So, this is it. The end of Haydon's fabulous trilogy! I know, when asking Goodreads it isn't shown as a trilogy but rather as six volumes. But nevertheless, the first three novels build a union. Book four and five seem to be closed stories who aren't even half as good as the trilogy and the last book, well that one just seems to be strangely without a real plot. I don't know when or whether I will read anymore books in this series because I'm so very very satisfied with the first three. I'll sort of review the trilogy as a whole, trying not to spoil anything.The Symphony of Ages is a fantastic, high fantasy series. The great art of fantasy, which is not mastered by many authors, is to build a unique world that doesn't feel like any other book that you've read before. Haydon is a genius when it comes to world-building. Her trilogy tells the story of the Cymrians, an ancient people that had to leave their sinking majestic island world Serendair. On their ships, they crossed a timeline and having arrived in the new world, they discover that they don't age anymore. But hundreds of years and wars have decimated the Cymrian population and also shaped the world. Rhapsody, a young woman from Serendair, and her two friend Grunthor and Achmed also cross the timeline, yet underground and not on a ship. When they emerge, 1400 years have passed and they find themselves to be part of some ancient prophecies which make it their destiny to kill a demon, the F'dor.Throughout her three books, Haydon spins a tale of love, friendship, deception and honor. The politics of the different country are well-drawn. I love her unagitated way of presenting us different races, as if they are something natural... which of course it is. Rhapsody is a woman of many talents, she is a Singer from the people of the Liringlas, and also a Namer with great power. Her beauty is unheard of and she enchants many people with it. Her extraordinary beauty, that she needs to hide most of the time, was a bit stretched out too much in the past two novels. I was delighted to find that people seemed to have gotten used to it now. Rhapsody is honest, loving and forgiving. Following her on her quest was a delight to read. Where she was simply too good to be true, her two companions could balance this impression with their rudeness, brutality and their inappropriate manners or humor.It's absolutely impossible to mention all the important aspects that made me love this novel. But I have to mention one more thing. The trilogy features an epic love story which takes an important role in the plot without completely controling it. I always like it when there's everything in a fantasy world, the whole spectrum of emotions which shouldn't ever forget love, or even some (!!) intimate scenes.In this last novel of the trilogy, I had to change my mind about quite a few characters. Haydon's numerous side characters are described in vivid detail and most of them are quite complex with surprisingly dark (or good) sides to them that came unexpected to me.Being one of the books that sucks you in immediately and won't spit you out until you've read it all, I think all fantasy fans should have read these wonderful novels, men and women alike.
This book is the type of book that I love and hate simultaneously. I literally found myself hanging on every word (and they are such magical, illustrious ones)as I slowly turned the pages, fearing that I might miss yet another pithy, entertaining statement from Mr. Conroy. OK, so the only hate aspect of my relationship to this book is the arduous task of noting all I wanted to remember with post-it flags and highlighter marks, not to mention looking up a few words whose meaning I obsessively had to learn. There is so much to love in what Pat Conroy conveys to us about his reading life, a prolific one to say the least. Conroy must be the best-read author ever. I'm not sure when he finds the time to write, but, of course, I'm most grateful that he does. I was fortunate to hear this wordsmith speak at a book festival, and remember hanging on his every word then, not just smart this Southern charmer is but laugh-out-loud entertaining. Reading this book was akin to listening to the silver-tongued tale spinner himself. Insights into Pat Conroy's life and growth as an artist are, of course, an inexorable part of what he has read and why. Seemingly ordinary people, starting with his bibliophilistic mother, places, authors, and books devoured are given separate chapters in which Conroy brings each alive with his memory and their value. Gene Norris, a high school mentor/teacher may be singularly responsible for my beloved author channeling his love or reading and writing into a path of genius. I felt a moment of epiphany when Conroy talks about "exactness" as being a "virtue" and responsibility of a writer. As with all meaningful writing, this love story to reading will prompt you to read more, both of Conroy and others. I count meeting Pat Conroy at that book festival as one of the highlights of my reading life. Fortunately, I didn't know just how smart he was at the time, as his down-to-earth Southern civility and habitual smile belie the erudition of his demi-god status. His bearing and manner invite you to blurt out whatever is on your mind, and he greets it with interest and grace. Reading his story of his reading life, as if there is any other kind, one gains understanding of how an author so sublime could be so humble
Do You like book Destiny: Child Of The Sky (2002)?
All the bad stuff from the second, plus some.I originally picked up this series because I thought it was fantasy, with a little bit of a love story thrown in. Turns out, it's a romance novel with a fantasy setting. I despise the 'perfection' of the main character, as well as Ashe's (and everyone else's) obsession for her. I find Rhapsody's perfection only to be evident in that the author tells us it is so, rather than Rhapsody's actions. She is quick tempered and judgmental, and feels she is always justified in her opinions and actions.It's a shame that the series ended up like this. I enjoyed the first book enough to buy the next two books at the same time. I didn't expect the plot to be overshadowed by Rhapsody's rather obnoxious relationship.
—Jenn Cotton
It's an epic fantasy. The plot is fine. Interesting things happen, and the writing is okay. Haydon writes a lot of prose about the history of places and the way things look, which I tended to skim after the first hundred times. My biggest problem with the book is that as the series moved forward, the author's treatment of the main character (Rhapsody) started to grate on my nerves. Everyone in the series begins to worship Rhapsody in some fashion. Rhapsody is written as the most beautiful, the most wanted, the most loyal, the most talented, the most humble--you get the picture. She's kind of a Mary Sue character. I read the first two books in the series two years ago. It took me that long to get over the nauseating descriptions.*If you can get beyond these two things (or you happen to love that type of thing), then I think the series is worth reading. I doubt I will read the rest of the books in this world. (At least not for another few years.)*Granted, the first book was better than the first in the treatment. It was the second that really pushed my limits.
—Kelley
I remember reading this book when I was on vacation in Germany when I was sixteen. I liked it then.Unfortunately, almost ten years later, I do not like it anymore. It got tossed along with the others into the donate pile; should I ever want to read them again, I can just get them from library.What I still like:-The worldbuilding! Still fantastic.-Achmed! Still snarky and badass.What I like more now:-Oelendra and Anborn. Not sure why. I was ambivalent on them when I was younger, now I think they're pretty boss. Anborn especially.-Constantin. He turns out awesome too.What was unfortunate:-Gratuitous Rhapsody hair descriptions: will they never cease? The answer is no.-The romance between Rhapsody and Ashe. It's so sickeningly sweet that I had to skim in order to get through it. He never wants to see the stars other than reflected in her eyes! I wish I was joking about that line. I really do.-The awful sue-ness of Rhapsody continues. Everyone falls in love with her! Everyone loves her completely! She's voted Lady Cymrian pretty much without contest! ugh. Someone needs to just dislike her because she's so perfect and such a Sue. I've read...well, there's no such thing as a good Sue, but I've read more tolerable Sues in fanfiction. Rhapsody was pretty much unbearable. -The killing of the F'dor. They led all the way up to this in all the books, and it takes like...a few pages, and then it's back to Rhapsody/Ashe melodrama. Why, Haydon, why?It's clear she can write well and build a good world, but instead she gives it all away to Sue writing.I guess if you're going to read this story, read it *for* the worldbuilding, and for Achmed, and do your best to ignore everything else.Will not reread further.
—Kit
