Tour Stop: Siren’s Song by Mary Weber

Siren's Song by Mary Weber
Published on March 1st 2016
Pages: 384
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Nym and Draewulf prepare to face off in a battle destined to destroy more lives than it saves.
With the loss of Tulla still fresh in mind, Rasha’s fate unknown, and Lord Myles taken over by the dark ability, Nym and the few Bron soldiers rush to warn Cashlin’s queen. Only to discover it may already be too late for the monarch and her eerie kingdom. As the Luminescents are sifting through Nym’s past memories and the queen is reading into her future, Nym is given a choice of how to defeat Draewulf, but the cost may be more than she can bear. And even then there are no guarantees.
With that reality burrowing into her bones—along with the guilt of the lives she will sacrifice—Nym returns to her homeland of Faelen to raise an army of peasants through promises of freedom. But when the few friends she has left, along with the world and citizens she loves, are staring down the face of a monster and his undead army, will Nym summon every element her blood is capable of controlling . . . or surrender to a different strength—one of sacrifice?
Because in the end, death may be more merciful for them all.

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, Storm Siren.

I found Siren’s Fury, the second book, to be largely a waste of time.

However, I had faith that the third book, Siren’s Song, wouldn’t let me down, and I was right.

Siren’s Song has a plot that sends Nym and her cohorts all the way around the world in an attempt to warn her fellow kingdoms and raise an army against the unstoppable might that is the evil Draewulf. There’s not as much training and failed attempts repeating themselves over and over in this book, in fact it’s pretty linear in plot although I sometimes did have a hard time remembering who was doing what. This isn’t the fault of the author, more of the fact that there are many characters with their own agendas going off and doing their own thing, and often not telling Nym, our first-person limited narrator, the truth. We only know what Nym knows, so if she’s being tricked, so are we.

What I liked about this book was the relationship with Nym and Eogan. I don’t really remember seeing such a loving relationship that borderlined on abuse but it really fits in with Nym still being a teenager and brings back memories of my high school friends hitting their boyfriends for whatever reason. Nym’s a teenager and she still acts like it, so even if she loves Eagon she’s still tempted to lash out on occasion. I think this is also the result of her terrible upbringing and violent history, and the fact that she’s a super-powered storm siren who could eliminate anyone who so much as looked at her strangely.

I also liked how complicated this novel’s plot developed. While it’s simple to say that Nym’s preparing for war against Draewulf, not everyone wants to be involved. I loved the worldbuilding, especially seeing the incredible beauty of the city of Cashlin made almost entirely out of glass. I bet that’s an awesome sight to behold. I loved how the other characters had their own ideas of what should be happening. No one really fell at Nym’s feet (except her own people) and she had to fight for every bit of respect she gained. She went from being a slave to being her country’s saviour, but it wasn’t an easy, Mary-Sue journey. She fought for everything she ever received, and for that she has my respect.

While this is generally a positive review I do have to mention the one recurring element from the second book that lessened my enjoyment. It seems that in the middle of a battle or some other high-paced scene, I get confused by the actions of what’s actually going on because out of nowhere Nym suddenly becomes this super-powered deux ex machina type being who is still somewhat helpless when it comes to defeating the villain. She gets powers out of seemingly nowhere – it’s not explained and it doesn’t fit in with the magical rules already established that should, in all logical sense of the story and the worldbuilding, allow her to defeat the villain. But it doesn’t work, for whatever reason that’s also not explained.

Now, I understand conflict. I studied storytelling at a tertiary level and I know that conflict is the basis of all stories. But to create a super-powered heroine who is still a damsel in distress is a cheap, nasty, juvenile way out of creating real conflict. Now, while Nym doesn’t need to be rescued, I have to confess that in the heat of these scenes where the pace is rocketing along at breakneck speed and I’m trying not to skip ahead because I’m already confused enough by what’s going on, I just can’t grasp what is actually happening. The deus ex machina strikes and fails. Nym basically becomes this goddess of power and still can’t defeat the bad guy.

That being said, apart from that little hiccup, I really enjoyed Siren’s Song, especially the flashbacks that answered some questions I’m sure a lot of readers have had since the first book such as, if Nym’s so special/dangerous, how did she survive childhood, and whatever happened to her real parents?

My faith is restored in Weber. I love the trilogy as whole and this is a really great book to wrap up the series. The covers are, of course, breathless and strikingly accurate, and luckily for me, the insides match the outsides.

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