Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie

It was a song of the dead and for the dead; a lament played over and over again calling to the damned. While on the breeze a slow ballad played of dancing, belonging and the end of a life. This ballad was hers, but to him she gave the sounds of golden music to fill his dreams and the promise of greatness whispered in his ears. It was intoxicating the way the notes filled him yet still left him unfulfilled with a longing that tormented him.

For James music is his life, but for Nuala music is life. A leanan sidhe is a muse living on the years of those she inspires and no one has ever said no to a muse. James however is determined to have nothing to do with the leanan sidhe haunting him, despite the wanting and the anguish it is causing show more him. But it is not possible to accept a deal with a faerie without selling a piece of yourself.

Ballad is a tale of death shaped by moments of tenderness, enchantment and song, a sweet yet humorous poetic romance that is sentimental and at the same time perilous. This urban story of music, magic and mayhem is threaded through with the traditionalism and timelessness of faeries creating a world that is wondrous, dark and truly a delight to read. A stunning squeal to the beautiful Lament. show less

Ballad is not a sequel to Lament but a companion piece. It would not be impossible to follow this story without having read Lament, but I think it is a much smoother read if you read Lament before Ballad.

Lament tells a story of the interaction of humans and faeries from 16-year-old Deirdre’s point of view, and I liked her so much that I was disappointed at first to discover that Ballad is written from the point of view of Dee’s best friend James. I needn’t have doubted Stiefvater’s art, however; from this book I came to love James even more than Dee, and I delighted in his story.

James and Dee are now at the Thornking-Ash Conservatory, a special high school for the musically-gifted. It happens that those who are musically gifted show more are more naturally predisposed to sense faeries. [No wonder I can't sense anything!] Dee plays the harp and sings like an angel, and James plays the bagpipes so well he can’t be taught anything by the instructors at school. Dee and James don’t realize at first how much faeries love music, or that faeries seek out cloverhands; i.e., humans who can see them. Dee found out (in Lament) that she is one of the cloverhands, and James can not only sense faeries but he also is able to foresee certain things, albeit without always understanding what they mean. Thus, Thornking-Ash is pretty much crawling with The Fey and their human fellow travelers.

James, with his soulful piping, draws the attention of a leanan sidhe, one of the most human of the faeries, who thrives by tempting musicians to be even better in return for “feeding” her with their souls. But Nuala, as she calls herself, never counted on actually falling in love with one of her intended victims as she does with James, and this creates an unprecedented situation and confrontation between humans and Fey.

Evaluation: It’s hard not to adore both James and Nuala, and to sympathize with their struggle to form a relationship between a human and a fairy creature. I was tremendously impressed by how well Stiefvater was able to get inside the mind of a teenage boy, and make his thoughts sound appropriately different from those of a teenage girl. And Nuala does some of the best snark ever! The ending is lovely, but plot elements linger…. Yes, Stiefvater moves away from faeries and on to the wolves of Shiver and Linger and Forever… and they are even better books. But I would love to see a return by Stiefvater to the world of Lament and Ballad. show less

I love James. In fact, I capital "L" Love him. He's funny and snarky and smart and oh-so-flawed. He's also hopelessly stuck in the friend-zone, and the story he tells from way over there is both hilarious and tragic. That's right. This book is all about James. Even the parts of the story that are told from other points of view are all about James. It's great. He deserves it.

Ballad contains some serious faerie shizz. There's a wack-job wielding an iron crowbar, mysterious singing accompanied by a guy with horns growing out of his head (possibly king of something ;) ), teachers who wear iron jewelry, and the return of Eleanor, Lament's faerie queen, but what this book is really about is how James finally figures out that girls like him. show more At the opening of this book, his heart is continuing to break over Dee. Still, he finally allows himself to revel in the attention of another woman (and though it gets steamy in a few places, it's totally an intellectual romance). He also finally gets to have some guy friends, even if his closest buds consist of Paul, his oboe playing roommate, and Sullivan, his English teacher/dorm parent. Even at Thornking Ash and without Dee (who contributes with text messages never sent between chapters), James figures out how to be happy.

And this is a Stiefvater book. This woman knows how to put words on a page. Her characters are all fully-fleshed people, many of whom I would die to eat Chinese take-out with on a Saturday night. They're funny and smart and a little nerdy. This would be a great book for John Green fans who want to ease into fantasy, or vice-versa.

So far, there's no word of another book in this series, but I still want to throw this out there: Stiefvater, if you're listening, the world could use more James.

Book source: Philly Free Library show less

I am really glad that I'd read other books by Maggie Stiefvater first, as I do like her novels, because "Ballad" was really not good. I'm guessing some of it might have to do with this is one of her first novels, and so her writing and character development skills aren't as strong or well-developed as someone who'd been writing for longer (although there are many new writers do possess those skills right out of the gate). What bothered me the most was how one of the main characters, James, and a main secondary character, Deirdre, were completely untrue to who their core selves were in the first book, "Lament." So much so, that they might as well have been completely different people. I was also highly disappointed that the female author show more had the main character James (a cisgender male character) make sexist "period" and "girl" jokes, because that is so out of character for him from the first novel, and also because, why would she contribute to sexism and misogyny in this way? If these "jokes" had been said by a character who was in fact a sexist misogynist, that would be one thing because it would be true to the character; but they weren't, so it makes absolutely no sense.

Additionally, Halloween and Day of the Dead ARE NOT the same thing! Let me say it again louder for the people in the back: Halloween and Day of the Dead ARE NOT THE SAME THING! Día de los Muertos is an important spiritual/religious holiday, and we're well past the point (even when this book was written) of authors not being responsible and doing their research and conflating the two.

If it isn't clear, overall, I was very disappointed in this book. show less

This book took everything I hated about Lament and amplified it (see my review). Then Stiefvater added some brand new things to hate. I can't stand the characters or their relationships. It's like the author forgot who her characters were when she started writing, so she made up new ones and gave them the same names. I don't know why I care so much or why it affected me so, but I was personally offended by the character's attitudes and behavior. I can't give specific examples without giving away some of the storyline, but I hate double standards and the wishy washy view of love that lacks any real conviction or true selflessness. I also 100% hated the ending. I really wanted to like this book. Lament was great, and Ballad was even show more technically well written. I gave it two stars instead of one because it was well written. Stiefvater is a good story teller, i just don't like this particular story. I was hoping Ballad would tie up some loose ends from Lament, but it didn't - it made it worse. Is it possible to like the first book less because the sequel upset you so much? Geez show less

152. [Ballad] by [[Maggie Stiefvater]]
CAT#16: Books from My Read Soon! Shelves
September RandomCAT: Equinox
James plays the bagpipes, and he's extremely good at it. So good, in fact, that the special conservatory where he attends high school doesn't have an instructor good enough to teach him. But he didn't choose the Thornking-Ash School of Music to help his playing; he's there because of a girl. Because of course he is. And the two of them are mixed up with the Them, who chase teens with exceptional musical abilities. But James becomes more involved with the Fey than even he would have guessed at this new school, and becomes torn between his oldest friend/object of his unrequited interest, and his new and also very interesting friend, show more who happens to be a leanan sidhe. They're all in danger when they discover that the queen of Faerie is planning something big with the horned king of the dead, and James will have to make some tough decisions before it's all over.
I enjoyed this one a good deal, and it's a great follow-up to Lament. Stiefvater has fast become one of my favorites because she has that fabulous talent of blending the supernatural into the real world so effortlessly, and her love of myth and folklore shows, and I love her for that. show less

BALLAD, by Maggie Stiefvater, was an energetic and captivating thrill ride from the first page. Now that I have read 'Lament', the back-story between Dee and James was established and I could explore the next step in their relationship, a very rocky one.

The differing relationships throughout the book were interesting to read. I have not been exposed to Nuala's powers before in a faerie story and that was intriguing in itself. Then James not giving into Nuala because of his knowledge created another surprising dynamic. Also, the fact that James was still trying to be with Dee while she was still in love with Luke, but held secret feelings for James! It was frustrating at times, but in a good way.

This book went to a darker and scarier show more side of the Fey. The anticipation of Halloween and the growing power of the faeries was hanging in the background, while James was trying to lead a semi-normal life and Nuala was trying to quench her hunger. The faeries that confronted James and Nuala were testing their potential powers over humans and human-like fey without any awareness of consequence.

Both James and Nuala underwent significant character progressions. James wanted everything to go back to normal with Dee and possibly take it to the next step, but her downward depression and obsession with Luke made that almost impossible. Nuala was faced with rejection and neglect that she never felt before from a man, which completely changed her perspective on her short life. There was a remarkable battle between self-preservation and sacrifice within both of these characters. Nuala needed to take years from James to survive but she fought against her instincts to have an emotion that she never remembers feeling. And James had to make the ultimate decision between saving his unhinged best friend and his new-found love.

I really liked the character of Nuala. She was definitely something new for James which made them a perfect pair. She was strong, independent, and confident. She lived her life repeatedly without a second thought until James completely threw her off course and made her question her very existence and potential. Even in her last days she did not want saving from anyone, and that puts her in my top heroic female characters list.

I absolutely fell head over heels with this cover before reading the book. And after knowing the significance of the burning leaf, I love it even more! Fall is my favorite season so the color and feeling the cover encompassed remains on my mind.

This was an exceptional and romantic book that completely holds it own against it's counterpart, 'Lament'. They are both magnificent stories which makes another home run for Maggie Stiefvater. show less