Monica S. reviewed on
Summary: James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloweenâthe day of the deadâdraws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul.
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie is the sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception; together these books fit perfectly into the increasingly popular young adult genre but, unlike most of the other books sprouting up everywhere, these books don't contain fangs, they contain Fey. Ballad picks up a couple of months after the events of Lament, placing James, the unrequited best friend, as the main character.
The depth of research Stiefvater attained is increasingly obvious with the turn of each page. Ballad is chock full of amazing traditional Celtic faerie folklore and even a thoroughly researched Deity. "The Good Folk" have been an inspiration to thousands of writers throughout history; much of the folklore and faerie tales have remained consistent with each passing decade, and Stiefvater remains true to that tradition while adding her own flavor by revealing some folklore that is not popularly known. Her addition of Cernunnos, a traditional Celtic Deity usually depicted as representing for the dead, is what in my opinion pulled Stiefvater from researched well, to absolutely amazing. The plot was fast paced, action packed, and perfectly braided with the folklore and the characters.
The characters in this book were also, in my opinion, spot on. It has long been a belief from children's fables that faeries are a benevolent race of magical beings, but in this book, they are depicted as they originally were written, as a warning against the evils of magic. James is a typical teenage guy, with the addition of a genius musical talent and a smattering of psychic ability. Nuala is a not so typical faerie who trades musical inspiration in exchange for years of one's life. James's ability to recognize the faerie is the only thing that saved his life and brought these two characters together. The relationship that forms between Nuala is completely honest from the beginning and so different from the love that Dee and Luke shares in Lament. It was amazing that James could fall in love with Nuala even after everything that happens to him Lament; his ability to forgive and adapt is hopefully what will save the friendship that was destroyed by Dee being a selfish idiot.
At some points throughout the book Stiefvater could have let the reader into some of the secrets she was harboring earlier, it got a bit confusing in some areas due to what the reader is unaware of. Things of course become clearer at the end but, for a little while in the middle, the reader spends time trying to figure out the reasons for some of the inserted passages when there really is no need. It is suspect that they were written in an effort to foreshadow but as a young adult reader, it may have been too much. Overall this book was enjoyable, not as imaginatively pleasing as Lament but definitely not bad at all.
Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie is the sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception; together these books fit perfectly into the increasingly popular young adult genre but, unlike most of the other books sprouting up everywhere, these books don't contain fangs, they contain Fey. Ballad picks up a couple of months after the events of Lament, placing James, the unrequited best friend, as the main character.
The depth of research Stiefvater attained is increasingly obvious with the turn of each page. Ballad is chock full of amazing traditional Celtic faerie folklore and even a thoroughly researched Deity. "The Good Folk" have been an inspiration to thousands of writers throughout history; much of the folklore and faerie tales have remained consistent with each passing decade, and Stiefvater remains true to that tradition while adding her own flavor by revealing some folklore that is not popularly known. Her addition of Cernunnos, a traditional Celtic Deity usually depicted as representing for the dead, is what in my opinion pulled Stiefvater from researched well, to absolutely amazing. The plot was fast paced, action packed, and perfectly braided with the folklore and the characters.
The characters in this book were also, in my opinion, spot on. It has long been a belief from children's fables that faeries are a benevolent race of magical beings, but in this book, they are depicted as they originally were written, as a warning against the evils of magic. James is a typical teenage guy, with the addition of a genius musical talent and a smattering of psychic ability. Nuala is a not so typical faerie who trades musical inspiration in exchange for years of one's life. James's ability to recognize the faerie is the only thing that saved his life and brought these two characters together. The relationship that forms between Nuala is completely honest from the beginning and so different from the love that Dee and Luke shares in Lament. It was amazing that James could fall in love with Nuala even after everything that happens to him Lament; his ability to forgive and adapt is hopefully what will save the friendship that was destroyed by Dee being a selfish idiot.
At some points throughout the book Stiefvater could have let the reader into some of the secrets she was harboring earlier, it got a bit confusing in some areas due to what the reader is unaware of. Things of course become clearer at the end but, for a little while in the middle, the reader spends time trying to figure out the reasons for some of the inserted passages when there really is no need. It is suspect that they were written in an effort to foreshadow but as a young adult reader, it may have been too much. Overall this book was enjoyable, not as imaginatively pleasing as Lament but definitely not bad at all.
