Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Tor Books (1997), Edition: 1st, 509 pages
Description
When Anna Marshall is transported from her boring and frustrating life in Ames, Iowa, to the very different world of Erde, she's angry and confused. But she soon finds out that for the first time in her life she's uniquely powerful. In Iowa, Anna was a music teacher and small-time opera singer, but on Erde, her musical ability makes her a big-time sorceress-potentially. First, though, she must figure out how to use her ability before the rulers kill her.
User reviews
LibraryThing member nimoloth
This is the first book in Modesitt's series, The Spellsong Cycle, about a singer from our world who is inadvertantly dragged into another world where singing controls magic.
I really liked the idea behind this book, and the basic story was good - I wanted to see how it ended. Unfortunately, it
In general, I felt the narrative lacked depth and body to it - a lot of the book seemed very sparse and thin, like nothing was happening most of the time with speech just thrown in here and there. It's hard to describe - I think perhaps it just needed more description and in particular more character development. The heroine, Anna, was fairly well developed, but pretty much everyone else was very two dimensional or lacked a purpose completely. I felt this was particularly true of the character Daffyd, who should have been one of the main characters throughout the book yet didn't seem to have much purpose - he just seemed to trail along.
It would have benfited, too, from more background and/or explaination of the rules and structure of the magic in the world and the circumstances of her travel between the worlds. Generally there was a lot of background detail that was not investigated which could and perhaps should have been to give the book more grounding and a feeling of reality.
But despite this, I was caught up by the actual story which had a lot of potential. I wouldn't, however, choose to read any more in the series (or anything else by the same author). It was perfectly adequate as a standalone story, with no cliffhangers to entice you to read any further.
I really liked the idea behind this book, and the basic story was good - I wanted to see how it ended. Unfortunately, it
Show More
wasn't very well written. There were both spelling and grammer errors throughout that were more than just poor proofreading. The parts form the heroine's point of view were written in the third person, but the sections referring to inhabitants of that world were in the first person, which I found very distracting and irritating, pareticularly because they were typically only a page or two long and thrown in at random so you never had a chance to get used to the style. Not to mention that they seemed at times rather irrelevant and unnecessarily confusing to the story.In general, I felt the narrative lacked depth and body to it - a lot of the book seemed very sparse and thin, like nothing was happening most of the time with speech just thrown in here and there. It's hard to describe - I think perhaps it just needed more description and in particular more character development. The heroine, Anna, was fairly well developed, but pretty much everyone else was very two dimensional or lacked a purpose completely. I felt this was particularly true of the character Daffyd, who should have been one of the main characters throughout the book yet didn't seem to have much purpose - he just seemed to trail along.
It would have benfited, too, from more background and/or explaination of the rules and structure of the magic in the world and the circumstances of her travel between the worlds. Generally there was a lot of background detail that was not investigated which could and perhaps should have been to give the book more grounding and a feeling of reality.
But despite this, I was caught up by the actual story which had a lot of potential. I wouldn't, however, choose to read any more in the series (or anything else by the same author). It was perfectly adequate as a standalone story, with no cliffhangers to entice you to read any further.
Show Less
LibraryThing member akeithanderson
L. E. Modesitt is recognized in many circles as a master at combining hard science with a great story. In the Spellsong Cycle, Modesitt shows that he can also integrate the worlds of fantasy and music as well.
In Shadowsinger, music teacher Anna is translated from mundane Iowa to a world where
The first novel of the Spellsong Cycle is an easy read and a welcome way to spend a lazy afternoon. The book reads faster than many, in part because of the lack of extraneous detail, and in part because it truly is a good story.
In Shadowsinger, music teacher Anna is translated from mundane Iowa to a world where
Show More
sorcery exists, and music is the form that provides the magic. Modesitt does a more than capable job of merging music with the expected elements of a fantasy/sorcery tale. The characters are recognizable and follow expected paths. Modesitt doesn't paint a world with the details of a Tolkein or Jordan, instead focusing on the characters and their interactions with each other.The first novel of the Spellsong Cycle is an easy read and a welcome way to spend a lazy afternoon. The book reads faster than many, in part because of the lack of extraneous detail, and in part because it truly is a good story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member juniperSun
I thoroughly enjoyed reading a fantasy where the main character is a middle aged woman, however I only gave this 3 1/2 stars because there wasn't any deep message for me...beyond 'better watch what you wish for'. I enjoyed how she was able to transfer her skills in managing work politics into
It also amazes me that for someone who has been a singer the only songs she can remember enough of the melody and words to adapt for magic are mainly childhood rhymes. It was finally mentioned that the strophic meter was most effective for magic--would have been better to state that earilier.
Show More
understanding & managing the rulers in the new world she is transported to. I also think it is regretful that she is spelled with youth and beauty. She could have been just as effective a character if she had been left her own age, tho I can see that it did give Modesitt the chance to comment on social expectations of beauty vs ability.It also amazes me that for someone who has been a singer the only songs she can remember enough of the melody and words to adapt for magic are mainly childhood rhymes. It was finally mentioned that the strophic meter was most effective for magic--would have been better to state that earilier.
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
509 p.; 6.5 inches
ISBN
0312860226 / 9780312860226