Tree Singer
By: Jacci Turner / Narrated By: Barbara Bond
Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
Nice, easy-going, likable-enough characters… ho hum…
Our story opens with 15-year old Mayten ensconced in the loving branches of a Tree. She’s in training to be one of their Clan’s up and coming Tree Singers, like, soon, and she’s juuuuust shy of leveling up in her training. Thus far, she’s able to speak to the Trees, but she’s absolutely shocked when she discovers, whilst being cradled, that the Trees are speaking To HER. She has absolutely no idea how to Listen, that’s further on in her training, but right here, right now?
Oh goodness, the Trees are telling her of Pain and Monstrous Danger, and they’re telling her of their Great Suffering.
So it’s kinda sorta not a surprise when she heads home, and things are rather topsy-turvy. She’d dearly like to share what she just experienced with her mom, head Tree Singer, but her mother responds with a sharp reply, shutting her down. This really hurts Mayten, confuses her, and it’s just when Initiate Ceremonies are about to begin: That time when all the Youngsters of a Certain Age are given their special aprons, designating what place they’re to learn in, what place they’re to occupy within the Clan.
SURPRISE! Mayten, she who’s expecting to be a Tree Singer, SHALL be that -but- she’s also to become a Traveler on a Quest to see the King and to help out with the country’s juuuust disclosed blight.
Soooo, right off the bat, I was a triiiifle irked with Mayten; she’s likable enough (What’s NOT to love about a person who looooves Trees?!), but she’s soooo miffed with the surprise, esPECially since she discovers that, like, everybody, even her closest friends, knew about the upcoming Quest and chose not to tell her about it.
Dude, she carries her grudge like a bayonet.
Now, the Quester leading the little band of younguns (Along with a pal Hunter) rather haaaates Mayten, and this has her riled as well. Like, aaaalll throughout bits and pieces o’ the story. MORE Daggers and Bayonets, and a few snits and sharp words.
Hmmm… p’raps our MAIN character isn’t as likable as, saaay, every single other character in this story. Because, you see, as s*** starts hitting the fan, the other individuals snap to and step into their assigned fields of expertise. No matter that they’re only 15. Her bestie, who is to be a Healer and who starts out rather timid and wishy-washy, comes to the aid of all who need her, even when their cases are indeed serious, even hopeless. Now SHE rocks.
Mayten? She needs to run and sleep inside trees to sorta recalibrate and re-energize. Further, she just plain zones out, snips and snaps, doesn’t do much.
Okay okay okay, so ‘twould appear that I didn’t like her much.
And I didn’t feel like author Jacci Turner crafted her well enough to show that she was showing growth, likability, anything like that. P’raps? I dunno, maybe Turner was planning on leaving Mayten waaaay on one end of the arc so that, again p’raps?, she’d be growing in leaps and bounds in further installments.
Cuz the ending, while tying up aaaalll the hoo-ha plotted in this, The Tree Singer, has left pleeeenty of room available for more stories. EsPECially as SPOILER ALERT: None of our trio o’ besties bites the bullet. Okay, so apologies for the Spoiler, but in m’ own defense, while trouble is crafted here and there, at NO time is there even the semblance of our heroes being at risk.
This is a very Happy-Pappy sorta story with limited tension, so make of that what you will.
On to Barbara Bond as narrator. She does well, tho’ she sounds as tho’ she’s reading off a prompter. She DOES, however, throw herself into the Singing Part(s). Yessss, the Clan apparently SINGS EVERYthing. Lots o’ singing which just, quite simply, embarrassed me and caused m’ ears a great deal o’ distress. I haaaate songs sung in audiobooks, and that’s just me, I realize. I mean, just reeeead the lines and let the Listener shape it all into harmonies.
Yeesh, and booooo! meeeee!!!
A nice enough story, but I’m fairly certain that the simplistic plotting and the manner in which all was written to a close will NOT have me coming back for the next in the series, should there be one.
Dunno, but foot-stomping heroines KILL me.
And singing?
Oy! Oy! Oy!
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