Booklist 5/1/505Gr. 8-11. Constable's sequel to The Singer of All
Songs, 0 2004), a 2004 Booklist 0 Editor's Choice, catches up with
former ice priestess Calwyn and her colorful companions some months
after their vanquishing of upstart sorcerer Samin. Returning
readers must postpone hopes of romance as Darrow withdraws from
soul-mate Cal into a depression, while Cal sets off to rescue
children imprisoned for practicing chantment, advancing her vision
of a world where working with magic is "as commonplace as mending
with a thread or fishing with a net." Constable doesn't push the
basic attributes of Tremaris or chantment in any new directions
here, and the inevitable ebbing of the premise's novelty lays bare
weaknesses arising from a somewhat cluttered plot. Even so,
Constable's description of a world "trembling on the brink of
chaos" is engrossing, and a surprising turn at book's end keeps
interest high for the trilogy's conclusion. The publisher will earn
gratitude from readers for adding the map of Tremaris, an
indispensable reference. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2005
Booklist
PW 3/21/05Calwyn, the heroine from The Singer of All Songs, the
first in the Chanters of Temaris Trilogy by Kate Constable,
journeys with her friends to faraway Merithuros in The Waterless
Sea, to save two children with their gift of chantment (the first
book established that, in their world, the song of the human voice
is the carrier of strong magic). Copyright 2005 Reed Business
Information.
BCCB Jul/Aug 05
Heben, an exile from one of the Seven Clans who rule the desert
isle of Merithuros, is saved from pirate slavers by a group of
magic-using chanters that includes Calwyn (from The Singer of All
Songs), a gifted chanter with a talent for learning new kinds of
magic. Eager for aid but still suspicious of his rescuers' talents,
Heben recruits the chanters to help him save his brother and sister
from imprisonment and death on Merithuros for the crime of using
their magical gifts; in the process of their rescue, however, the
chanters destroy the center of government and incite an apparently
long-overdue civil war. Only a great sacrifice by Calwyn can heal
the soul and ease the thirst of the parched land itself--a
sacrifice which takes from her everything she holds most dear.
Beginning several months after the previous title in the Chanters
of Tremaris trilogy, this volume alternates between the challenges
facing Calwyn and her group and the solitary reminiscing of
Calwyn's love interest, Darrow, over his troubled childhood and
adolescence. Two themes run through the tale: the liberation of
chanters from the limits placed on them by centuries-old prejudice,
and the death of the land of Merithuros as a result of its owners'
wanton ecological malpractices. While the first theme appears in
many different situations, the second is concentrated in the
illness and near-death of Calwyn and one of her friends, a narrow
focus that may cause that particular struggle to seem melodramatic.
In addition, the blandness of Calwyn's character may distance some
readers from the impact of her loss--especially since it seems
highly likely she'll get it all back (and then some) in the third
book of the trilogy. Still, fantasy lovers will recognize in this
fast-moving epic a substantial offering in the traditional style. A
map is included. TC
SLJ
CONSTABLE, Kate. The Waterless Sea. 314p. (The Chanters of Tremaris
Trilogy Series). CIP. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Bks. 2005. Tr
$16.95. ISBN 0-439-55480-2. LC 2004011223.
Gr 6 Up-Picking up within six months of the end of The Singer of
All Songs (Scholastic, 2004), Constable has created a worthy
sequel. While Darrow has temporarily removed himself from the
others to sort out some thorny personal issues, Calwyn and her
friends are trying to liberate five chanter children who are being
held in the Palace of Cobwebs in Merithuros. Without realizing it,
Ca
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