Sing the Four Quarters
1 journaler for this copy...
The first novel in the tales of the Kigh ... :-)
Some readers' reviews copied from amazon.com:
A bit bleak, but over all it was some fun (3.5 Stars), November 6, 2006
Reviewer: Lilly Flora "lsdstitch" (Portland, OR)
"Sing the Four Quarters" is pretty interesting as fantasy novels go. I don't means in terms of plot, because basically it concerns a cross country trek and several anti-climatic battle scenes, but because of the world it is set in. It's a fairly standard medieval world with several changes. One is that there are these little elemental spirits called the kigh can talk to certain people, who are the countries bards (the spirits respond to music.) The other, is that although some of the country is essentially terrified of these mostly invisible spirits and deem them to be religiously evil, the sexual morals of the world are completely up in the air. I happened to think this was an interesting contrast.
Other than that, this is about a cross country trek, a plot to tack over a country, some religious bigots, a bard who happens to be the disowned kings sister who got pregnant by the traitor in question (though he was apparently impossibly framed) even though she is a lesbian. Entertaining stuff, a bit bleak in writing style, but worth reading. I found it a bit slow in some parts, but essentially it ranks 3.5 stars. There are other books that take place in this world, but I think this can stand alone as a novel. I have to say though, I don't know now if I'm intrested in reading anything else by this author. I just wasn't that pulled in.
Pregnant Heroine - Unusual and Humorous Fantasy, July 17, 2000
Reviewer: E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA)
The first paragraph of 'Sing the Four Quarters' has our heroine, Annice puking up her breakfast in the privy. Now, if this had been a romance and not a fantasy, I would have guessed right away that she was pregnant, and not cursed by a wizard or suffering some equally fantastical stomach ailment. However, this book is a fantasy and Annice's long term lover is another woman, so I was as surprised as she was, when our heroine finally visits the healer. In spite of the fact that about a quarter of the novel is spent describing Annice's pregnancy, her reaction to being pregnant, and other people's reaction to her being pregnant, it is a good read. Among those who Annice manages to rescue before giving birth are a boy who can 'sing' to air and water sprites (saved from drowning), the one-night-stand who fathered her child (who was about to lose his head to the King's executioner), and her long-term lover (who was wasting away in a dungeon). Quite a list of accomplishments for someone who had problems maneuvering her growing girth up the curves of a spiral staircase! Anyway, the characters in this book are lovingly developed, and the mix of religion and wizardry is quite intriguing. The vividly described all-night vigil in the cathedral on the longest night of the year was the hook that drew me into 'Sing the Four Quarters' and I kept going through the night until I came to story's end. Now, I'll have to order the sequel.
A bit bleak, but over all it was some fun (3.5 Stars), November 6, 2006
Reviewer: Lilly Flora "lsdstitch" (Portland, OR)
"Sing the Four Quarters" is pretty interesting as fantasy novels go. I don't means in terms of plot, because basically it concerns a cross country trek and several anti-climatic battle scenes, but because of the world it is set in. It's a fairly standard medieval world with several changes. One is that there are these little elemental spirits called the kigh can talk to certain people, who are the countries bards (the spirits respond to music.) The other, is that although some of the country is essentially terrified of these mostly invisible spirits and deem them to be religiously evil, the sexual morals of the world are completely up in the air. I happened to think this was an interesting contrast.
Other than that, this is about a cross country trek, a plot to tack over a country, some religious bigots, a bard who happens to be the disowned kings sister who got pregnant by the traitor in question (though he was apparently impossibly framed) even though she is a lesbian. Entertaining stuff, a bit bleak in writing style, but worth reading. I found it a bit slow in some parts, but essentially it ranks 3.5 stars. There are other books that take place in this world, but I think this can stand alone as a novel. I have to say though, I don't know now if I'm intrested in reading anything else by this author. I just wasn't that pulled in.
Pregnant Heroine - Unusual and Humorous Fantasy, July 17, 2000
Reviewer: E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA)
The first paragraph of 'Sing the Four Quarters' has our heroine, Annice puking up her breakfast in the privy. Now, if this had been a romance and not a fantasy, I would have guessed right away that she was pregnant, and not cursed by a wizard or suffering some equally fantastical stomach ailment. However, this book is a fantasy and Annice's long term lover is another woman, so I was as surprised as she was, when our heroine finally visits the healer. In spite of the fact that about a quarter of the novel is spent describing Annice's pregnancy, her reaction to being pregnant, and other people's reaction to her being pregnant, it is a good read. Among those who Annice manages to rescue before giving birth are a boy who can 'sing' to air and water sprites (saved from drowning), the one-night-stand who fathered her child (who was about to lose his head to the King's executioner), and her long-term lover (who was wasting away in a dungeon). Quite a list of accomplishments for someone who had problems maneuvering her growing girth up the curves of a spiral staircase! Anyway, the characters in this book are lovingly developed, and the mix of religion and wizardry is quite intriguing. The vividly described all-night vigil in the cathedral on the longest night of the year was the hook that drew me into 'Sing the Four Quarters' and I kept going through the night until I came to story's end. Now, I'll have to order the sequel.
