Author: Skye Melki-Wegner
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, High Fantasy
Source: Bookworld
Goodreads
Chester is on the road, searching every town for clues about his father and why he disappeared.Review by Nara
But when he's caught accidentally – and illegally – connecting with the Song as he plays his beloved fiddle, Chester is sentenced to death. Only a licensed Songshaper can bend music to their will. The axe is about to fall . . .
But there is someone else watching Chester. Someone who needs his special talents. Who can use him for their own ends. And who knows the secrets of The Hush, where there is no music, only deadly Echoes who will steal your soul.
Susannah is that someone. The young captain of the infamous Nightfall Gang, Susannah has plans for Chester. Finally, she will have her revenge.
Aaaaand here is yet another severely underrated novel from an Australian author! Skye Melki-Wegner has created yet another book with a fantastic world, great characters, a unique magic system and an action-filled plot.
The magic system is quite a creative one: the use of music to produce magic and to hack into "The Hush", a sort of shadow world which is a parallel of the real one. I do have to say though, the world building probably wasn't the best in terms of how the rules of the magic system were laid out, but that might also just be because I normally read a lot of adult SFF where the magic systems tend to be more defined.
The characters were all very interesting, as Melki-Wegner's characters tend to be. They each have their backstories and motivations for joining the Nightfall Gang (which is a sort of Robin Hood of thieving gangs), and they're not going to let anything or anyone stand in their way. There's also a hint of romance, but it's not really explored fully- which I actually appreciated. It wasn't something that was necessarily needed.
The book is sort of a crossover between Young Adult and Middle Grade (think sort of the level of Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan), and I think it could be enjoyed by readers of both. It's certainly a book by a fantastic and emerging Australian author, in any case.
Really liked it
RatingsOverall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 1/5
