Review: Ballad

by Maggie Stiefvater
publisher: Flux
date published: October 1, 2009
format: paperback
pages: 352
source: gift
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

From Goodreads:

In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

What I Thought

Much like Lament, Ballad is a harrowing glimpse of the dangerous world of the fey, this time as experienced by James, Deirdre's best friend. Things have changed since the events of Lament. James and Deirdre, while attending the same prestigious music school, have drifted apart. Their friendship is strained and James finds himself the victim of unrequited love. James continues along with his same carefree attitude on the surface, all the while wondering about Deirdre and her increasing absence. It isn't until the mysterious Nuala hits the scene that James begins to see the bigger picture, one with new love and grave danger.

I will start by saying that I grew to enjoy James as a character even more in this book. He was a great narrator and made for an interesting individual to get to know. The same can not be said of Deirdre, however. I found that I disliked her as a character a lot more, which is as it should be considering the things she has done that classify her as a crappy friend to James. Her pain in the light of the end of Lament entitles her to sympathy. However, she was also a very selfish character in many respects. She is a girl that has let herself, her friends, and her future fall by the wayside. It was a very sad sight to behold after the way in which I enjoyed her character in Lament. Nuala was the big surprise for me. At first, I didn't think I would like her at all. She is abrasive, arrogant, and comes off as cold. However, she definitely surprised me as the book went on and she began to soften around the edges ever so slightly. What first came off as jealousy of Deirdre soon became apparent as being genuine dislike based upon Deirdre's behavior. I knew Nuala had become a new favorite once I stopped to think, "You know, she's right!"

I very much enjoyed the Horned King aspect of the story. It is a brilliant adaptation of Celtic myth that I loved reading. His role in this story was intricate, intriguing, and, at times, frightening. The threat posed by this figure was both mysterious and compelling in its severity. Stiefvater did and excellent job in emphasizing that this figure is not evil, nor is he good. He is a law unto himself that should not be underestimated. To take him lightly is to put yourself at risk, which is later found out, though I will not say how or by whom.

The setting was as interesting as the rest of the story. I think this story will be very appealing for those of you who are fans to books that take place at boarding schools. Thornking Ash is a school unlike any other. Its purpose as a school for the musically gifted is one thing, but when you add in its true purpose that underlies that aspect, you have a winner. Everything from the countryside surrounding the school to the school itself make for a great backdrop to the rest of the story. I especially found the hills where the Horned King roams at dusk to be well-described and foreboding. Kudos to Stiefvater for her detailed descriptions and for making the school so easy to imagine.

I couldn't have been more pleased with Ballad. There was no second book slump present here. If the third book is as good as the first two, I will be even more pleased. I can not wait to see what is coming up next in the world of James and Deirdre. I give Ballad 5 hoots for spectacular characters and picturesque settings.