Gravesong
By pirateaba
Gravesong is a story about a young woman who falls into another world, meets a ghost knight, kills a cute rabbit, sings magical songs, and survives a horde of murderous undead sent to eradicate every living thing from the face of the world. It’s a fantasy tale of magic and adventure, music and action.
Gravesong is also a tale of trust, of questioning authority, your place in the world, and whether you can really make a difference.
Does your worldview stand up to a world where the facts of ours no longer apply?
What happens to notions of fairness and justice when people are not created equal?
How do you react when no one else recognises the truths you’ve always taken for granted?
The book doesn’t try to answer these questions, and really, it’s much more of a fantasy adventure than any kind of ponderous treatise, but the questions are there, and they’re probably what I’ll remember most from the book.
Then again…
The illusory piano that plays real music is pretty cool. Surviving for days in an underground crypt on roots and mice brought by a ghost has got to be a challenge. Songs that conjure rain, fire, and light are things I can only dream of experiencing myself.
Another thing that stands out to me is the importance of music in this book. Music is a big deal to me (I used to be DJ, and finding the right songs for the right moment is still something I very much enjoy), and it’s fascinating to read a fantasy story that incorporates modern day music in the way Gravesong does.
Cara, the main character, is an aspiring actress and singer, and one of the few things she brings into the new world she’s thrown into is her phone. Her phone is where she keeps her music, and with her passion for performing, she has a lot of instrumentals and karaoke versions to sing over.
I’d heard that the audiobook narrator would be singing some of the vocal bits, and I was concerned it would be a bit cringe, but to my relief it worked out really well. The narration is top notch, and the songs definitely enhance the experience.
Although, I have to admit, I’m a little bit disappointed I’d never heard any of the songs myself before this. It makes me feel just a tad bit old and out of touch.
There’s also a song specifically written for the book (I believe) and performed by the narrator available on Spotify, here.
Readers familiar with the author will perhaps wonder how Gravesong compares to The Wandering Inn. It’s a question I asked myself. After all, both stories takes place in the same fantasy world and at the same time, and there’s definitely an overlap.
The short of it is that Gravesong is more of the same, in the good way. If you enjoy TWI, you’ll enjoy Gravesong as well.
The more nuanced answer is that there are both similarities and differences. The author resists the temptation to name drop important characters from the other book, and there’s really only one name of significance that keeps popping up. At the same time, the world is familiar and recognisable, and anyone who’s read TWI will recognise the names of nations, continents, and political figures.
The mechanics of classes and levels are the same, of course, and there are many other familiar concepts.
The events surrounding Cara’s appearance in Noelictus are only hinted at in TWI, and it’s interesting to see what actually happened there. We even get to know Cara’s real name.
Another major difference compared to TWI is that Gravesong is written as a novel, while The Wandering Inn is published as a web-serial. Gravesong has a clearly defined main plot, with an introduction to the world and its characters, an escalation of complications, and a satisfying climax. It’s supposed to be a series, but the book stands well enough on its own, and it does not end on a cliffhanger.
You don’t need to be familiar with TWI to enjoy Gravesong, and I might even go so far as to say that Gravesong is a better introduction to Innworld than the first book of The Wandering Inn itself.
What I’ll whine about
I mentioned it earlier, and it’s not technically a non-issue, but it really annoyed me that I didn’t recognise any of the songs in the book. It probably says more about me than the story.
Another thing that gets on my nerves, both with Gravesong and The Wandering Inn, is how the main characters just seem to apply their own morals and values to this new world they find themselves in. It seems so obvious to me as a reader that things are wildly different in in Innworld that I can’t help but get annoyed at the main characters expecting everything to be the same. This is probably perfectly natural and realistic, and I might very well do the same if I ended up in a fantasy world like that, but it still makes me curse them for idiots when I read it.
What I’ll gush about
It’s a new Innworld story of its own. I keep recommending TWI to reader friends, but as soon as they realise the series is in excess of 12 million words and still going strong, they’re a little reluctant to get started.
Cara O’Sullivan is one of the more interesting peripheral characters of TWI, and her story is a great introduction to the world and the adventures taking place there.
The story itself. Obviously, I’m already a fan of TWI, but even then, this is great story in its own right. It’s the kind of easily accessible fantasy action adventure that lets you escape the real world for its entire duration. I listened to it over the last few days and pretty much only emerged for sleep and work.
Yet, despite me saying this is easily accessible, there’s still a certain depth to it. It’s not all just dancing lights, undead cows, and brave yet humorously incompetent knights. The story gets you thinking, or pondering – the kind of idle musings that keeps the mind entertained and distracted long after the story itself has ended.
Final Words
Gravesong is a great introduction to one of the longest series and most expansive fantasy worlds I know of, and if you’re already a fan of The Wandering Inn, it’s a must read.
