Songs of the Earth

I loved this book from the first few chapters. Well written with superb narration.
A thoroughly engaging read. Really enjoyed it and cannot wait for the parts.

Really great book! From the first moment you are caught up in Gair's troubles and interested in his past, present and future. The narrator does a brilliant job covering all of the characters and really helps to depict each character for the listener. If I had one complaint - it's too short!

I decided to try this after being hooked by another similar type of book by Patrick Rothfuss - The name of the wind.



Overall I really enjoyed this story and set ps up the next book really well.

I came to this willing to like it and I did. I got a bit confused in the middle with the names and different places but I think that was me! I was genuinely moved during the grief moments - well written. The narration was spot on and I look forward to the second installment

I read bad books. I love bad books. And so when I say this is was a terrible book, I really mean it. Honestly, listening to this it is quintessentially like hearing an abridged online guide to 'writing a fantasy cliche for retarded homeless children'. The characters are stolen. The plot is stolen. The style is stolen. The only thing which might not have been stolen is the money that I paid to listen to this terrible drivel. As far as I can see the only reason no one is suing Elspeth Cooper for plagiarism is the fact that she is such a terrible writer that everything she has ripped off has been so terribly mutilated that it would be unrecognisable in court,

Having been taken in by the book's description in which it is compared to 'The Name of the Wind' I had expected a book of a similar, if not the same, caliber. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you can tell from my rating, I was sorely disappointed.



The characters are so bland and flat that a two dimensional shape would feel pangs of jealousy. Due to his lack of any depth the protagonist, Gair, is simply impossible to like. Not that you'll dislike him either; that would require him to have some sort of personality. He simply exists. While the motivations and feelings of other characters are delved into with slightly more success the descriptions ultimately fail to bring any of them to life.



The plot would be passable were concepts not taken almost directly, 'cookie cutter' style, from other fantasy titles and real history and then stitched awkwardly together. Perhaps I am being slightly too harsh and dismissive in that the plot of the book could have been acceptable had it not been poorly executed. That to me is the crux of the matter, I simply could not stand the trudging, simplistic style.



I am sure there are some out there who will love this book but it's simply not for me and I was exceptionally glad to see the end of it.



That all being said Allan Corduner, the narrator, did a fine job however not even his valiant attempt could save this audiobook for me.

It seems like a good story at first (although nothing like The Name of the Wind...as another reviewer has claimed) but there are far too many co-incidents in the plot. Such as the main character discovering/ disclosing he can turn into any animal...I mean come on!

This story is charming, well written with excellent characterisations. The narration is good, but female voices can be a bit irritating. Despite that much better than other's I have listened to.

No matter how long I listened, no spark came. Fantasy is vast, and I expect to be transported, dazzled by the author's fantasy world. This was a damp dishrag. Sorry

This book takes place in a pretty average world run mainly by overzealous priests. The protagonist is well developed and his "magic" is not particularly unique to the world of fantasy books but the way it is presented as music is a nice way of looking at it. The relationships and romance between the characters is very well developed and there is a nice mix of action, adventure, romance, discovery and despair throughout the book. Narration is good.