Review: Crescendo: Song of the Fallen Book 2 by Rachel Haimowitz

I really loved the first book in this duology: Counterpoint (reviewed here) and have been looking forward to reading this second book.  Both books have to be taken together to complete the story and the first book left on rather a cliff hanger. It's been frustrating to say the least that I've had to wait for this book to be written and then, once it was out, had to wait through some other reviewing commitments before I had to get to it!

The story follows on directly from book 1.  Freyrik, prince of Farr has been summoned to the High Court, to account for himself before the Aegis, ruler over all the kingdoms. He brings with him his Elven lover Ayden, who is one of the things Freyrik has to explain.  Freyrik assures Ayden that he will be safe with him at the High Court, but almost from the start things do not go well for the elf.  When political betrayals and machinations affect both men, they are sent to discover the source of the power within darker lands.

Like with book one, my sympathy in this book remained mostly with Freyrik.  It was interesting to see the contrast between the Prince Regent at Farr in book one, to Freyrik at the High Court where he wields little or no power.  For the first two thirds of the book Freyrik is involved with trying to please both his brother - who has plans for Freyrik and a scheme to rid the lands of the Darkers forever - and the Aegis - whose motivations I was never quiet sure about until the end of the book.  These scenes were tense with unspoken emotions and with Freyrik's utter frustration with his lack of authority and power.  He is just as helpless here as Ayden is as an elf slave and under just as much, if not more, scrutiny.

In contrast I found myself getting more and more annoyed at Ayden's inability to see the bigger picture. You would think that for an elf aged many hundreds of years that he would have learned to take the long view of things, but no his impetuous nature, pride and inability to cope with boredom means that he's constantly getting into trouble, drawing attention to himself and getting punished in various painful ways.  By the time the section set at the High Court ended, I was totally exasperated with him.  I did feel very sorry for him on occasion especially when his magic is bound. That scene where Ayden realises that he has to cope without his 'song' was very affecting indeed.  The bad feelings towards the elves is brought more into focus in this part of the book too and the scenes where Ayden is abused for being nothing but an elf were well written and sympathetic.

Because Freyrik and Ayden are already in love by this second book, the emotional drive in the narrative was not so much the growth of feelings for each other, but how their love sustains them through difficult times.  I thought this was effectively shown through the way that the two characters think and act towards each other. They need to be strong as a couple in order to face some of the things that happen and to provide a solid support.

The last third of the book takes our heroes out of the oppressive High Court and on a quest. This was where Ayden's character improved for me.  His quiet (or not so quiet at times) support of Freyrik, the way that he does all that he can to help in a journey he thinks is fruitless reminded me of why he excels as a warrior.  He was in his element here and by the end of the book I had warmed to him once more.  The last part of the book moves quickly, covering much time in fewer pages than before and as such the pacing is swift, drawing to a breathless conclusion.  Not everything is tied up in a neat bow at the end - for example, I would have liked to know how Berendil fared, but the conclusion is satisfying. I was left feeling happy for the characters and hopeful for a new future for men and elves.

Overall, this was a pretty terrific book.  I liked the characters and in particular how the author had perfectly captured the frustrations of both characters for their situation - even if Ayden was annoying at times.  I especially liked the clever way that some of the ideas and concepts given to us in the first book are slowly turned on their heads. The last 50 pages were a surprise to me and that is always a good thing.  If you're looking for a complex, character based fantasy book then I would recommend both of these books in the Song of the Fallen duology with a grade of 'Excellent'.

Buy this book HERE.