believe in song sorcery, but Modesitt makes the concept viable through his engaging characters and fascinating worlds that he creates. I was glad to see the development of both the female sorcerer Ashtaar in Wei, and the Maitre of Neserea who had been neglected in the 3 earlier books except for brief mention scattered throughout them.In my opinion, this series is much more a woman's read because of strong female characters who exhibit strength and true power.

It was sad when Lady Ana died, but the firey redhead Lady Secca through several near death experiences is able to succeed albeit much devastation results from her self doubt and trial and error battles to overcome the sea priests' invasion and conquest of their lands. The introduction of a male sorcerer who becomes her husband is a welcome addition to her life and to the story line for it balances the concept of power sharing among the genders who inhabit this magical land and offsets the alienation by the male rulers and land holders who, feeling threatened, fight her every step of the way while she is trying to save their bacon.

The reason for the deterioration of rulership by JimBob/Lord Robero remained unclear to the end. His motivations were suspect, but was he merely stupid or simply greedy? In any event, the conclusion and his comeuppance was fitting and the author created a logical and satisfying closure to a fascinating saga.

The characters seemed to be much more rounded in this book than in others of the series. Anna's cameo appearance certainly tickled me. Kestrin's fuming at his impotence to affect matters gave the book an unhurried feel (those who have read the Recluce saga and earlier novels in this cycle will know that the author likes to move the action along faster than a speeding bullet).

The Plot: Secca gets hitched, saves Dumar whilst avoiding yet anohther treacherous noble and scheming assistant and gets stuck. She launches her own version of a cruise missile to kill the main obvious bad guy. The bad guy is actually the Maitre who promptly kills one of the sorceresses and starts chaining women.
Secca sails off to bring volcanic destrucction to Stura, so the Maitre, in a fit of picque, starts destroying the countryside ala Sherman's march on Atlanta. Secca gets back in time, finishing off the last of Sturrin's ships, to save Defalk killing so many lancers that the survivors refuse to attack her. The apocalyptic final showdown with the Maitre is short and creates a silver lake where a city stood - she's left with a silver ring in her eyes as are Richina and Alcaren. Robero removed from power and life the book leaves us with the impression that she will become Lady of Defalk. This just doesn't ring true. You can't just assume power in Defalk, none of the other lords or ladies would accept it, to say nothing of the assassins of the Lady of Shadows. She has the perfect tool to hand in Lord Eryhal (of Dumar) and Lady Aerfor (of Nesarea and Mansuur) to convince both states that incorporation into Defalk is not going to be one of conquest. Oh and Mansuur is just going to let Nordwei have total domination of the seas for in thirty years they would have become as powerful as Sturrin had been. Then there's that sea-priest advisor loose in Defalk. Since Jolyn, as senior, has the title Sorceress of Defalk, Secca going home leaving Jolyn to arrange matters would have been a better ending.

Were I that sea-priest, I would want to transport Secca and all those with her to the Mist World of Anna, before I tried to take over the world.

This cycle has more to run.

Shadowsinger, the final book in the Spellsong Cycle, starts off fairly slowly but picks up the pace as the book continues. It's a pretty enjoyable tale, although it's a bit repetitive, and every "key decision" made by the protagonist is telegraphed several chapters ahead of time. So there are no real surprises that make you say, "Didn't see that one coming!". The ending was a little weak as well and in my opinion made Secca seem like a ruthless dictator instead of a well-meaning sorceress. Pick up this book if you enjoyed Book 4 of this cycle, it's a decent conclusion to the storyline.

The great spellsinger Anna (from Earth) is dead but her work lives on in the person of Secca, Sorceress Protector of Defalk. The Sea-Priests have invaded with armies that far outnumber all of the forces that Secca can muster, especially since her own lands are divided in loyalties and even Roberto, the Lord of Defalk, cannot be fully trusted. Accompanied by a small group of lancers, her consort, and a junior sorceress, Secca must somehow defeat the huge armies and the numerous sorcerors of the Sea-Priests. If she cannot, the Sea-Priests will impose their ways--which include enslaving all women and cutting out the tongues of female sorceresses--on the entire world.

In this fourth novel of the SPELLSONG CYCLE, author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. confronts Secca with the ultimate choices. Either she must use the spells that even Anna feared to employ or lose everything. Secca struggles with her choices--wishing for any alternative but too courageous to take the honorable but losing way out. If genocide is the only option, it is an option that she cannot afford to discard.

Modesitt always writes an exciting adventure and SHADOWSINGER is no exception. Secca travels around the fantasy world confronting one Sea-Priest army or fleet after another. Through clever use of magic, and the development of spells that the Sea-Priests could not even contemplate, she is able to destroy all she faces. Yet the Sea-Priests are patient. At best, a complete victory means only that their conquest will be delayed.

Unfortunately for the novel's suspense, Secca is simply too strong a sorceress. Despite the Sea-Priest Maitre's cleverness and planning, and despite his confidence in his massed drummers and sorcerers, Secca merely escalates her level of destructiveness with each encounter. Although Secca is badly outnumbered, and although the Sea-Priests' habits of killing and enslaving hardly make them admirable, I almost ended up rooting for the underdog, hoping that Secca will get hers. Hardly, I think, the message that Modesitt was trying to send.

Modesitt fans will want to read this summary to the SPELLSONG series. If you aren't already hooked, you might try one of his other novels. Modesitt is a great writer--but SHADOWSINGER doesn't represent his best writing.

"Shadowsinger" leaves a whole lot to be desired.

Lady Secca, Sorceress-Protector of Defalk, has married Alcaren, hidden Sorcerer and Lord of Ranauk (where women rule), and they're in deep, deep trouble. At the end of "The Shadow Sorceress" (book 4), the Maitre of Sturinn was on the loose, a nasty Sorcerer has gained power in Neserea, and no one knew what was going on there despite all their scrying with mirrors.

Secca and Alcaren do have some assistance as they set off to fight; they have the help of the Matriarchy of Ranauk (this comes in handy during several sea battles, which are ridden out on Matriarchy-controlled ships) along with some minor assistance from the state of Norwei. And they have Secca's experienced musicians ("players"), who accompany her and boost her power, along with an assistant sorceress who's rapidly improving (Richina) to spell her now and again, as well as a whole lot of grit and nerve. They're willing to fight the "good fight," and keep the Sturrinese and the nasty Nesereans out of Defalk, and aid their sworn allies to the best of their ability.

In between fighting battles with the various folks out to get them, Secca and her cohorts must fight her own land's leader, Lord Robero. He's afraid of her, yet he needs her to defeat Defalk's enemies; it's a very subtle balance, and the pendulum is starting to slip.

And the Sturrinese, a nasty race of men who enslave and chain their women, are making overtures toward Robero, too. Meaning Secca and the others have a whole lot more problems.

All of that is fine, as far as it goes. But I think Modesitt went too far with the Sturrinese, as they are just too maliciously evil to be believable. They are the equivalent of Germany under Hitler and the Nazis -- but worse.

Even Nazis didn't chain their own kinfolk.

The rank evilness of the Sturrinese causes all sorts of other difficulties, because it just doesn't logically fly. Simply put: I'm supposed to believe that the Sturrinese men have been willfully chaining and torturing their women for umpteen-hundred years? All of them? Why? Why do this to their mothers, their sisters, their lovers? And even if they believe it's right, morally and ethically, it still makes no sense.

Why would they want to take 1/2 of their work-force out of the equation? (Trust me, with the type of chains those women wear, they are not able to do most labor, and even doing "minor household tasks" would be a major stretch. They wouldn't be able to do much else with the constant strain of carrying around and wearing those nasty heavy chains.) How can they afford to do something as idiotic as that?

And why hasn't their "empire" fallen about their heads long before this out of sheer stupidity?

Getting back to the story, the Maitre, leader of the Sturrinese and their most powerful Sorcerer, says that they've united 1/4 of the world under their "beneficent leadership" (paraphrase mine). Why would anyone else in the world sit still for this? Sorcerers can be taken out, and not just by other Sorcerors/Sorceresses (we only saw it happen once, I think in book 2, but it has happened and probably could happen more if people used tactics instead of brute force); a massed force could have toppled these asinine, ahem, *individuals* long before this book starts.

That took a full one and one half stars away from the potential five right there. And could have taken far more, if the rest wasn't so engaging.

In addition, although I like Secca and Alcaren very much as characters, they don't get much time to grow together, and the romance between them is truncated. I disliked that very much. Even when times are hard and bad, if you're partners and you believe in one another and trust each other, you can find more time for romance. Granted, Modesitt hints very well and there is some very subtle romance going on (as well as some not-so-subtle lust). But it's not enough for my taste.

In addition, I don't believe Secca would take over as Lady of Defalk, not after all Anna had to do to stay out of that position. Granted, Secca can still have children; she's in her mid-30s, and she's not too old, plus she could always adopt (this was a possibility with Anna if Anna had kept the throne). But one of the big points made in both books 4 and 5 was that Alyssa, Robero's consort, was smart and tough. Granted, Alyssa couldn't keep Robero from doing stupid things, but was it her fault she couldn't control him? She's no sorceress, only a very smart woman, who got the Hell out of the way when it was clear to her that her husband was Hell-bent on destruction (which, to me at least, proved how smart she was).

It would have made more sense to have had Alyssa resume holding Defalk as ruling _Lady_ -- and have the heirs be picked by her, Jolyn, and Secca alike. Secca shouldn't be the ruler, because there is at least one nasty Sturrinese priest out there, and anyway, the other lands are going to be in violent upheaval for quite some time. She doesn't have time to both be a ruler _and_ put down all the strife in my opinion.

And by Modesitt putting Secca on the throne, it brought up another question. I kept wondering how Secca, who was the pre-eminent sorceress of the world of Erde, was going to be able to train successors? Granted, Richina (her assistant) is well on the way to becoming independent, but Secca shields Richina from the worst spells and doesn't seem to want to let Richina in on the decision making, meaning at best that Richina, once she starts taking students, won't be able to teach ethics or decision making. And that's not right, because Richina is powerful (albeit young), and deserves to know what's going on.

And there was one writing idiosyncrasy that drove me nuts throughout all five books of this series. Every time Modesitt goes away from his main character (whether it's Anna in books 1-3 or Secca in 4-5), he switches from past tense to present tense, almost as if to say, "We're looking through someone else's eyes now!"

Trust me. The reader can figure that out without this sort of clue. There's no reason to do this, it's distracting, and every time Modesitt did it, it made my teeth grind. Which is why I took another 1/2 star away.

Now that I've gone through the minuses, let me count the pluses. The characterizations were very good in the main; Secca and Alcaren are believable, vivid people. I especially liked Palian, the Chief Player. I enjoyed the idea of harmonies and dissonances being used as a form of magic (although I'm still unsure as to how it'd work, exactly). And I believed in the struggles Secca was having with her usage of power.

Still. Compared to "Adiamante" or the four books about the Ecolitans or even to books 1-3 of this own cycle, it doesn't work. It's not as strong as it could have been, and that's a shame.

Three stars.

Barb Caffrey

While a good read, Modesitt sticks to the same formula -- and as successful as it is, the books are coming more and more predictable. I enjoyed it -- mostly -- but felt a little let down.

The people who rule the Sturrinese Islands are a despotic lot, who shackle their women in chains and rip out the tongues of female sorceresses. They always seek to expand their empire and their present target is the land of Liedfuhr where Anna, the Soprano Sorceress brought peace to her corner of the land. Now that she is gone, her foster daughter Secca, also a powerful sorceress, is trying to keep the sea-priests from ruling her land.

Although she is not convinced that her powers are as strong as her adopted mother, she has, through magic, sunk an invasion fleet. Prior to that, she met and fell in love with Alcaren and he with her. He uses his magical powers to augment hers and to defeat their common enemy. Tired of the never ending battles, Secca decides to bring the war to the Sea pirates own lands but even if she is successful in that endeavor she still must rid her land of the ruler Sturrin and his many followers if peace is to return.

This fifth and last novel in the Spellsong Cycle is by far one of the best sword and sorcery novels of the new millennium. L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is a visionary who has created a brand new world that seems so real and lifelike readers will believe it actually exists. Although this is a stand-alone work, lovers of fantasy will want to read the previous four books in this fantastic series.

Harriet Klausner

As soon as I saw Shadowsinger on the shelves at my local Borders I bought it. Up to now I considered the Spellsong Cycle one of the hidden treasures of fantasy fiction. Modesitt has a great way with action that doesn't interfere with character development, and vice versa. I cared about this land and the people in it, most especially Ana. This was her story, her overcoming her insecurity and self doubt, her adventure. For me, the entire story was about her.
When I reached the page where she died, I stopped reading. There was no point in going on. The story, at least the story I cared about, ended on that page. So it was with a feeling of deep disappointment and building anger over being supremely cheated by the author--Ana deserved to be reunited with her daughter dammit!--that I returned the book to the store from whence it came. For those of you who feel the same as do I, don't read this pile of tripe. End your relationship with this wonderful character in The Shadow Sorceress, and use your own imagination to give Ana a fitting end to her adventure.
Mr. Modesitt I remain a fan I guess, but in all honesty, I have had a hard time selecting one of your books since the day I read Shadowsinger.

I thought the third volume of this series was the last. I had actually hoped that the first would be the last. While I admit that Secca and Alcaren are nowhere near as annoying as Anna was, and the musical reference are not as stupid as they were in the first three volumes, I pray that the promises are true, that Modesitt, whose science fiction stuff is fun and mostly worth reading, will abandon this awful area and go back to what he knows how to write.

There are other fantasy series that understand music much better, The Dragonriders of Pern being the first, the Haydon RHAPSODY cycle being the best. As a music teacher, I have felt a trainwreck-like compunction to read these so called music fantasies, but I can't express in words or song how happy I am that they may finally be over.