Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Song of Unmaking Review


Author: D. Barkley Briggs

In a frozen, bitter land, hope and fear collide.

The dreadful Goths have invaded Röckval, testing the strength of Bitterland's ruler. Meanwhile, the Barlow brothers are growing stronger and stronger in their powers—all except for Ewan, who traded his gift away to save the life of his friends.

Soon it becomes clear that the Goths are the least of their worries. A terrible machine is being built high atop Mount Vishgar, above Röckval, where the raging winds never cease. If the machine really does release the Song of Unmaking, what will happen? Can Arthur lay aside his grief and once more become a great leader of men? And what is the mysterious Doorless Tower, Nein Dyrr?

As Kr'Nunos grows more bold, the Barlow brothers take their stand with the viks of the north. Yet it is Ewan alone who must answer the question: Is any music stronger than the most powerful song of destruction the world has ever known?

Characters: Very good. The characters are realistic. I especially liked how characters such as Sorge, Ewan, Arthur, and Corus were portrayed: strong, yet breakable, but unwilling to give up in the end.
4/5

Location: Excellent. Personally, I almost think that the setting of these books is the best part, and in The Song of Unmaking, we get an even better look into the world of this book. I liked how there were some chapters that told how Karac Tor was made, but still didn’t interrupt the plot, and how everything was very clearly described.
5/5

Plot: Very good. The plot is well-paced, and answers many questions from the previous two books. There are enough twists to keep you on your toes, and I was very pleased about certain turns of events. However, I was slightly frustrated by the end; it left me feeling unsatisfied and desperate for the next book. Though there was some hope in the end, it didn’t quite feel like enough. 
4/5

Other: I took several days to read this book, not because it’s a long book (though it is; it’ll take well over an hour if you read it all at once) but it’s the kind of book you want to savor because you don’t want it to end.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Note from Sarah: I actually read this shortly after I read Corus the Champion. I just didn't post it until now. Sorry. 

Friday, August 17, 2012

St. Louis Arch Pictures

Hello, everyone! A few weeks ago, my family went to St. Louis, and while we were there, Daddy and I went to the Arch to take pictures. I only just now finished editing them, due in part to all the writing and editing I needed to do and also due in part to the fact that reading or writing often seemed more appealing than editing pictures.


This is one of the only two more traditional pictures I took there. Mostly I tried for abstracts like these:




In the first two, I was trying to capture the curve of the arch against the sky. In the third, I was trying to get the reflection combined with the arc of light. (Which I thought made it look like the area was disappearing into a portal. Anyone agree? Probably not, but we all know strange things go on in my mind sometimes.)


This is the other traditional picture I took. It's the dome of the St. Louis Courthouse with the arch behind it. The courthouse was under construction, unfortunately, so I didn't include it in my picture.




As you can see, these are more abstracts. I really liked the colors in the arch after sunset, which is mostly what I was trying to capture with these. I'm especially proud of the last one, which, by the way, is an HDR if anyone was wondering.

I hope you liked my pictures! I hope to post a news update sometime soon, so keep an eye out for that. Thanks for reading!
-Sarah