Source: Goodreads
Calwyn has only ever known a life inside the great impenetrable wall of Antaris. She knows there is more to the world – after all, where else would the traders come from? but she is content with her quiet life as a priestess to the ice goddess. Then one day a man appears claiming the impossible, that he has flown over the wall. Worse yet, he claims another is coming after him who seeks to rule all of Tremaris, and who holds the power to become the master of all nine magics – The Singer of All Songs. Now it is up to Calwyn, who must summon all her wits and courage, to brave the unknown world with the help of a stranger in order to stop an evil that could destroy not just Antaris, but all of Tremaris.
The first book in Kate Constable’s Chanters of Tremaris trilogy is deeply satisfying and wondrously spellbinding. Her magic system is powered by song; different notes and octaves having entirely different effects, from general elemental control to animal speaking and ice forming, to illusions and healing. The world of Tremaris itself is amazingly diverse and nuanced, especially for something published over 10 years ago now.
When I read this book brand new in 2004 during a Harry Potter dry spell, it captivated me, and I probably read the whole book in a day knowing my 12-year-old self. Rereading it a dozen or so years later was just as magical, even though I had to space out my reading a little more because I no longer have the luxury of summer breaks in which to devour six months worth of books.
Calwyn is a complicated heroine. She yearns to understand herself and her place in the world, which of course is in constant change because of the adventure she embarks on, but she also has more basic desires. She wants love, she wants family, and she wants peace. Her courage is always simmering just below the surface, ready to leap to attention at the slightest provocation. As the main character, Calwyn is a bit of “Chosen One” or “Special Snowflake”, but she also contains the vast mysteries of her unknown past, her mother’s life journey, and her clearly missing father.
The Singer of All Songs is on the fence of a Middle-Grade/Juvenile or Young-Adult label. Nothing overtly sexual takes place, but there are quite a few hints dropped as to what goes down during the festival of shadows, and relationships in general. The ‘romantic relationship’, if it can even be called that, between Calwyn and Darrow is pretty much only them looking out for each other and thinking about whether they like one another or not while being slightly possessive. That’s as far as it goes in the first book anyways. I’ll need to finish my re-read of the rest of the series before I can give you an accurate report. The storyline itself lacks the ‘lesson’ which most middle-grade books contain, so I would push this one a little closer to young-adult because of that, but otherwise there’s no objectionable content for the under 14-year-olds.
The only reason I would take stars off is that I think including some of the words or tunes for the magic system would have been extremely cool. I know that’s a ton of work to create and remember, but when books come out alongside Harry Potter, readers start wishing everything was just as immersive as J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World.
HHC Rating: 4.5 Stars
Other reviews in this series: Book #2 – The Waterless Sea Book #3 – The Tenth Power (Review Available 6/27)