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Luthiel's Song: Dreams of the Ringed Vale (1997)

by Robert Marston Fannéy

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Luthiel's Song (book 1)

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2058130,936 (3.86)19
"Luthiels Song" is an epic fantasy novel for young adults. First Summers Eve has come and all elves celebrate as the black moons shadow fades from the world. It is also Luthiels 15th birthday. With it come two extraordinary and dangerous surprises: a Wyrd Stone, its silvery heart a window into a world of dreams and nightmares, and a Blade Dancer, dreaded protector of the Faelands, who bears a dark message.… (more)
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» See also 19 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
I really enjoyed this. It started out really well but then toward the middle it slowed way down. I still enjoyed it. I'm guessing the second half of this was background set up for the next one. ( )
  LenaR0307 | May 30, 2016 |
I'm not a big fan of fantasy, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Robert Fanney. He has created a vivid, believable world of elves and monsters with a delightful female protagonist.

Luthiel is a gentle, compassionate and loyal character who has some amazing talents but also struggles with her inner turmoils and I think teenage girls, especially, will relate to her. She is supported by other great characters including Othalas, the werewolf, Melkion, the little dragon, and Mithorden, the scorcerer.

The book starts fairly slowly and I was constantly referring to the glossary as characters are introduced and the plot developed, but I soon found myself engrossed in the story. There is the classic good verses evil theme throughout, but there are times when the two become blurred and the question is posed, can evil ever be excused?

This book will delight fantasy lovers and I'm really looking forward to reading the next story in the series. Thanks, Rob. ( )
  HeatherLINC | Jan 23, 2016 |
I was a little apprehensive at first--I don't always enjoy when there is a glossary or any type of appendix in a book. However, I've been wanting to read this one for a while--I got the Boston Public Library to purchase it. (Yay!)I started into it with high hopes and...

I was on page 300-something, finished the book, and now I have to get the sequel to see what happens! The story is interesting, fast-paced, and pretty inventive.

I'm not the biggest fan of epic fantasy books because of how many made-up words there are but it wasn't terribly hard to keep up with this one and, like I said, it was a ridiculously quick read. ( )
  FlanneryAC | Mar 31, 2013 |
Luthiel's song is a lovely fantasy novel with an epic quest. The Lord of the Rings inspiration is obvious but by no means a rip-off. She does meet a wise Sorcerer and there are times when the action stops for the obligatory meals so no character goes hungry.

Luthiel's song is pretty chaste and the capacity for the character Luthiel to commit the errors Frodo did don't appear to be there. I never once doubted she would do the right thing which created a safe atmosphere despite all the danger she faced when she headed through the vale to offer herself up as a replacement. That aspect is why I only gave this four stars. Maybe the character development will evolve as the story progresses.

My only problem with this book was the lack of showing why Luthiel felt like an outsider. They certainly accepted some dodgy leadership but she seemed well liked if not loved. She did seem loved. I think the community of elves accepting their own up as tributes was well handled in a myriad of ways to back up the story. The village are too accepting of wrong simply because it is the law. I hope the warning she received about not trusting people who claim to want to help actually comes into play however. She made friends quite easily despite that foreshadowing. No one has betrayed her trust yet.

If you like the Dark Angel trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce this might be your cup of tea. It is mine. I found those and this book refreshing that (so far) the series is about showing others compassion. The adventures are exciting and well paced. The relationships she had with each creature were all well developed outside the Elven home she grew up in. No character was shunted for alpha male love interests.
All and all this was a great book. ( )
  peptastic | Jun 3, 2012 |
Not too long ago, I read A Game of Thrones, an excellent fantasy novel with exceptional world building (with fantasy elements kept in moderation--just the way I like it), intrigue and suspense provided by a complex plot, and fully realized characters. That sucker grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

As a fantasy, Luthiel's Song failed because it lacked all of the above. It didn't grab me. Hell, it barely groped me. It was like the awkward boy who took you to the 10th grade dance and was so set on making a good impression that he barely made an impression at all. By the end of the night, you would have welcomed an attempt at copping a cheap feel because it would have given you a good story the next day to tell your friends and verify that he did, in fact, know of the existence of the bases. Suffice it to say, this book did not give me a good story to tell my friends. And I began to wonder if it even knew where the bases were.

In Luthiel's Song, the fantasy world was overkill and full of self-referential terms and concepts that are seldom clearly explained. Granted, that could have also been because tedium set in early on and I found myself not caring much about piecing all that mumbo-jumbo together. (Oh, and you know what really irks me? When fantasy novels have a "helpful" appendix in the back and half the words and terms you look up aren't listed.) We have elves, we have werewolves, we have talking animals, we have giant killer spiders, we have giants, we have dragons, we have fallen-angels-who-have-become-vampires, we have ghosts, we have wizards, we have valkyries, we have magic crystals, we have swords that are important enough to have names, we have portals between worlds. It's a bit like the author won a shopping spree at Ghouls R' Us. In other words, we have every fantasy trope and cliche under the two suns of Oesha (yup, even two suns).

The problem with all of this fantasy "clutter" is it leads to the second problem: weak characterization. The characters never really differentiate themselves based upon personality. We never know much about Luthiel other than, as an orphan, she has always felt out of place (and, like all orphans, she will predictably turn out to be more than she seems) and she loves her sister, Leowin, so much that she's willing to offer her life in her sister's stead when Leowin is chosen as a sacrifice for the Vyrl. Cue the adventure in which Luthiel will learn about herself as she encounters mystical threats and finds unlikely allies. Yawn.

Now, all of this might be a little more entertaining to someone who hasn't glutted themselves on fantasy as I have over the years. Most of this is predictable with a very "been there, done that" flavor. It's not necessarily that bad, but it's not necessarily that good. Instead of moving on to the next book in the series, I think it may be time to check out George R. R. Martin's A Clash of Kings. After all, those Lannisters know where the bases are. ( )
  snat | May 22, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (1 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Robert Marston Fannéyprimary authorall editionscalculated
Friedman, Matthew, REditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Oum, SiyaCover Artist & Interior Artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Alternative titles
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Important places
Important events
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Epigraph
The Lilting

Silver slips that ringed the Vale
The mists that curled the air
Cupped in stone like snowy fists
All wreathed in gossamer

Lunen danced,
Her silken beams
A gauntlet to the night

And nine they rode
Their fiery steeds
To brave false mornings' light

Hey ho! said he
The grim faced god
Whom winds named Vlad Valkire

His fist clenched strong
His sword-slim, long
Cold-wrought
Dubbed Cutter's Shear

Which clove the air
And set the night
Ablaze with starlight fire

Shear clove to heart
Undid Undeath
And slew desire

The nine danced
Sacred lilting shades
To Vlad In rebel's song

Who reigned over Vyrl
Brought to life
And freed the cursed chained long

When all was won
The battle done
Of nine
But three remained

A pact they made
An oath of blood
To purge the murderer's stain

So they grew
Again to shine
Like angels
Of Ëavanya and Ëavanar

Aedar
Of old,
Daughter of Elquellia
And sons of Evanestar

From his charred glass throne
Vald reigned O'er all
Goblin, elf and Vyrl

For three hundred years
Summer to summer
With neither blight nor quarrel

Till black moon dreams
Scarred his nights
And in winter's nightmare
He roamed

So he returned
To Lenidras of old
To craft
His last two stones

Of wryd they were
Of dreaming sighs
Of fancies strange and light

Dim colored one
Cool as breezes
A drifting rim of night

The second danced
Like starshine lingers
Upon the ocean's hair

One for his sire
One for his mother
Both old wounds to repair

But with her first touch
The lady fell to sleep
And dreams of Gorothoth

Were she yet fights
The strange lord's spell
Of winter cold and dark

But with her loss
Into madness
His grim sire fell

His cry pirced the forest
Aroused the Sith
His words a demon's spell

And tree and vale
From crag and rock
His might flew out to do battle

But Vlad received him
Cast down his Shear
Ordered his soldiers
"Bare no metal!"

So Vlad Valkire
Met the rage of his sire
Whose name may never be spoken

Vlad gave up his Shear
With words of love
With words of wrath
The cold wrought blade was broken

Now Shear all shards,
His hand once strong
Now weak in dying strains

Unleashed blood,
And his wrath
Cries out to kin
From those gleaming stains

For now my friends
Of Vlad Valkire
And his love
Merrin of ocean waves

We know but this-
She sleeps in grief
As he lingers
On tongue of father's blade

The three they grieve
With starving wail
The loss of their boon lord

And twist to bind
Their long held oath
Sealed by the bite and sword

To dance in mist
To hunt their bond
To grant, guide and receive

And sing with songs
The dance lilt long
With kin and sow fate's seed
The Lilting

Silver slips that ringed the Vale
The mists that curled the air
Cupped in stone like snowy fists
All wreathed in gossamer

Lunen danced,
Her silken beams
A gauntlet to the night

And nine they rode
Their fiery steeds
To brave false mornings' light

Hey ho! said he
The grim faced god
Whom winds named Vlad Valkire

His fist clenched strong
His sword-slim, long
Cold-wrought
Dubbed Cutter's Shear

Which clove the air
And set the night
Ablaze with starlight fire

Shear clove to heart
Undid Undeath
And slew desire

The nine danced
Sacred lilting shades
To Vlad In rebel's song

Who reigned over Vyrl
Brought to life
And freed the cursed chained long

When all was won
The battle done
Of nine
But three remained

A pact they made
An oath of blood
To purge the murderer's stain

So they grew
Again to shine
Like angels
Of Ëavanya and Ëavanar

Aedar
Of old,
Daughter of Elquellia
And sons of Evanestar

From his charred glass throne
Vald reigned O'er all
Goblin, elf and Vyrl

For three hundred years
Summer to summer
With neither blight nor quarrel

Till black moon dreams
Scarred his nights
And in winter's nightmare
He roamed

So he returned
To Lenidras of old
To craft
His last two stones

Of wryd they were
Of dreaming sighs
Of fancies strange and light

Dim colored one
Cool as breezes
A drifting rim of night

The second danced
Like starshine lingers
Upon the ocean's hair

One for his sire
One for his mother
Both old wounds to repair

But with her first touch
The lady fell to sleep
And dreams of Gorothoth

Were she yet fights
The strange lord's spell
Of winter cold and dark

But with her loss
Into madness
His grim sire fell

His cry pirced the forest
Aroused the Sith
His words a demon's spell

And tree and vale
From crag and rock
His might flew out to do battle

But Vlad received him
Cast down his Shear
Ordered his soldiers
"Bare no metal!"

So Vlad Valkire
Met the rage of his sire
Whose name may never be spoken

Vlad gave up his Shear
With words of love
With words of wrath
The cold wrought blade was broken

Now Shear all shards,
His hand once strong
Now weak in dying strains

Unleashed blood,
And his wrath
Cries out to kin
From those gleaming stains

For now my friends
Of Vlad Valkire
And his love
Merrin of ocean waves

We know but this-
She sleeps in grief
As he lingers
On tongue of father's blade

The three they grieve
With starving wail
The loss of their boon lord

And twist to bind
Their long held oath
Sealed by the bite and sword

To dance in mist
To hunt their bond
To grant, guide and receive

And sing with songs
The dance lilt long
With kin and sow fate's seed
Dedication
To all those women strong enough to be heroes, fair enough to be ladies, this song is for you.
First words
'To be me is to be different,' she thought as she watched them, from her place apart from them, upon the hillside.
Quotations
I cannot change what will happen. I can only change how I act in the face of it.
May your feet ever walk in the light of two suns... and may the moonshadow never fall on you.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

"Luthiels Song" is an epic fantasy novel for young adults. First Summers Eve has come and all elves celebrate as the black moons shadow fades from the world. It is also Luthiels 15th birthday. With it come two extraordinary and dangerous surprises: a Wyrd Stone, its silvery heart a window into a world of dreams and nightmares, and a Blade Dancer, dreaded protector of the Faelands, who bears a dark message.

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