+Digital ARC gently provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+
{RESEÑA BILINGUE}
The Singer's Crown: The Author's Cut
by
Elaine Isaak
589 pages
Published
July 2nd 2019
by Rocinante
(first published October 11th 2005)
ASIN: B07RL81CB5
Lenguaje: Inglés
BLURB: When his uncle murders his family to take the throne, Prince Kattanan DuRhys is the only royal left alive. . . at a terrible cost. Stripped of his manhood, Kattanan travels as a court singer from one wealthy patron to the next. Given as a courtship gift to the young Princess Melisande, Kattanan feels the stirring of emotions he thought were denied him. But her jealous fiancée has other plans--and the sinister magic to carry them out.
Must Kattanan sacrifice his song to win his kingdom, and the woman he loves?
My rating: 2.8 stars
The wimpiest and lame protagonists of all. The secondary are a bit better and more interesting.
This is a medieval fantasy.
The story opens up as many stories of a bloody royal succession, the murdered family, and with the youngest prince to whom they forgive his life but at the same time neutralize to prevent it from being a threat of succession - they castrate him.
The young orphan is raised among monks to be a singer. Kattanan always liked to sing, but after the destruction of the monastery his life evolves into a future of traveling and people, turned into a luxury object of exchange for favors between nobles and merchants. But ... and here is something that catches my attention and seems to me to be a fault, because the fact that this may have become sexual abuse is never mentioned nor hinted. Especially after separating him from Jordan, his mentor.
The story itself really begins when Kat is used as an object of favor by a noble to win the hand of a princess. Kat is a broken young man, beaten up often, his hands shakes all the time. But he see the princess and fall in love. Why? Not a clue. She is a spoiled thing. The princess Melisande is only interested in dogs and puppies, nothing more, she finds her brother and the government boring. But favours her singer, because yeah new toy/slave to play to.
The thing is I never care about those two. The secondary characters are the reason I keep reading, but it was tiring to do so.
The book must have been about Jordan; a man struggling with his conscience.
Or Alswytha; a survivor.
Or even Brianna; the badass lady.
They worship 'The Lady', and have priestess. Why? Not enough worldbuilding.
They have witches, and fear them.
“The what?” Kattanan asked. Jordan shot him a fierce glance.
“The Liren-sha, the man born who is death to magic.”
“I wish he were here; we could show that wizard.”
“A legend,” Jordan snapped, “No more.”
The servant peered at him, with a warning finger wagging. “None has been here in my time, but the Liren-sha is no legend. Somewhere he is born, and lives, and may die never to know his power. Every man born with no magic hopes to meet this man who makes all equal.”
The relation among siblings is interesting and the story of the farmer raising a future king. That was a story that would be writing, and even Wolf is more complex and grant more sympathies than Kat.
Not bad writen but bad choice of MCs.
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(In spanish)
Los protagonistas más tontos y cobardes de todos. Los secundarios son un poco mejores y más interesantes.
Esta es una fantasía medieval.
La historia abre como tantas historias de una sangrienta sucesión real, la familia asesinada, y con el príncipe más joven a quien perdonan su vida pero al mismo tiempo neutralizan para evitar que sea una amenaza de sucesión: lo castran.
El joven huérfano se crió entre los monjes para ser cantante. A Kattanan siempre le gustó cantar, pero después de la destrucción del monasterio, su vida evoluciona hacia un futuro de viajes y personas, convertido en un objeto de lujo para intercambiar favores entre nobles y comerciantes. Pero ... y aquí hay algo que me llama la atención y me parece un error, porque el hecho de que esto pueda haberse convertido en abuso sexual nunca se menciona ni se insinúa. Especialmente después de separarlo de Jordan, su mentor.
La historia en sí realmente comienza cuando Kat es utilizado como un objeto de favor por un noble para ganar la mano de una princesa. Kat es un joven roto, golpeado a menudo, sus manos tiemblan todo el tiempo. Pero él ve a la princesa y se enamora. ¿Por qué? Ni idea. Ella es una malcriada. La princesa Melisande solo está interesada en perros y cachorros, nada más, encuentra a su hermano y al gobierno aburridos. Pero favorece a su cantante, porque sí, nuevo juguete/esclavo para jugar.
La cosa es que nunca me importan esos dos. Los personajes secundarios son la razón por la que segui leyendo, pero fue agotador hacerlo.
El libro debió haber sido sobre Jordan; quien tiene muchas cosas en que pensar
O Alswytha (la bruja) Una sobreviviente.
O incluso Brianna; a dama que sabe luchar.
Adoran a 'The Lady' y tienen sacerdotisas. ¿Por qué? No hay suficiente construcción del mundo.
Tienen brujas y les temen.
La relación entre hermanos es interesante, y la historia del granjero criando a un futuro rey. Esa era una historia que estaría escribiendo, e incluso Wolf es más complejo y otorga más simpatías que Kat.
No está mal escrito, pero es una mala elección de protagonistas.
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