Katherine Roberts is one of my favourite writers.
She's one of that select brand of authors who have proved their worth by
repeatedly winning prizes in the small press, in magazines such as Story
Cellar. In 1996, she won the Broadsword Fiction of the Year Award.
She also wrote several novels that went unpublished. Like Neal L. Asher
and Liz Williams, her hard work has now resulted in a professional publishing
contract. 'Song Quest' has continued her long record of success, winning the BRANFORD BOASE AWARD 2000.
I had always considered Katherine
Roberts to be a writer for adults. Therefore I was surprised when her
first novel turned out to be a book for children. However, 'Song Quest'
is such a thrilling, timeless narrative that it doesn't really matter what age
you are. Adults quite comfortably tuck into J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
books, but they should love Katherine Roberts' work more. Quite simply,
Katherine Roberts is a far better writer than J.K. Rowling. Her prose is
far more stimulating and composed with seemingly effortless skill. It
seems to me that by far the most interesting character in the Harry Potter
books is Voldemort, quite simply for the fact that he's so evil, and things
only start happening when he's around. The characters in Katherine
Roberts' 'Song Quest' are far more realistic as human beings, even though they
are brought to life in a setting far more fantastic than that of
Hogwarts. Rialle and her friends are on the cusp of adolescence, but
Katherine Roberts' subtle prose means that 'Song Quest' can also be enjoyed by
much younger readers. Harry Potter might also be on the edge of becoming
a teenager, but you suspect that he'll never amount to much more than a 'Kevin'
(thank you Harry Enfield!).
I suppose that it's inevitable that
Katherine Roberts' work should be compared with that of J.K. Rowling.
Rowling's fantasy is far more mundane than that of Katherine Roberts'.
However, I believe the author with whom Katherine Roberts should most be
compared with is C.S. Lewis. The world of the Echorium is every bit as
vivid as Narnia. Certainly the illustrations in the book remind me of
'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader', and Kherron recalls the character of
Edmund to me. Yet 'Song Quest' seems far more environmental in tone than
C.S. Lewis' biblical prose, and far less 'beastly' than Narnia. There are
fantastic creatures in 'Song Quest', such as the Merlee and the Quetzal, around
whom much of the action revolves. Yet Katherine Roberts' prose is set to
date far better than Lewis' - "beastly" has always sounded quaint and
old fashioned to me. Katherine Roberts doesn't need a magical
wardrobe to let contemporary children visit her fantastic world - she has
created such empathic characters that she doesn't need deus ex machina.
Like Tolkien, Katherine Roberts has been able to create her own fantastic
universe(s).
Katherine Roberts is also a thrilling
writer. 'Song Quest' works almost like a whodunit. Indeed, the very
question that Rialle sets out to resolve is: who would dare to hunt the
Merlee? These creatures, half human/half fish, can only be heard by the
very youngest of the Singers, and then only those most skilled at
farlistening. Rialle and her friends are on the brink of becoming full
Singers when a shipwreck occurs off the coast of the Echorium. The ambitious
Kherron abandons his peers to look for treasure, and finds more than he
bargained for. Since she can communicate with Merlee, Rialle is
dispatched with the Second Singer to find out why they are placing the
seas in turmoil. Meanwhile, a stowaway creeps on board the ship of the
Singers, the Wavesong. What follows is a most harmonious fiction.
Are Merlee the only prey of the vicious hunters? The answer's to be found
in Silvertown.
There are some pleasantly nasty and
chilling aspects to 'Song Quest' which should make its narrative
unforgettable. Katherine Roberts is not afraid of getting her characters'
hands dirty. There's also a pleasing moral ambiguity about her creations
which make them most human. In Katherine Roberts' short story 'Death
Singer', the Echorium was a place of evil, after all... As the old saying
goes, children of all ages will love 'Song Quest'. I'm really glad that
Katherine Roberts is such a prolific writer too, since more of her fiction is
on its way. An adult edition of 'Song Quest' would also be a welcome
sight.
authortrek rating: 10/10.
Kevin Patrick Mahoney
Visit
Katherine Roberts' homepage
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