My brother recommended this book to me, along with its two sequels, just
before I left for Australia; he said that he and my sister-in-law had
rather enjoyed it. I was out buying a new suitcase, and on a whim
stopped at a bookstore to see if they were available. They were, and I
bought them. I packed the second and third books
(Prophecy and Destiny) in my checked luggage, and
brought this first book along to read on the plane.

As with Everything’s Eventual, this was a mistake. Not
because it’s a bad book–it isn’t. It’s the story of a young woman who
calls herself Rhapsody. She’s a Singer, on the verge of becoming a
Namer; which is to say that she’s a bard, in a world in which bardic
songs have real power. She’s brave, brash, and clever; she’s also good
looking, and is much sought after by a admirer, a military commander who
call himself Michael the Wind of Death. Michael is a confirmed sadist,
and Rhapsody sees no reason to have anything to do with him. And then
Michael sends his troops after her, and she’s forced to flee.

As it happens (this is an epic fantasy, after all), she runs into the
arms of the only people who can help her–a mismatched pair of killers on
the run from their demon master. The three of them flee from Michael’s
forces (leaving quite a few of them dead) in search of a secret and
magical passage to the other side of the world.

And therein lies the problem. After a number of scenes to get the ball
rolling, the first part of the book consists primarily of a long,
torturous slog through the center of the earth. A lot of character
development occurs, along with a few pertinent adventures, but most of
that part is simply a painful endless ordeal of trudging, trudging,
trudging through cramped, confined tunnels while fighting off nasty
vermin. And whenever I looked up from the book during this phase, I found
myself in my seat at the back of the plane–a plane in which the shades
were drawn, the main lights were off, and most of the reading lights were
off as well. I was cramped and confined, and while I was sitting instead
of trudging the flight still seemed endless. And the cabin of a dark
plane does look rather like a tunnel

Needless to say, this did not help my mood, which was not good to begin
with.

But none of that is really the fault of the book or its author. It’s a
competently written epic fantasy, and considered dispassionately I
enjoyed it. Especially the parts I read after I got off the plane.
I’m looking forward to the subsequent volumes.

However, I do have a few complaints. First, this is a Big Story with a
vengeance–the fate of the world depends on Rhapsody and her two friends.
Second, the story depends greatly on
ancient history, and on creatures and people who have survived from
ancient times. J.R.R. Tolkien managed to pull that off, but
he spent years on the historical background, purely for his own
enjoyment, before he wrote the books that made his reputation. In the
hands of other authors the result usually seems rather comic book.

But mainly, the book is too darned long. I’d estimate that the book
could be trimmed quite a bit without affecting the plot or the character
development in the slightest.

It’s hard to know what to say about this book. It’s not perfect; parts
of it are too long, for one
thing. A little more editing could have taken care of that. And it’s a
bit comic book, too; like so many fantasy writers these days, she’s
forgotten that in fantasy some things must remain mysterious and
evocative. She’s a systematizer, and it shows, and that’s not entirely a
good thing.

But anyway. It’s a competently written epic fantasy, and is certainly
worthy of your time if you like that sort of thing. I’m looking forward
to the later books.