Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic!
Comment: This was a great read and an even greater conclusion a very nice way to say goodbye to Edil-Amarandh.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A solid but slightly disappointing finale - Contains Spoilers
Comment: The three earlier books in this series are amongst the best fantasy novels I've ever read. Unfortunately, 'The Singing' is not, in my opinion, nearly so good. 'The Riddle', for instance, is a thrilling book from start to finish. It's shocking and visceral - the sort of book that has you anxious for the safety of its characters throughout. The problem, for me, with 'The Singing' is that it has nothing close to that excitement. In fact, it has very little tension, very few if any surprises, and most importantly didn't demand an engagement with its characters from this reader in the way 'The Riddle' demanded you sat up straight and paid attention.
Maered is so powerful in this book I didn't fear for her in the slightest. The amoral'elemental' potential towards evil at the root of her character (introduced in 'The Riddle') was really the aspect of her that would, considering her powers, make her interesting - again, I felt this aspect of her was just hinted at, and again, failed to generate tension or complexity in this novel. All the set pieces are anti-climaxes - neither the Landrost nor the Nameless One are seen, the battles with them are 'psychological'. The overall effect is woolly and unaffecting. Hem's story, perhaps surprisingly, (though 'The Crow' was excellent too!) has more tension and a sense of things being at stake - the scene where Hem fights for Saliman's life is the most powerful in the book. It's a terrible shame I feel because it was just the most brilliant series. My suspicion is that Alison Croggon wanted to provide a timely portrait of a world beset by war and environmental crisis, but the emphasis on flooded landscapes and wartorn communities alongside a slow paced, very 'psychological' novel produced, for me, a very muted, anticlimactic conclusion to this series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I wished it went on!
Comment: I have been waiting for this book for over a year since I read the first book, and was kept in suspense when it was meant to be a trilogy to begin with!
The Singing continued the story of Maread, Cadvan, Hem, Saliman and Irc. I do agree with one reviewer and that it was an anticlimax and the final showdown was a disappointment. I was also diasppointed with Croggan for not really developing the relationship between Maread and Cadvan, and so when the ending did come, it felt like I had skipped a few chapters and missed it all! I am looking forward to reading her next books, whatever that may be.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as impressive as The Crow
Comment: It was a very good read but a bit disapointing.
there were no main battle scenes at all. In the end it was a dull journey story. when maerad finally sung the treesong was boring and you ended up wanting it to end. This book is ok but not the best in the quartet.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply Stunning!
Comment: A fantastic end to a truly spellbinding quartet. Alison Croggon creats a rich, vivid world and characters with real depth; the books are brought to life. Formerly a poet, Croggon really can write compellingly, and the material in itself is a joy to read. Origional, exciting, and three other books in the quartet to enjoy before this one...
In this final book of Pellinor, Maerad of Pellinor and Cadvan of Lirigon embark on an arduous journey to find Maerad's brother, Hem, who is travelling with the Great Bard Saliman of Turbansk. They race against time as Sharma marches across Edil-Amarandh with his army of darkness, spreading destruction in its wake. Fate lies in the awakening of the treesong within the mysterious Elidhu, themselves a part of nature in Edil Amarandh (the world). If the singing does not prevail, the already dimmed light of this world may be crushed altogether.
Based on a collection of real poems, written by the main character Maerad herself and translated by the author, this story has a wonderful epic feel of depth and truth to it, even though powers sift through the tale that would be impossible in our world today. The books also contain notes in the back about the characters and translations, and this one contains a particularly interesting story about Cadvan as a child, which will shed light on some earlier parts of the story.
Having read these books just once, I will probably read them again in the future - they are the sort that, due to content and writing style, can be read over again. If you have not already read the first three books: The Gift, The Riddle and The Crow, then I would strongly recommend them as all are excellent. I would also advise reading them before you read this fourth one, The Singing.
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