17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Masterpiece, June 25, 2000
Never having read any of the works of Mr. Card, and not even associating him with the whole "Ender's" phenomenon, I went into this book without any preconceptions or expectations. I found this to be one of the most insightful and unique stories written in the latter half of this century. The concept of a collective who communicates primarily through song is a twist on the norm, and Orson Scott pulls it off with utter brilliance in his prose and form. At one point I had to actually mark my place, put the book down and regain my composure, lest I surely lose my ability to see through the tears. These were not tears of sorrow, mind you, rather tears of joy. This story grabbed my attention and emotions and slung them around like only an E-ticket ride at the Magic Kingdom can do. I have since read anything and everything I can get my hands on by Mr. Card, and not once have I been disappointed. Although some of his works are better known and more popular, "Songmaster" remains my favorite. Find this book and purchase it immediately. On my honor, you will not be disappointed.
Bryon T. Smedley - bsmedley@novell.com
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22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Song of Power, August 3, 2004
Card seems to have a predilection for having child protagonists. But not just any children, rather children who are special, who are prodigies, who in many ways are far stronger than most adults. This book is no exception, with Ansset as the premier Songbird of his day. Songbirds are specially trained child singers, trained in not just the basics of music, but more importantly in how to read the emotional makeup of their audience and express it in their songs.
Ansset is assigned to be the Songbird for the Emperor Mikal, a brutal man who thinks nothing of wiping out the entire population of a planet to further his ends. But the end Mikhal is driving toward is lasting peace throughout the galaxy - a truly benevolent dictator. It is just this moral ambiguity that Ansset sees and understands, just as he can understand, accept, and reciprocate the love of Josif, a bisexual who can only be attracted to one person at time.
In fact, there are no hard and fast moral laws laid down in this book. Fraud, kidnapping, assassination, murder, homosexuality, pedophilia, devotion, political machinations, and, yes, even true love all receive an examination here, and each item is shown in more than one light. A good part of this book's strength lies within these examinations, which are shown by the events and people Ansset is exposed to, rather than by any sort of expository dialogue. The rest of the strength lies within the raw emotion that sings throughout this book, an almost poetic handling of what would be in lesser hands a very ugly set of happenings. Characterization is excellent, for not just Ansset but also all the players around him: Mikal, Ricktors, Esste, Kya-Kya - each are unique individuals that breathe life into this work.
Not so good is the believability of the basic scenarios, from Ansset's incredible ability as a very young child to read the deep emotional makeup of those around him and sing that back to them, certain fighting skills that Ansset learns, even to the musical language members of the Songhouse converse with. While Card makes a good stab at presenting these items in such a way as to try and make them believable, and while reading it these doubts can easily be pushed into the background, after closing the book they leave a bit of a sense of something not quite right, a lack of direct applicability to the 'real' world. While this is not a great flaw, it does bring this book down from the level he achieved in Ender's Game, making it merely very good as opposed to that book's greatness.
--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How does he do it?, August 19, 2001
This was my first Orson Scott Card book, and the second I finished it I rushed out to get another. In my opinion, Card is one of the best American authors ever, and he proves it in Songmaster. This book has so many complex ideas, feelings, nuances, and plot lines, I have no idea how Card dreamed it all up. He never ceases to amaze me, and I never cease to praise his written creations! This book will rock your world.
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