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kalinaraSome time ago, like a few years back now, I reviewed the first book in Mercedes Lackey's "Bardic Voices" series. It was pretty decent as I recall!
I actually got a request on Discord to do the second book in the series! And I like requests a lot, so here we go!
I remember enjoying this series quite a lot, and I actually think this book may have been my favorite as a kid. There are a few major differences between "the Robin and the Kestrel" and "the Lark and the Wren". First, Lark was more of a coming of age story - with mostly unconnected vignettes that followed Rune throughout her development and into becoming a full blown bard. In Robin, the coming of age story is done. Both of our titular characters are adults (if young), fully recognized in their profession, and are married to boot.
There's also more of a defined plot in this book, as the characters will end up going to a specific place to deal with a specific problem. We'll see how well it all fits together!
Now, as for our elephant in the room. The "G-issue" is still a thing. "Gypsies" are a major part of this setting, and referred to as that term, which after this point I will be replacing with [Rom] or [Roma] in direct quotes. The portrayal is, I think, intended to be positive. But I still have no real practical knowledge that can tell me if the portrayal has any basis in reality or if it's resorting to harmful stereotypes.
( Let's get going! )
I actually got a request on Discord to do the second book in the series! And I like requests a lot, so here we go!
I remember enjoying this series quite a lot, and I actually think this book may have been my favorite as a kid. There are a few major differences between "the Robin and the Kestrel" and "the Lark and the Wren". First, Lark was more of a coming of age story - with mostly unconnected vignettes that followed Rune throughout her development and into becoming a full blown bard. In Robin, the coming of age story is done. Both of our titular characters are adults (if young), fully recognized in their profession, and are married to boot.
There's also more of a defined plot in this book, as the characters will end up going to a specific place to deal with a specific problem. We'll see how well it all fits together!
Now, as for our elephant in the room. The "G-issue" is still a thing. "Gypsies" are a major part of this setting, and referred to as that term, which after this point I will be replacing with [Rom] or [Roma] in direct quotes. The portrayal is, I think, intended to be positive. But I still have no real practical knowledge that can tell me if the portrayal has any basis in reality or if it's resorting to harmful stereotypes.
( Let's get going! )