The story revolves around two sisters: Halcyon is the older, stronger sister who has been away training for the queens army; Evadne is the younger, awaiting the day Halcyon returns while not-so secretly hoping that she will somehow develop the powers of a mage and be whisked away to hone her art at the Destry. When Halcyon finally returns, she is convicted of a terrible crime and sentenced to 15 years of varying degrees of labour, 5 years of which her sister Evadne voluntarily takes as her own in order to ease the burden.
When reading the initial pages, the story very heavily held within reflections of Greco-Roman civilisations. There are armies of hoplites, sinister commanders and a luxurious feel to the whole ordeal that creates an atmosphere of times gone by. There’s also a system of gods, each of which have special powers and artifacts with which their descendants can tap into their magic – these range from a winged pendant that makes people fly to a crown that shows you a person past, present, and future and a magic sword which removes any enchantment within the room so long as someone is holding its hilt. Really it’s one of those novels that makes me think of myths such as Jason and the Golden Fleece and Orpheus’ quest into the Underworld to retrieve Eurydice.
The imagery and worldbuilding within Sister of Sword and Song invokes a feeling of grandeur, but also takes place in such a small number of places that it felt a little like an oxymoron. When travelling through mountains and over the ‘vast expanse’ between towns, there was a sense of full immersion with the reader able to feel the changes in terrain and smell the scents of the various regions. But when thought about logically, the 3 day ride it takes to get from the town to a certain key location is really only around 300km in today’s terms – that’s 3 hours on a highway in a vehicle. Now this may seem like nitpicking, but I’m actually just trying to illustrate a point about the scale of the world feeling huge but it not actually being so.
While on the subject of imagery, everyone knows that a good map makes every fantasy novel better. It’s a staple to enable the reader to make sense of the magical worlds into which they are being thrust. In Sisters, the map is a simple one which looks hand drawn with its simple lines and being sparse on details, but it actually really fits with what the novel is about. Evadne’s journey is all about wonder in the world so if the map had had been ridiculously detailed, some of that wonderment may have been lost.
So now that I’ve rambled a little about all things worldbuilding and scenery, I want to quickly touch on this novel’s magic system. It can be summed up as this: all mages are not created equal. In novels such as The Witcher and Gaiman’s Stardust, magic is seen as a sort of swapping of matter whereby the caster must utilise other people or things to fuel their craft lest they age prematurely. In those such as the Throne of Glass series, it is seen as a well that may be utilised until you run out and needs to be replenished else you burn out/up forever. In SoSaS, the magic system is a sort of mish-mash of both these concepts – when a person utilises magic, they may bolster their skill with another’s help and once hitting the bottom of their stores, they are no longer able to practice. Through the use of the aforementioned relics, one can make themselves more powerful, but they will only ever be able to cast for a certain amount of time. In this, I found genius as it allowed an inequality to the power that people possessed and established a hierarchy based solely upon it. There is also a ritual involving fire and rings determining how strong a mage will be which adds a certain something to the story.
The downside in this read however was the relatively one note aspects of quite a few characters. Halcyon should have been someone strong and thoroughly likeable for being who she is. Instead this reader felt pity more than compassion for her circumstance as she seemed to show next to no emotion for the most part. I also found one of the main mages to be narcissistic and thoroughly unlikable as a villain for no apparent reason, the building blocks were there for a great nemesis but instead this person was a little lukewarm and predictable. I did however love the relationship between a certain mage and his scribe because they are just cute and fluffy in a way that made me want to force together and make them kiss like a child does with their dolls.
Overall, the worldbuilding and imagery associated with Sisters of Sword and Song was very good and draws the reader into the world that Ross has created. It has a beautiful but simple cover that draws the eye and intrigues the mind. The map is relatively plain but provides a reference to which one can refer when attempting to understand where everyone is throughout the narrative. While the majority of the characters were a little on the dull side, there is a cute romantic interest to tide the reader over until the hit the final third where all the big things go down.
Sisters of Sword and Song is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of June 23rd 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
From the author of The Queen’s Rising comes a thrilling YA stand-alone fantasy about the unbreakable bond between sisters. Perfect for fans of Ember in the Ashes, Sky in the Deep, and Court of Fives.
After eight long years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been proudly serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon appears earlier than expected, Eva knows something has gone terribly wrong. Halcyon is on the run, hunted by her commander and charged with murder.
Though Halcyon’s life is spared during her trial, the punishment is heavy. And when Eva volunteers to serve part of Halcyon’s sentence, she’s determined to find out exactly what happened. But as Eva begins her sentence, she quickly learns that there are fates much worse than death.
