(Newsoul, #2.5)
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 138 pages
This breathtaking and lyrical novella captures a thrilling and momentous decision for a young man and the people he loves. Told from the perspective of Sam, the sensitive musician from Jodi Meadows’s Incarnate series, lifetimes before he meets Ana, Phoenix Overture is a story of love and loss, strength and courage, and facing the consequences of the hardest of decisions.
Phoenix Overture offers existing fans a deeper insight into a favorite character and the intriguing history of Heart, while new readers will find a stunning introduction to this rich world and the romantic, captivating fantasy of the Incarnate series.
In the wilds around the Community where Sam and his family have taken shelter, life is dangerous. Dragons, trolls, centaurs, and other monsters fill the world. The word comes from the council that everyone must leave and journey to rescue their leader, Janan, who has been abducted by a mysterious new enemy in the north. Faced with overwhelming threats that bring death and destruction, Sam and the others reach the northern Range and, reunited with Janan, are given an unimaginable opportunity. Although it would give them the privilege to live and learn and love without fear, the choice is not without its own dire consequences. And lives—though not theirs—are sure to be lost. Just how much are they willing to give up to save themselves?
It's nice getting a look at the brilliant mind of Dossam, being able to see his love and passion for music first hand. It's also interesting getting a look at his family, his loving and caring mother, his abusive and drunk father and his older brother, Fayden, who is an interesting character (plus, I'm kind of in love with his name). He's not much of a brother until that changes the day Dossam meets his best friend, Stef. Insert squeal here. Finding out how these two become friends was just exciting and the second he said his name and the way they met was just . . . it made me giddy, to say the least.
I love novellas. They're short, they're sweet (or not) but they usually give you a peek into a characters head that we normally don't see. That's the main reason I love novellas. Sure, most books are told from one characters point of view so we know them really well and we think we know the other characters just as well but you read a novella from one of their points of views and realize there's so much more to them. That is how I felt reading this. It was fascinating, getting a glimpse into Sam's past, how Heart came to be, to see some of these characters we know in the current setting back when everything started. It was especially interesting seeing Sam's first interaction with a dragon, since we all know how he feels about them.
So many bad things happen to Sam in this short story; to the point where you really want to reach in and give him a hug. Which is silly because we see him in Incarnate, Asunder and soon in Infinite and he's fine. Well, as fine as one could be. But knowing everything he went through, from the beginning of his life until his current life is just . . . it's hard a pill to swallow. But hopefully there will be plenty of light at the end of his tunnel.
Sam's musical talents have always interested me; from someone who very big into performing music as a child through my teen years, it's so exciting seeing such a great character having the same passion. Sadly, while his passion has not faded him, it has myself. However, seeing how he came to be in his music and what inspired his want, no his need to play, it's great. His love for music trumps everything (except maybe Ana, in my opinion . . . ).
This is a great novella to satisfy your hunger for Infinite. If you haven't read Asunder, do not read this novella as there are spoilers. Yes, even though it takes place before Incarnate there are future spoilers for Asunder, weird, I know but there you have it! We all love Sam and being given the chance to get a peek, as small as it may be, is perfection. I know I'm twitching to open the pages of Infinite.
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