Songs of The Earth is Elspeth Cooper’s debut novel and a pretty good one at that. There are some rough patches (text hiccups mainly), but all in all Songs of The Earth is solid. There is content that somewhat detailed sexually and there is some descriptive violence.

Songs of The Earth is book one of The Wild Hunt series. In it Cooper brings us into the world of Gair, a world where hearing music is considered of the devil. Historically, we know what happens to people who are considered devilish. They are burned. This is to be Gair’s fate, but against all odds he is saved and gets to live out his story.

Cooper’s novel is concentrated on Gair and his path into magic. It touches upon his main enemy, Elder Goran and one of the good guys, Masen, a gatekeeper.

These three are well-developed characters. I feel their fear, lust and worry. Fortunately Cooper manages to avoid black and white thinking. We see this in the personalities of her characters, except for Goran. He is pretty dark.

Translations:

• Dutch: Lied van de aarde (De wilde jacht, #1)
• French: Les Chants de la Terre (La Chasse Sauvage, #1)
• German: Die Lieder der Erde (Die wilde Jagd, #1)
• Polish: Pieśni ziem
• Russian: Посланник магов
• Spanish: Bajo la hiedra (Cantos de la Tierra, #1)