June 2018 Book Club: Song of the Beast

Song of the Beast by Carol Berg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Small amount of strong language


Brutal imprisonment has broken Aidan McAllister. Once the most famous musician of his generation, celebrated as a man beloved of the gods, his voice is now silent, his hands ruined, his music that offered beauty and hope to war-torn Elyria destroyed. Even the god who nurtured his talent since boyhood has abandoned him. But no one ever told him his crime. To discover the truth, he must risk his hard-bought freedom to unlock the mind of his god and the heart of his enemy.

This was our book club pick for June and the first book I've read by author Carol Berg. It's a stand-alone and we're always looking for stand-alone fantasy to read for book club, so that was one thing that drew us to it. This book pulled me in instantly. Carol Berg has a writing style that is beautiful yet easy to read, and that's just how I like a book to be.

The main character, Aidan went through so much in prison and I just loved him right from the beginning. I could feel his hurt so much, and I loved the beautiful person that he was and how his attitude was not bitter, despite all those things that happened to him. One of the best things about this book was that it featured a bard. We don't often get a main character who is like Aidan. And while I like the rough, manly men who can wield swords and all that are often featured in fantasy, I could relate to Aidan and I loved his kind and gentle nature, and his love of music and song.

"I scorned him for huddling by the fire, and he offered to share his tea. I reviled him for his cowardice at the kai’s lair, and he made me soup. I ridiculed his noble ancestry, and he laughed at himself and cleaned my hearth. I drove him unmercifully in his schooling, and he devoured it as if I’d gifted him with jewels."

"But I found steel beneath his soft-spoken manner. I could not break him. Despite his struggles with the tasks I set him, he lived with everything of gentleness and grace."

The other characters were also very compelling to read about. Lara took a little while to grow on me, but her story was interesting and I ended up liking her quite a bit, despite her stubbornness and her fear of sharing her heart. She had a protective nature that made her appealing. The Elhim are obviously based on Elves and I liked a couple of them quite a bit, but their scheming ways made we wary of trusting them at times.

The ending left we wanting a little more. There was one thing that I really wanted to happen that didn't and I think most people will probably feel the same way I do about it, but other than that, this was an excellent read and I highly recommend it if you love high fantasy and dragons. Even if you don't love dragons I still recommend this book. The dragons are mostly just talked about and don't really come into play until the end and Aidan's story is worth reading. The story was so compelling and it had just the right amount of romance for me. I'm going to have to read more of Carol Berg's books now.