Review of Juliet Marillier’s A SONG OF FLIGHT

A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There’s nothing more painful than finding yourself disappointed with one of your favorite authors. A person you worship and usually adore; now you struggle to convince yourself to get through even a single chapter of a book. (To say nothing of waiting years to pick up a volume in the series in the first place – absolute sacrilege!) And it isn’t only because the books are needlessly written in present tense. Though that is a large part of the problem.

There simply isn’t anything to GRAB hold of the reader and keep them engaged throughout the story. Not the plot, not the characters, and not even the otherworldly elements that usually prove so spellbinding. It’s nothing more than a serviceable tale rendered in an elegant hand. Pleasant to the ear and mind, but nothing you plan to set aside time for. And that isn’t what I’ve come to expect from Ms. Marillier.

This is a woman who regularly brings me to tears!

But with this series, I’ve found myself disengaged and bored. Liobhan doesn’t provide the same connection and interest as other protagonists. She lacks the depth of sympathy and empathy that Ms. Marillier usually brings. And it leaves the reader standing that much further removed from the story’s events. (To say nothing of the shock of Brocc being thrown from his home and family; that knife cut deep) Then the ending came out of nowhere, without any satisfactory explanation. Spontaneous good behavior on the part of the Crow Folk? Why? What was their sudden motivation at that moment that hadn’t been present before? It made no sense – save to settle as a deus ex machina to bring the tale to a close. (Not satisfactory in the least)

This was entirely lackluster. And it shames me to say so because I’ve worshipped everything Ms. Marillier has written. But I can’t get behind this series.

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