Harbinger of Books

Blood Song is a coming of age story - Vaelin Al Sorna is dropped off at the order as a young child and we watch him rise from a boy into a man. He gets caught in a world of secrets where on the one hand he hates who he is becoming and the things he must do but yet he finds satisfaction in the small things of life which makes him human. Vaelin’s struggle is even more complicated because he is caught between two worlds with many secrets.

Overall it is a good story. For me the story is a classic medieval fantasy tale of kids having to grow up under very harsh circumstances. What made this a good story is the glimpse of life outside of the harness of realities it made me care about the characters and what is happening to them. I listen to part of this book on audio and read parts on the kindle. I think that Steven Brand is a fantastic narrator for this one he brought the story to life. The words seemed much more powerful when I listened to him telling the tale as opposed to when I read it.

The challenge in the book was with the actual narrator of the story – the story is told primarily in a first person pov with an older Vaelin recounting his story Lord Verniers. This is a fine way to tell a tale but I expected the narrator – Vaelin to tell the tale and be all knowing but that is not always the case. Then there was the added problem that Verniers does not like Vaelin. So it makes the story more complex when it did not need to be. There are also a series of cryptic statement that don’t do much to further the plot and instead made me roll my eyes for example “..I did not know how much things would change at the moment..” or “He did not yet realize the significance of…” or “He did not know he would see her for another five years…” I have read this type of plot device in other stories and it really builds anticipation. Not so much in this one I think if we had a trustworthy older Vaelin it could have worked but sometimes these statements did not have a meaningful conclusion at other times it just plain old distracted me from the story. By the time we get to Part 5 I was just lost and the chapter felt rushed. I could not figure out who these people were so I guessed at motives and who they were it just did not work. 

The bottom line is the story teller can tell an awesome story – I think the end was just way too rushed so the book ends with way more questions. I am looking forward to the next one and I hope Steve Brand will be the narrator again!