Customer Reviews

The Song (Sons of Destiny, No 4)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Once again, I have dived head-first into the world of the eight Brothers of Nightfall and spent several blissful hours absorbing the magic that is Jean's storytelling.

In "The Song", readers finally experience the resolution involving Evanor (the fourth-born of the Brothers of Nightfall) and his lost voice. We also meet his Destined bride, Mariel, and her son Mikor. Both characters introduced in the third book, The Master.

One might think that a repetition of a theme, namely "brother meets Destined bride", would grow old by the fourth time, but not in these stories. New and fresh conflicts keep the stories interesting. I was at the edge of my seat, unwilling to put the book down, when the challenge in this book manifested.

Though the story is technically about Evanor, and certainly revolves around his voice dilemma and the challenge of facing not only his Destined bride, but also getting to know her son from her previous marriage. The rest of the brothers, led by the indefatigable Kelly, struggle with finding a substitute for Evanor's magic of the Voice, which allowed communication throughout the Isle, and the threat of conflict with Katan, the nation that exiled the brothers in the first place. Ingenious ideas and unflagging spunk win the day... at least for now!

"The Song", like it's predecessors, is a romantic, heartening and intriguing introduction to more of the mystical world that the Brothers of Nightfall live within. Though it brings resolution to two issues, more challenges still face the growing citizens of the small island. Introduced in "The Song" is a whole new conundrum... to whom shall the new nation turn to as a Patron Deity?

I can't recommend Jean's books enough. Readers will find themselves laughing, biting their nails, crying, and screaming for more before they even reach the final chapter of "The Song". Thankfully, we know we will get more. We've still got four brothers to go, and at least two of them pose such challenges that I eagerly await seeing how the youngest, Morganen, the Mage and Matchmaker, will resolve them!

Really with the Son's of Destiny series Jean Johnson has set quite a challenge for herself. She has created a huge cast with the eight brothers and the eight mates that are appearing one by one and she has also laid out a story that builds as each brother's destiny unfolds. The Song is fourth brother Evanor's book and it is not quite as successful as it's predessesor's The Sword, The Wolf, and The Master. The previous books limited themselves to having just a couple of the non-starring brothers playing decent sized roles in the story, so there wasn't alot of time taken away from the main romance to try to flesh out all eight of them, so Saber, Wolfer and Dominor's romances were more satisfying. Also in these earler stories there wasn't as much background to rehash. Here both of those elements, the reintroducation of the brothers and their mates and the recaps of what has gone before, really bog the story down in places. Add on to that a great bit of intricate detail on the invention of a magical artifact to fill the role of a cell phone in a non-technological but magical world and there were places in the story that didn't hold my interest and I was tempted to skip over all of this filler that didn't move the story forward at all and made the first half of the book pretty slow.

When the story finally did pick up it was the background elements of the story that moved things along, so I suspect the real problem with this book was that Evanor's story was really thin. The more poignant parts of Evanor's tragic loss of his voice and his magic were already done in the previous book. After seeing him so despondent over losing his voice along with his important role as the magical focal point for communication between the brothers and after watching his frustration with becoming pushed into the background whenever the brotherly hoard convened now that he could no longer be heard, I really felt sorry for him. Johnson doesn't capitalize on this pathos in Song however, Evanor's has somehow moved past most of that torment and there is no suspense as to whether Evanor can find a healer to help restore what was lost and or as to how a potential mate will end up on Nightfall to allow hime to fulfill his destiny. Add to that the fact that while Evanor was a really nice guy, and his destined mate Mariel was probably a nice woman, Mariel either wasn't developed all that well or just wasn't that interesting a character. To top it off, the relationship between Evanor and Mariel lacked obstacles to overcome and there wasn't anything else in the place of that conflict to spice things up between them. Basicly, they were a done deal from the start.

Even with all the above griping (sorry) there are definitely parts of the story that I enjoyed. Unlike many other readers, I don't dislike Kelly. I like the way that she thinks outside the box. (But I do think that we can leave the word 'virago' out of the rest of the books, is she really as shrewish as that implies? And leave her clever contributions to the managing the threats to the new Kingdom of Nightfall and leave out the gory details of any futher inventions.) I love Morgannen and Johnson is doing a good job of setting up for his, Rydan's and Korannen's turn in the spotlight -- while Trevan's story is next, I am looking forward to these final brother's stories the most, so I hope that the series stays popular enough that Johnson's publishers will allow her to finish it.

If this would have been the first book in the series written I would not have bothered to pick up another by this author. I had to go back and read my reviews on the previous books to remind myself that I did enjoy them, since I cannot fathom why at this point.

I fervently hope that someone will tell Johnson to please remove the character of Kelly from such a dominant figure in the story. Is this Kelly's story or Evanor's? I have to ask because I believe she had more pages dedicated to her overbearing, annoying ways than he did with his voice problem and romance. First off--what happened to her being Queen only during weekends and holidays? She now orders everyone around like they were no better than lapdogs. I hate the whole "we can't pick a deity because in my world we don't." Hellooooo! You are no longer in your world. Your world tried to burn you alive in bed!

The absolute worst part of the book was the cell phone debacle. Why? What was the point to dedicate 1/3 of a book on the function, purpose, and parallels of a cell phone to magic. Then another portion of the book to creating like equipment on the island. How did the cell phone contribute to the storyline? I'll tell you how, it didn't. Therefore, that entire chapter that went over in painstaking detail how to use a cell phone was a waste. Yes, somewhere out there a tree died for the use of the copied paper that created the chapter...and I mourn it's senseless death.

*Sigh* Despite my raving disappointment I did buy both The Song and The Cat at the same time. Therefore, chances are I'll read the next book. I soooo hope Kelly plays a very...very small part in it and that Johnson gets back on track with a plausible and more action packed plot. This book, in my opinion could be skipped. Suffice it to say, Evanor and Mariel hooked up with no problems at all and Kelly formally declared the island independent. Yep, that is the WHOLE story summed up in one sentence. Imagine all those dead trees! HA!

Quick note:
This is the fourth book in the "Sons of Destiny" series. My review is aimed at people who have been following the series. If you are interested in reading the series, start from the beginning:
The Sword: A Novel of the Sons of Destiny (Berkley Sensation)


The Song:

I'm about 100 pages in, and just can't read one more word. Although this is supposed to be Evanor and his destined mate's story, it is turning out to be more Kelly's story. About half of the first 100 pages were spent on Kelly. I have to say, at least she is being civil in this book. Still, she is annoyingly controlling and condescending towards everyone on the island. Kelly again knows everything and tells everyone how to solve every problem. Worse, by far, is the fact that she is constantly referring to herself as their queen. It's no longer just a ruse for enemies. Kelly has taken the title seriously. To Kelly, Nightfall is now "MY Kingdom". Whenever there is a decision that someone disagrees on, she states that she is their queen and she is making a "sovereign decision". Nobody argues. Everybody bows down. I can't read another word.

I wish I could make myself push through it. I really want to read about Evanor getting his voice back. I like the woman he is being mated with, and love her little boy. Unfortunately, this book isn't really about them. Besides Kelly's take- over, there are pages upon pages of mundane discussions about "cell- phone technology", "mineral mining" and other such things. I'm bored to tears and thoroughly annoyed all at once.

I was looking forward to Rydan's story most of all. He seemed so powerful and mysterious. After watching him bow to Kelly, he's lost my interest. I may buy a used copy of his book, but I won't pay full price for another book in this series.



If you enjoy romance stories that include paranormal magic, I suggest these:

Heart Mate (Celta's HeartMates, Book 1) (Berkley Sensation) There is a whole series that follows. I'm just starting this first book in the series and I'm glued. The ratings on the books that follow it are all very high.

The Calling (Immortals, Book 1) This is the first of a series as well. I enjoyed 3 of the first 4 books (the second wasn't as great) and look forward to the next one.

The Devil's Possession (Berkley Sensation) This is a newer author. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading her next one.

This book is my favorite so far in this series!!!I loved Kelly's "Who am I" speech. That had my jumping on my bed shouting "YOU GO GIRL!!!TELL 'EM WHO YOU ARE!!!" Needless to say that bought everyone in my house to my room to see what the commotion was. Ev needed someone like Mariel to heal him. This is a must read!!!

This is the weakest of an actually very good series. Everything in it is recapitulated in 'The Storm' which follows and is a far better book. Read that instead - you won't lose a thing.
Evanor is a likeable character, the easy-going, domestic brother. He has lost his voice and therefore his ability to do magic, and needs a Healer. One arrives, a widow with her young son, and of course you know right away that she is his Destined Bride.
Evanor being such a calm, mild person one would think that Johnson would provide a perky, active mate to provide a challenge and contrast with him. No such thing. Mariel is placid and, dare I say it, bovine. Their interactions are yawnworthy.
To find something to fill the book since there's hardly any romance, Johnson goes into unbelievable detail about such things as creating magical versions of cell phones, etc., which no one cares about since we're not going to be able to create such magical toys in our world. Plus politics. Plus the history of the island. Plus how to create a government. Plus...everything except a romance. Most of this irrelevant and uninteresting stuff could be covered in a couple of paragraphs, not the pages and pages she devotes to it. The story ends with a several page lecture delivered to Mariel's young son. He needs it. We however do not.
The book was so dull that I found myself skipping huge chunks - which I never normally do. Also there's a flaw in this Destined Bride idea. Since we know who the Destined Bride is from page one, there's not even any suspense to keep us going. Usually the journey would make up for that. This time however it doesn't.

This is the first book I picked up by Jean Johnson. I admit she is a wonderful writer and she weaves a great tale with a lot of background and history between the brothers. My main dislike about this book was there was not enough focus on the two main characters points - Evanor and Mariel.

It seemed like only two-fifths (2/5) of this book was a romance that focused on the two who were supposed to be the main characters. The rest of the book was either in the previous brothers and their wives points of view, Mariel's son, or misc others. When I buy a book, I want to know about their love story and how is progresses. Not for the book to focus on several other characters, changing direction from the two.

I have to say that I flipped and skipped through pages in this book with the thought in my head ringing over and over again 'Just get back to the main characters already!'.

Fourth born of the second set of twins Evanor lost his voice, therefore losing his powers after a long fought battle with his family's greatest enemy. Evanor feels lost without his powers and being able to communicate. His family does what they can to help and Evanor respects their efforts but the only thing that will help is getting what he lost returned. Evanor rest his hopes on a young widow and healer, who may heal more within Evanor than he anticipated.

Mariel and her adolescent and quite mischievous son are uprooted, leaving behind all they know for Nightfall Island. Could this mysterious land and the beautiful, powerless mage she's coming to care for more than she should be home for Mariel and her son?

I did not find The Song to be a very captivating story, but I did think it was worthy of a note. I'm not familiar with the previous books in this series so the beginning of the story was a rough start for me. As I continued to read, who everyone was and how he or she fit in the series became clear, and I have to say I found Kelly to be aggravating. Evanor and Mariel are two very kindhearted people, but I felt their story and romance lacked substance. I really liked Evanor and felt compassion for his situation, but I found other characters in the story were much more interesting than he was. Even though I wasn't totally besotted by this story, The Song did peek my interest in the overall series especially the stories to come involving the two other sets of twin.

Ley
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Evanor has lost his voice but will the prophecy offer him salvation?

Evanor's magic was in THE SONG and the loss of it has devastated him. Mariel is a Healer from a distant and foreign land. She offers Evanor hope of regaining his voice, but will they find love as well? Meanwhile, how will the Katani Council react when they realized that the residents of Nightfall Isle have defied them?

Jean Johnson continues her interesting series featuring eight brothers, four sets of twins, who have been exiled to Nightfall due to a prophesied curse. Evanor is the fourth brother and his turn for love is a sweet one. Mariel isn't as headstrong as the previous heroines but she has a solid sense of family. Her son, Mikor, is the real hero of the story though, as his antics lead both to trouble and hilarity.

THE SONG is not truly a stand alone as it jumps right into events that occurred in THE MASTER. The multitude of characters could become somewhat overwhelming to someone who hasn't read the prior books. In addition, the dominance of Kelly (see THE SWORD for her entry into the series) diverts the story quite a bit from the romance of Evanor and Mariel.

THE SONG is perhaps the weakest book yet in the series, which surprised me as I had been looking forward to Evanor's story. The romance itself is sweet but the real heart of the story is on the political maneuvering, both on Katan and Nightfall Isle. The last portion of the story somewhat redeems the story as the characters come to the forefront of the tale again. Prior to that, many pages are spent trying to translate cell phone technology into magic and the focus on the characters themselves seems somewhat lost in the particulars of the world itself.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I really wanted to love this book. I loved The Master because Kelly wasn't in it as much. Why does she have to be in every book so often? She had her own book.
Let her stay in it. I bought the Cat and I'm going to read it but if she appears in that one as much then I am done.