MASTER OF MUSIC

In Himeda’s fantasy novel, a young boy embarks on an adventure of a lifetime to apprentice under a Master of Music, and unlocks his own hidden powers along the way.

Eleven-year-old Kaelin loves and fears music with equal measure. He believes that his flute playing was responsible for a concurrent horrific event that occurred when he was younger, so he now only plays in the forest, where no one else can hear him. The boy lives with his older sister on the Bardic Isles, where the Bards fled after coming close to extinction by the hands of the Druids, more than 200 years before. After hearing the visiting Master Bergid play music that Kaelin himself had composed the day before, he follows the musician and asks to become his apprentice. The two make their way to Elegy for the Spring Council, and the Master slowly discovers Kaelin’s extraordinary gift: “If he focused intently on something in the clearing—a rock, leaf, or tree—he could hear its music, wondrous music that seemed to define its very essence.” As Kaelin sets about exploring his unique abilities, he’ll be forced to confront his own past, as well as the music within Elegy’s Bardic Mountain—the power of which threatens to drain him completely. Over the course of this novel, Himeda employs realistic dialogue and a clear, immersive tone that moves the action effortlessly forward as characters develop. She’s creatively crafted a fantasy novel in which magic comes from music itself, which some readers may consider to be a bold move. It’s a decision that pays off well, though, and the author employs clever touches that build upon the musical aspect, such as dividing the book into “movements” made up of individual chapters. Although the worldbuilding is robust throughout, complete with epic backstories, the novel skips lightly toward its emotional conclusion—one that’s satisfying but also leaves things delightfully open-ended for a future installment of the Bardic Isles series.

A brisk, expertly crafted tale that delivers an important, uplifting lesson about the power of music.