Singer of Souls

Disappointing. I very much liked roughly the first 2/3 of the book, particularly the protagonist's bardic gift (which first manifested as a terrific gimmick for a busker), but the last third or so was dark, depressing, and inconclusive.

The descriptions of violence throughout the book were somewhat more graphic than I prefer, and it got worse at the end. I really wanted, and more than half expected, that his grandma hadn't really been gorily murdered by the faeries, and that it was going to turn out that the gorey corpse was akin to a changeling, and she had really been captured by the faeries in order to control him. I would have liked where that story went much better than where this one did.

Since it looks like the sequel doesn't show more directly continue the protagonist's story, I doubt I'll read it. show less

Douglas Stewart is trying desperately to climb back out of the bottom of the barrel. He’s gotten himself off of drugs, but knows that if he continues living with his old friends, who still use, he’ll just fall back into his old ways. On a whim, he depletes his paltry savings to get all the way from Minneapolis to Edinburgh, Scotland. His grandmother lives there, and had promised her grandchildren that they could always stay with her if they had the need. Right now, Douglas is nothing but need, and Grandma Stewart takes him in on the condition that if he can’t stay clean and sober, he’s out.

Douglas happily throws himself into Scottish life. A gifted guitar player, he makes an excellent living busking, or playing on the street for show more money. Edinburgh has a thriving street performance scene, and Douglas’s skill at sizing up his customers and then on-the-spot extemporizing personalized songs sets him apart from the crowd…so much so that a beautiful woman approaches him one day and asks for a private song session. When Douglas decides to waive payment on her song, she gives him a gift instead…a vial of white powder which he believes is drugs. When he finds himself unable to throw it away, he takes the powder, and discovers that it might just be something worse than he thought. The powder has given Douglas the ability to see fairies and other magical creatures—and not all fairies are cute, sparkly, and harmless.

Suddenly, Douglas is caught up in a fight for his life, trapped between a twisted priest who has made it his life’s work to destroy the fairies and everything associated with them, a revolutionary group of fairies who want to use Douglas to throw off the oppressive rule of the elven upper classes, and the beautiful fairy queen who gave Douglas this dubious gift in the first place. When Douglas discovers that his talent for extemporaneous song-writing may have more than a touch of magic to it, he begins to fight back. show less

SLJ Reviews 2005 October
Website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com


Adult/High School -Douglas Stewart, 22, has two obsessions: guitar-playing and heroin. He has recently broken the hold the narcotic has on him but realizes that he needs to get far away from his old life in Minneapolis if he has any hope of staying clean. He flies to Edinburgh and the sanctuary that his grandmother offers. Finding that busking is a viable profession there, he uses his gift for on-the-spot composing to establish a comfortable income among tourists. But an encounter with a mysterious young woman leaves him with a vial of white powder that he can not resist. Injecting the substance does not give him the expected high; rather, it opens his eyes to the vast show more populations of fey folk on the streets of the city. Suddenly, he is caught up in a battle between two factions of magical creatures that have been warring for countless generations. Add to the mix a sadistic priest devoted to eradicating all such beings and the fact that Douglas's talent gives him a power in the netherworld that he barely understands and the ingredients for a highly original adventure are in place. Faintly reminiscent of Ash in the cult film Army of Darkness , Douglas is an antihero whose tragic flaws make readers root for him that much harder. Stemple blends the majesty and brutality of the faery world with the grit and pulse of contemporary society. He writes with an assurance that belies the fact that this is his first adult novel and shows himself to be a voice to be reckoned with-and much anticipated.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA show less

A captivating and interesting tale that really draws you in until about the last thirty pages. Things get really rushed and disconnected, and ending is extremely unsatisfactory. I was sorely disappointed and left wanting more. The final actions and fate of the main character don't mesh well with the personality he built up earlier in the book, and seem to hint at a follow up novel without any real substance.

While the book is indeed fiction and based on Scottish folklore and legend, Stemple constructs a readily believable scenario that falls apart in the last moments. It's a shame that the reader is so forcibly stripped of the ability to suspend his or her disbelief; it would have been a terrific story otherwise.

This one started really well, and turned into a disappointing mess at the end. It blends scottish culture with a knowledge of music and manipulated fairy folk. The problem is the ending - what the heck was the author thinking? The ending was either a very rushed mess or very subtle foreshadowing for the sequal.

I saved this book from a trash bin - was actually a decent read. Stemple did a good job for his first attempt at writing. The story invovles a druggie with musical talent and hidden power - not a new idea but decently written. Overall a simple but enjoyable read, not something i'd read more than once though. But entertaining enough i'm checking out what else Adam Stemple has written.

Douglas flees from Mieapolis to Edinburgh and moves in to try to change his life with his grandmother. Then he bumps into a faerie woman who gives him a gift of sight and his life changes. His music becomes quite important to him and those around him.

It really caught my imagination but near the end it felt a bit rushed.