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scrappyreadermum's review
3.0
I’m torn between 3-4 stars. The book was good I just felt it was really long and some parts dragged a bit. The plot of this series was one of a kind for me and really good. I loved reading about Ligea/Sarana and at the start kind of disappointed in the change to Arrant. He turned into a good man though. The development of characters was great. Like Samia who I really liked as a character. The ending was great as well. I loved that you didn’t know what was going to happen to Arrant and what the plans were although I should have worked it out easier with a little hint that’s given 😂 also one question that never gets answered bugs me. Why can’t Arrant use his cabochon work without Tarran?
ireadthebooks's review against another edition
4.0
1. “Song of the Shiver Barrens” actually made me care about a new character.
A lot of the time, when an author introduces a set of main characters and then shifts away from them as a series goes on, I have trouble getting emotionally invested in the new characters. That’s especially true when you have a great pairing (like Ligea and Temellin) and they have a kid and suddenly, the “main character” shifts to become their child. I should’ve known that if any author could make me care, Larke would be that author.
Ligea and Temellin are now both in positions of power, and their struggles are more of the same we’ve already seen. Larke probably knew that might get boring, so she did some sneaky authoring and gave us the opportunity to get to know Arrant in “The Shadow of Tyr.” In Song, she completely shifts so that the majority of the book is from Arrant’s perspective. She checks in with Tem and Ligea through limited POV chapters and letters.
2. Larke focuses on time and character growth, both in years and in maturity.
Larke also took a risk by having a great deal of time pass in this book. The first 300 pages takes place over about 3 years and then there’s a section break and 4 years passes. That whole thing really worked for this story, however, because the story is focused on Arrant’s assimilation into Kardi culture. It also focuses on his inability to control his power and the unease that causes in the Kardi community. If Arrant is going to grow up to come after his father Temellin as the Mirager, he needs to be able to control his power. They can’t have a dangerous, weak leader, and their rivals will stop at nothing to undermine Arrant’s standing in the community and force him to give up his claim to the Mirager title. Arrant’s rival is one of those completely evil, conniving toe rags that you just hope gets stabbed before the last page, and it’s in this conflict that you see how much he has grown from the jealous, immature boy we met in “The Shadow of Tyr.” He’s always aware that no matter what he feels personally, Kardiastan needs a good leader who wants the position not for the power it will give him but to look after the welfare of his people.
On top of his power issues, there’s the larger battle between the Ravage and the Mirage. If the Mirage falls, everyone will lose their magical abilities AND they’ll be hunted by these Ravage beasts that are killing people. Because of Arrant’s mental connection to his brother, Tarran, he’s able to keep Temellin updated on how the battle is going, and the Kardis become involved in that conflict as the Mirager Makers grow weaker.
3. Song was a strong, powerful conclusion to the series.
The pacing of this book was great. Larke’s books are heavy, and they always take me about 100 pages to really sink into and then suddenly, I cannot stop reading them. Once I hit that point in the book, I didn’t stop reading for the entire day. One of the things I love the most about Larke’s style of fantasy is that she’s not afraid to hurt her characters. Larke doesn’t wrap up everything in a neat little bow and every character skips off unscathed into the sunset, emotionally unaffected by the trauma they’ve just gone through. Larke puts her characters through some incredibly tough battles and they have to do a lot of growing and getting tough and being brave.
In the End:
Series conclusions are often hard to judge as a reader. We don’t know what to expect for the ending, and sometimes what we get is just kind of … not enough. That was absolutely not the case with the Mirage Makers series. Larke set her characters up to face this horrible, literal world-eating enemy, with no solution in sight. She made them strong enough to see the conflict through and she did it in a way that complemented the story she had to tell. She didn’t write it all better just because it would’ve been momentarily satisfying. Larke gives you a conclusion you can chew on, not just the first time you read her books, but every time.
Song of the Shiver Barrens was a very worthy conclusion to another stunning Larke series. In the last two years, I’ve read her Isles of Glory series, the Water Givers series, and the Mirage Makers series. I’m excited to start the Forsaken Lands series next and see what else Larke has in that amazing authorial brain of hers.
This review for "Song of the Shiver Barrens" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
A lot of the time, when an author introduces a set of main characters and then shifts away from them as a series goes on, I have trouble getting emotionally invested in the new characters. That’s especially true when you have a great pairing (like Ligea and Temellin) and they have a kid and suddenly, the “main character” shifts to become their child. I should’ve known that if any author could make me care, Larke would be that author.
Ligea and Temellin are now both in positions of power, and their struggles are more of the same we’ve already seen. Larke probably knew that might get boring, so she did some sneaky authoring and gave us the opportunity to get to know Arrant in “The Shadow of Tyr.” In Song, she completely shifts so that the majority of the book is from Arrant’s perspective. She checks in with Tem and Ligea through limited POV chapters and letters.
2. Larke focuses on time and character growth, both in years and in maturity.
Larke also took a risk by having a great deal of time pass in this book. The first 300 pages takes place over about 3 years and then there’s a section break and 4 years passes. That whole thing really worked for this story, however, because the story is focused on Arrant’s assimilation into Kardi culture. It also focuses on his inability to control his power and the unease that causes in the Kardi community. If Arrant is going to grow up to come after his father Temellin as the Mirager, he needs to be able to control his power. They can’t have a dangerous, weak leader, and their rivals will stop at nothing to undermine Arrant’s standing in the community and force him to give up his claim to the Mirager title. Arrant’s rival is one of those completely evil, conniving toe rags that you just hope gets stabbed before the last page, and it’s in this conflict that you see how much he has grown from the jealous, immature boy we met in “The Shadow of Tyr.” He’s always aware that no matter what he feels personally, Kardiastan needs a good leader who wants the position not for the power it will give him but to look after the welfare of his people.
On top of his power issues, there’s the larger battle between the Ravage and the Mirage. If the Mirage falls, everyone will lose their magical abilities AND they’ll be hunted by these Ravage beasts that are killing people. Because of Arrant’s mental connection to his brother, Tarran, he’s able to keep Temellin updated on how the battle is going, and the Kardis become involved in that conflict as the Mirager Makers grow weaker.
3. Song was a strong, powerful conclusion to the series.
The pacing of this book was great. Larke’s books are heavy, and they always take me about 100 pages to really sink into and then suddenly, I cannot stop reading them. Once I hit that point in the book, I didn’t stop reading for the entire day. One of the things I love the most about Larke’s style of fantasy is that she’s not afraid to hurt her characters. Larke doesn’t wrap up everything in a neat little bow and every character skips off unscathed into the sunset, emotionally unaffected by the trauma they’ve just gone through. Larke puts her characters through some incredibly tough battles and they have to do a lot of growing and getting tough and being brave.
In the End:
Series conclusions are often hard to judge as a reader. We don’t know what to expect for the ending, and sometimes what we get is just kind of … not enough. That was absolutely not the case with the Mirage Makers series. Larke set her characters up to face this horrible, literal world-eating enemy, with no solution in sight. She made them strong enough to see the conflict through and she did it in a way that complemented the story she had to tell. She didn’t write it all better just because it would’ve been momentarily satisfying. Larke gives you a conclusion you can chew on, not just the first time you read her books, but every time.
Song of the Shiver Barrens was a very worthy conclusion to another stunning Larke series. In the last two years, I’ve read her Isles of Glory series, the Water Givers series, and the Mirage Makers series. I’m excited to start the Forsaken Lands series next and see what else Larke has in that amazing authorial brain of hers.
This review for "Song of the Shiver Barrens" first appeared on StarlightBookReviews.com.
ashybear02's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the finale of this series as much as the other two, but at the same time, I can't help but have been left feeling slightly disappointed. I thought the writing itself was great, and I really enjoyed the characters (even Ligea/Sarana), but I ended it feeling like more needed answering. We found out what the Ravage was... kind of. I am still not completely clear on what it actually was. And the fact that Arrant never discovered what was wrong with his power. I definitely felt there needed to be some explanation/answer to that, but he was left still without his power.
What I did like was the addition of Firgan. What. A. Villain. For a generally pleasant race of people, he was true evil and I loved it! Really well written.
I also adored the relationship between Arrant and Tarran, right until the end, and the scenes between those two were always my favourite to read.
What I did like was the addition of Firgan. What. A. Villain. For a generally pleasant race of people, he was true evil and I loved it! Really well written.
I also adored the relationship between Arrant and Tarran, right until the end, and the scenes between those two were always my favourite to read.
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