One of my favourite fantasies, the Chanters of Tremaris series is a traditional fantasy quest with magic, maps and adventure with a touch of romance. Geared towards younger adult readers, the series will feel comfortable and familiar to fantasy lovers, hitting all the right notes of a quest fantasy and delivering an enjoyable read.

In the first part of the trilogy, The Singer of All Songs, readers are introduced to sixteen year old Calwyn a headstrong, fiery novice priestess of ice who longs to escape the ice wall that surrounds her home of Antaris. Unlike the other priestesses who seem to be content with Antaris, Calwyn feels the itch to know what's beyond the wall. She gets her wish when she meets iron chanter, Darrow.

Darrow stumbles into Antaris, injured and weary but is found by Calwyn who nurses him back to health. He tells Calwyn of lands far away and of the sorcerer Samis who wants to be crowned ruler of Tremaris.

Samis is on a quest to obtain all nine powers of chantment and be named the Singer of All Songs as told of in a prophecy made long ago. Having mastered two of the powers, he is well on his way but when he arrives in Antaris to learn the power of ice and threatens the priestesses, Calwyn finds herself and Darrow off on a journey to gather friends and allies to fight Samis.

I love this book. Calwyn is brave and passionate and cares fiercely for others. She is impulsive and stubborn and just a tiny bit of trouble. Her mind is hilarious as well;

‘But –’ Calwyn opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. Perhaps it was best to do as he said at least some of the time, when it didn’t really matter, and save her disagreements for a time when it did. Obediently she seated herself on a squat bollard, pulled her cloak tightly about her, and tried to look patient. ‘Very well.’

Constable, Kate. The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy bundle: fantasy adventure magic series The Singer of All Songs; The Waterless Sea; The Tenth Power . Allen and Unwin. Kindle Edition.

Her inquisitive nature is brilliant and I love her desire to know about the world around her. The land of Tremaris is interesting and I loved the world building of the nine powers of chantment. The idea of singing as power isn't a new one but it's a fun concept and it was well done in this. I enjoyed how Calwyn stumbles her way into learning the power of winds and finds that she already knows the power of beasts from her days as a beekeeper in Antaris. I liked the excitement she has for learning magic. And I loved the idea of Calwyn being the Singer of All Songs. As Tonno put it;

‘You’ve always called Samis such a marvel. Such a mighty sorcerer. And here’s this lass with her plaits down her back, with the same gift, mebbe. Mebbe stronger than his, for all we know.’ ‘Maybe.’The word was breathed so low that Calwyn barely heard it. ‘Mebbe she’s the one, not him – the Singer of all Songs. Think of that! I’d like to see his face if he knew it, to be trumped by a slip of a lass, not even in skirts.’ Tonno’s rare, deep laugh rumbled through the cabin. ‘Aye, I’d like to see that day!’

Constable, Kate. The Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy bundle: fantasy adventure magic series The Singer of All Songs; The Waterless Sea; The Tenth Power . Allen and Unwin. Kindle Edition.

There's just something about girls triumphing over boys.

The adventure itself is fast paced and full of magic. I loved the friends they meet on the way, Tonno, Xanni, Trout, Mica and Halasaa - although I was devastated by Xanni's death. Like really? Couldn't he have lived? I liked the hints of romance between Calwyn and Darrow but would've liked it even more if after they left Antaris they still bothered to talk to one another. The miscommunication between them was annoying.

The build up to the final confrontation with Samis was great and I liked how Trout was the one to save the day. The idea that he couldn't hear the Power of Seeming because he's slightly deaf was hilarious.

A fun fantasy read with a quest to save the lands, found family, an evil sorcerer and lots of musical magic. 5 stars. ( )

I picked up this first novel by Constable because of a cover blurb by Garth Nix. We'll see if I trust HIM again! ;-)
Seriously, maybe Constable will improve with time, but I didn't feel that this book was up to general publishing standards. It really felt like a first effort.
It started out OK, with us meeting the young, talented, but rebellious priestess in her home village... but once she absconds from said village (with an injured sorcerer on the run from his powerful nemesis) it becomes hopeless.
There's no attempt at character generation, and so much happens in so few pages that you could miss entire locations if you blinked... seriously - this page: we're at a college, next page pirates, two pages later, volcano, three pages later, dinosaurs, everything flying by without any time for the reader to FEEL - or even visualize - anything. A character might die - but we don't care, 'cause we never got to know him in the slightest, since he was only ALIVE for 5 pages! (etc.)
The plot is really stereotypical (There are 9 types of magical spellsong, and the bad guy wants to collect them all so he can take over the world) - and while I do feel that a 'classic' plot can be done well, Constable needs to learn to slow down and savor her writing - so that her readers can enjoy the action! ( )

An interesting audio performance. This story is about a world where magic is performed by people who sing and chant. The audio version has haunting songs whenever magic is performed - a bit eerie, but it enhances the experience. I liked the story, but the ending fizzled a bit. Also, I didn't like the love ?? interest between 2 of the characters - especially since the girl was a teenager and the man was over 30 - creepy! ( )

The narration style seemed similar to Tamora Pierce: simplistic, yet not uninteresting. I wasn't a fan of the audio version, and found the world to be somewhat plain. ( )

At first I thought I would be a little bored with this middle-reader fantasy, but I ended up getting into it. It would have been nice to get to know the characters a little more. It's a trilogy, so I imagine that there's still a lot to learn. If I see the second in the series, I'll probably pick it up. The focus on chants as the source of magic was a fun to think about. The world and its magic are filling out nicely. ( )