Only the lost magic of Dragon Songs can save the world. Only a naïve girl with the perfect voice can rediscover it.The Dragon Singers of old summoned typhoons and routed armies, liberating mankind from the orcs before fading into legend. Now, with the world again teetering on the brink of disaster, the power of music stirs in Kaiya, an awkward girl with the perfect voice.Without a master to guide … voice.
Without a master to guide her, she must rely on Hardeep, a foreign paladin, to help awaken her latent magic. His motives might not be entirely noble. When he leads her to the fabled Dragon Scale Lute, which only a Dragon Singer can wield, it is up to Black Lotus Clan to intervene.
Because the instrument’s fell power can save the world…
Or destroy it.
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Songs of Insurrection is Book 1 of the four-book Dragon Songs Saga, which critics extol as “wonderfully opulent,” “Breathtaking,” and “Unique.”
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A Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize Quarterfinalist
“Smartly paced, with cross-cutting chapters that advance the plot along its intertwined story lines, this novel propels the reader through its colorful narrative. The author carefully balances action and intrigue with a modest fantasy element to keep the story’s plot twists unpredictable.”
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One Sentence Summary: When she meets the foreign prince Hardeep, Princess Kaiya wants nothing more than to become a Dragon Singer to save his kingdom, but little does she know she might need the talent for her own country as rebellion brews to the North.
First of all, I really liked the cover. I was quite excited to learn this is also a Chinese-inspired fantasy as I’ve been trying to push myself to read more Asian and Asian-inspired books. Being also musically inclined, I loved that this book involved music and Kaiya trying to become a legendary Dragon Singer. This book seemed to have everything I was looking for, but the execution was a little lacking.
The Plot: A Brewing Rebellion
Sixteen-year-old Princess Kaiya is on her way to meet a potential husband when she’s diverted to meet the foreign prince Hardeep. Upon their meeting, the two become quite taken with each other and Kaiya learns there’s a possibility she can help save his country if only she can learn to become a legendary Dragon Singer.
But, while Kaiya runs around the city with a prince she shouldn’t be with, Jie and Tian, members of the supposedly fictional Black Lotus Clan, are busy sniffing out whiffs of a rebellion. All does not seem well and all the threads seem to be leading to one place: the one place Kaiya should be nowhere near.
In theory, I really liked the idea of what Songs of Insurrection was about. It kind of reminded me of some of the Chinese dramas my parents watch, but with dragons and magic added in. In actuality, Kaiya definitely felt very young and sex-obsessed (as a matter of fact, sex-related things was a running thread throughout the book) and the story as a whole felt kind of weak. Interesting though it may be, I felt it was stretched out a little too far and required a little too much willing suspension of disbelief.
There are two main storylines: Kaiya’s, and Jie and Tian’s. Kaiya’s was the prominent one, and also the less interesting one. It follows a girl who falls in love at first sight with a man she cannot be with, but who will do anything for him. Sure, they had some fun and interesting and dangerous times, but, overall, it was lackluster. Jie and Tian’s storyline, though, was quite fascinating as they were hunting down clues to a growing rebellion and definitely getting their hands dirty and bloody. They had all the real fun, and I loved reading how they put things together, though it also seemed a little too easy. Still, the rebellion side of the story was the more interesting part. Fortunately, the two storylines collide at the end, making the story much more bearable.
The Characters: One Note Characters
Princess Kaiya is, by far, the main character of Songs of Insurrection. Most of the story is told from her perspective. She comes across as young and naive, but also quite forceful in her need to be useful and do something good and honorable. At the same time, I disliked how obsessed she became with sex, how obsessed she was with Hardeep. It was so overdone that it felt artificial. I found it rather interesting that the male author chose to tell the story through a teenage female. Kaiya lacked the complexity typically found in women (which was also true of all of the female characters) and I became disgusted by just how sex-starved and sex-obsessed she was. Yes, I know I’ve mentioned it, but it really is that prevalent and annoying in the book.
As a matter of fact, all of the characters lacked complexity. They all felt one note, as though they had a single role in life and that was all they did. There was nothing deeper to any of them. Even the mastermind behind it all could be seen a mile away. The romance between some of the characters felt forced and completely unnecessary, and only served to weaken my opinion of them. The concern Tian had for Kaiya was really the only thing that touched me. Whether it was love or friendship I didn’t really care because it seemed to be the only time one of the characters felt something real for another.
Overall, I found the characters to be quite simple and a little annoying. Most of them had a weird sex on the brain thing going on, which really took away from the story, almost as though the energy was being diverted from a potentially complex plot in order to focus on how sex-obsessed the characters were.
The Setting: Asian-Inspired
Songs of Insurrection is set in a fictional Asia and is mostly Chinese-inspired. This was my favorite part of the book. I loved the world and how it explored fantastical versions of China and India. Of course, most of it was set in Cathay, the fictional version of China, but there were still some tidbits of Asian-inspired settings outside of Cathay.
While I didn’t necessarily feel like I was walking in an Asian world, I did love that every garden and every hall had it’s own name. As confusing as they could be, it did tickle me and remind me China. I also liked that many of the customs are taken from reality, that Kaiya was bound by what women were and were not allowed to do, that there was pressure to conceive an heir, and all those fun Chinese things. I felt it was the only real thing that led to any real tension in the book as Kaiya had to fight against the ties binding her.
Even though I didn’t care for the simplistic characters and plot, I did really love the world. Being Chinese, it was nice to feel like I was surrounded by many of the things I was familiar with and had grown up around. It reminded me of some of the Chinese dramas my parents watch and tell me about. Needless to say, the world was quite comforting and familiar to me.
Overall: A Fairly Simple Fantasy
I really wanted to love Songs of Insurrection. It started out on a strong foot with me, but then it gradually weakened. By the time Kaiya became sex-obsessed, I was kind of done with it. The characters, initially fresh and interesting, took a too simple turn and the plot felt too divided and lacked complexity. The world was the highlight for me, but it served as too strong a background for the story to the point where I have a hard time recalling parts of the story without the setting. Overall, not a terrible book, but definitely on the easy and simple side.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Sometimes words like “epic”, “imaginative” and “powerful” are bandied around too frequently. Other times, if anything, they’re an understatement. JC Kang’s The Dragon Songs Saga is an example of the latter. These books are ridiculously imaginative in the world-building and character-building by the author. Totally different (though I think I can see the Japanese heritage with its geisha, samurai, ninja assassins and cultural structure generally) but absolutely genuine from the biggest details to the tiniest. Add that to individual book plots and an overarching story arc that, well, that frankly blows my mind and makes epic an understatement. I had intended to read these books over the course of a week or so but they were so good, so addictive, that I ended up binge-reading them through the night. Not good physically (and I’m in a hospital right now and the nurses and physical therapists were very much not happy with me), but the enjoyment was soooo worthwhile to the spirit. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. This series definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the series is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend each of the books in it.
An outstanding book. One of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time. The combination of music, and magic, in an oriental culture made for a unique premise, action-packed story, and wonderful adventure!
Loved this one! I’ve always loved ancient Chinese lore. Their ingenuity, their weapons and unorthodox battle strategies . . . just amazing. In Kang’s book, Jie and Tian were my favorites–kind of the underground characters who really just rake in the excitement! The magic in the book was unique and the conspiracies….ohhhh….don’t get me started! I don’t want to spoil anything! The race to the book’s climatic end just revs up the excitement! If you haven’t read this yet, it’s an adventure you don’t want to miss!