Warriors, missions, Druids and the Fey, what could be more enticing?
The Harp of Kings (Warrior Bards #1) by Juliet Marillier
A strong fantasy, although I must admit it took me a few pages to get used to the three voices. Those of sister and brother, Liobhan (Ciara), singer and whistle player, and harper Brocc (Donal), along with Dau (Neesam) a chieftain's third son. Three training to be warriors for a place within the exclusive warrior group of Swan Island. "Brocc and [Liobhan] prepared for months to win places in the training course, from which maybe two or three out of the twenty will be chosen to stay as permanent members of the Swan Island force. Nobody wants to be sent home."
An unusual request takes them on a mission before their training is finished. A mission that will bring consternation, open up mysteries of hidden ways and lead the three into troubling yet concerted action. An important artifact has gone missing from the kingdom of Briefne, an "instrument known as the Harp of Kings. To the people of Breifne, it’s of deep significance. If it isn’t played at the ritual, the man who’s up for the kingship won’t be accepted by the populace." A new king is to be crowned. That harp must be found!
Unfortunately parts of Briefne has been harassed by giant crow like figures that wreak destruction on those who they come across. Dau has a run in with them before reaching the court. They are part of the mysteries that surround the Harp and its origins.
The importance of those mysteries are referenced when the woman healer Erine reminds Liobhan (Ciara), “Your kind have forgotten the old ways,” ... “You have forgotten the importance of the tales, the wisdom of the past, the strength that rises from tree and stone and stream, the bond between one world and the other. It is at such times of distrust and disruption that dark forces like these rise up to shadow our world.”
The three along with their mentors infiltrate the court in disguise, seeking the harp, in the face of significant dangers, and some major revelations.
I was on the edge of my reading seat with much of the story, what with the competition between Dau and Liobhan, with the potential mishaps for them in the face of the brutish heir to the throne and his henchmen. Each character surprises, particularly IMO Dau.
Brocc seems to always march to the beat of his own drum .. or rather harp, and pursues matters in quite a different way to the other two, with some interesting results.
A bardic saga in the making that will invite, entrance and thrill. Intrigue, mysteries, druids, and the fey all play a part both in the present and in stories to come.
A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley
*****
An unusual request takes them on a mission before their training is finished. A mission that will bring consternation, open up mysteries of hidden ways and lead the three into troubling yet concerted action. An important artifact has gone missing from the kingdom of Briefne, an "instrument known as the Harp of Kings. To the people of Breifne, it’s of deep significance. If it isn’t played at the ritual, the man who’s up for the kingship won’t be accepted by the populace." A new king is to be crowned. That harp must be found!
Unfortunately parts of Briefne has been harassed by giant crow like figures that wreak destruction on those who they come across. Dau has a run in with them before reaching the court. They are part of the mysteries that surround the Harp and its origins.
The importance of those mysteries are referenced when the woman healer Erine reminds Liobhan (Ciara), “Your kind have forgotten the old ways,” ... “You have forgotten the importance of the tales, the wisdom of the past, the strength that rises from tree and stone and stream, the bond between one world and the other. It is at such times of distrust and disruption that dark forces like these rise up to shadow our world.”
The three along with their mentors infiltrate the court in disguise, seeking the harp, in the face of significant dangers, and some major revelations.
I was on the edge of my reading seat with much of the story, what with the competition between Dau and Liobhan, with the potential mishaps for them in the face of the brutish heir to the throne and his henchmen. Each character surprises, particularly IMO Dau.
Brocc seems to always march to the beat of his own drum .. or rather harp, and pursues matters in quite a different way to the other two, with some interesting results.
A bardic saga in the making that will invite, entrance and thrill. Intrigue, mysteries, druids, and the fey all play a part both in the present and in stories to come.
A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley
*****
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