Song of the Beast

Aidan is the king's cousin, but as he begins his narrative he has just been released after seventeen years brutal imprisonment; imprisoned at the age of twenty one for reasons not quite clear to him, but presumably with the king's knowledge. Aidan is a remarkable man. In his youth he was renowned as a singer of unsurpassable talents, able to move the hardest of hearts; as such he travelled throughout the lands performing to all from kings to beggars. But now, having been silenced he is released from his home fro most of his manhood, the dungeon. But his is not free; there are still those who pursue him, some to keep him silenced, others who seek to use his voice for other reasons. Aidan takes us along his epic journey, and gradually unravels the part the dragons play in his life and troubles. He encounters the Elhim, the at best ignored and at worst despised race who have neither male nor female, and Lara, the daughter of a warrior dragon rider who aspires to be as her father. While Ms Berg seems to like her main characters marred on the outside, which the once handsome Aidan after his torturous imprisonment most definitely is, on the inside he has only a good and pure heart, a mild and good mannered man wishing vengeance on none. Although Aidan narrates most of the tale, occasionally one or another of the characters takes over if only briefly; a device which keeps us on edge for we can never be sure of anyone's survival. From the very first pages it is certainly a gripping tale such is Carol Berg's writing skill; something we are accustomed to with her other three volume epic, the Rai-kirah saga. Song of the Beast weaves an intricate, unpredictable, imaginative and enthralling story, producing a book which once started is hard to put down.

Serious, heart-stopping problems, real people, genuine, deep, believable emotions--and dragons! Dragons that sing! If you're looking for chewing-gum-for-the-eyes same old same old, don't read this book, because you won't like it. If, however, you're looking for genuine magic in storytelling, you'll love it. It's ambitious; Berg's reach may sometimes exceed her grasp, but I'd rather a writer who took chances and dreamed big than someone who spat out one more tired, rehashed sword-and-sorcery whose language sounds like Miami and whose magic is just another name for cell-phones or ... Books like this are why I fell in love with fantasy.

I'm not going to give the 411 on all the details that happened in the story. Katmax1 did an excellent job in that and if you have any questions, please refer to that review. What I do want to impart is that Berg is a fantastic writer with some of they most rounded and interesting characters I have read. The world she creates is vivid and remarkably realistic for a fantasy world. It is easy to fall into her books because of these reasons. Most of the reviews I read had one major complaint -- the ending. I won't give away what happened, but for those of you out there who are apprehensive about picking up this book simply because your afraid of being disappointed in the ending, please do not let these few discourage you. I, for one, GOT the ending. I think most readers are picturing themselves as the characters and are thinking about how they would handle the situation and what they would do in the characters situation. Whereas, the two main characters are not like normal people and they had very tramatic experiences in their lives that would effect how they would handle situations. I thought Berg chose to end the story well based on the characters. She stayed true to her art. Frankly, I can't wait to read what she comes up with next. ;-)

If you loved Carol Berg's Transformation, Revelation, Restoration trilogy, you've got to read Song of the Beast. And if you haven't read her trilogy ... go buy all four books right now! You're missing a terrific writer! Berg's characters are richly drawn, fully dimensional characters. Her writing draws you into their lives and makes you feel their every emotion. Song of the Beast is a book you can't put down, but you don't want to rush through it, because every word is a treasure. Read this book!

Like her other series, Transformation, Revelation, and Restoration, you will not be able to put this book down. It is one of those "stay up all night" type of books. Aidan MacAllister is born with the gift of music that transcends beyond understanding. As a young man, he discovers his ability to communicate with dragons (which is written in such a clever way here). But before he is able to understand his gift, he is wrongly imprisoned by his cousin, King Devlin. There Aidan remains, brutally tortured for 17 years, his jailor purposely mangling his hands. Aidan is freed but still hunted. Without giving out more of the plot, I will just say that you will read about a man who rediscovers his gift of communicating with dragons, the people who help him, and all the conflict that follow. What makes this story so unique is the author's ability to make a story involving dragons and overcoming hardship so refreshing from the other books out there. Once you start reading the first page, you will see what I mean. It's a story you will not be able to put down.