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The Endless Song
Feb. 26th, 2023 11:24 amI was excited for this sequel to Joshua Phillip Johnson's Forever Sea, and it didn't disappoint.
The split storyline continues the tale of Kindred and Sarah, journeying beneath the sea to find Kindred's grandmother - but this quest takes a very unexpected turn, resulting in the main conflict of the book. The other strand introduces a whole new set of fascinating and engaging characters - the Barons of the Mainland and their conflict with the tyrannical king.
I loved the way this new storyline connects to the framing narrative of the storyteller, which continues on from the first book, and the development of young Flitch's journey to meet his destiny and leave his siblings was very affecting.
I did feel the time between narrative switches was sometimes a bit long, especially in the first half of the book. And it really annoyed me that the logistics of what lay beneath the Borders mansion was wildly inconsistent between how it was initially described and how it worked once Flitch ventured in (and out). It also felt a bit as if the whole book was a slow burn set-up for a massive, exciting climax in the next book - and then the whole thing played out in its entirety in the last fifty pages, followed by reasonably extensive aftermath that summarised many years of continuing storylines beyond the end of the book.
However, the setting is amazingly rich, the range of characters is fantastic, the conclusion of both storylines was very emotive and also narratively satisfying, and I was fully immersed throughout. So, overall, a great read and I'll definitely be watching out for more from this author.
The split storyline continues the tale of Kindred and Sarah, journeying beneath the sea to find Kindred's grandmother - but this quest takes a very unexpected turn, resulting in the main conflict of the book. The other strand introduces a whole new set of fascinating and engaging characters - the Barons of the Mainland and their conflict with the tyrannical king.
I loved the way this new storyline connects to the framing narrative of the storyteller, which continues on from the first book, and the development of young Flitch's journey to meet his destiny and leave his siblings was very affecting.
I did feel the time between narrative switches was sometimes a bit long, especially in the first half of the book. And it really annoyed me that the logistics of what lay beneath the Borders mansion was wildly inconsistent between how it was initially described and how it worked once Flitch ventured in (and out). It also felt a bit as if the whole book was a slow burn set-up for a massive, exciting climax in the next book - and then the whole thing played out in its entirety in the last fifty pages, followed by reasonably extensive aftermath that summarised many years of continuing storylines beyond the end of the book.
However, the setting is amazingly rich, the range of characters is fantastic, the conclusion of both storylines was very emotive and also narratively satisfying, and I was fully immersed throughout. So, overall, a great read and I'll definitely be watching out for more from this author.
