THE SONG by Jean Johnson

Evanor has lost his voice but will the prophecy offer him salvation?

Evanor’s magic was in THE SONG and the loss of it has devastated him.  Mariel is a Healer from a distant and foreign land.  She offers Evanor hope of regaining his voice, but will they find love as well?  Meanwhile, how will the Katani Council react when they realized that the residents of Nightfall Isle have defied them?  

Jean Johnson continues her interesting series featuring eight brothers, four sets of twins, who have been exiled to Nightfall due to a prophesied curse.  Evanor is the fourth brother and his turn for love is a sweet one.  Mariel isn’t as headstrong as the previous heroines but she has a solid sense of family.  Her son, Mikor, is the real hero of the story though, as his antics lead both to trouble and hilarity.

THE SONG is not truly a stand alone as it jumps right into events that occurred in THE MASTER.  The multitude of characters could become somewhat overwhelming to someone who hasn’t read the prior books. In addition, the dominance of Kelly (see THE SWORD for her entry into the series) diverts the story quite a bit from the romance of Evanor and Mariel.

THE SONG is perhaps the weakest book yet in the series, which surprised me as I had been looking forward to Evanor’s story.  The romance itself is sweet but the real heart of the story is on the political maneuvering, both on Katan and Nightfall Isle.  The last portion of the story somewhat redeems the story as the characters come to the forefront of the tale again.  Prior to that, many pages are spent trying to translate cell phone technology into magic and the focus on the characters themselves seems somewhat lost in the particulars of the world itself.

Rating: 3

The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge