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2024 IPPY Outstanding Audiobook Winner
2023 IAN Fantasy Book of the Year Winner
B.R.A.G. Medallion Winner
2023 The Wishing Shelf Fiction Finalist
2023 The Wishing Shelf Audiobook Finalist
2023 IAN Young Adult Finalist
"A superb first book. The story is incredible, the characters simply remarkable." – Reader Views
“Music is magic in this charming, richly written apprenticeship fantasy.” – BookLife Prize
“A captivating tale with a strong, memorable protagonist. Perfect for music lovers!” – The Wishing Shelf
Not long after the Druids came to Eire, the Bards mysteriously vanished from the annals of history, fleeing their native shores to begin life on a remote chain of islands … the Bardic Isles. Over two hundred years later, a village boy is born with a gift of music that hasn't been seen since the exodus from Eire. Not understanding what he possesses, seven-year-old Kaelin is convinced his music is responsible for an unforgivable act. Suffused with guilt, he plays his homemade flute only in the privacy of the woods and buries it every night before returning home. Four years later, a Master Bard visits the village and plays the music Kaelin played in the woods the night before. To the boy’s shock, no one is hurt by it. When the Master leaves, Kaelin faces a decision … can he bring himself to follow the only person who might be able to free the torturous music within him? And if his music is freed, can he live with the consequences?
Fans of Anne McCaffrey’s “Pern” series and Mercedes Lackey’s “Bardic Voices” will love this book, but you will find no dragons or magical beings within its pages. This is pure, character-driven storytelling, and the only thing that places it in the world of fantasy is the incredible power of music itself.
Genre: Fantasy
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Used availability for Marla Himeda's Master of Music