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Singer Of Souls by Adam Stemple
01/01/2006 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: TOR/Forge. 237 page hardback. Price: $22.95 (US), $32.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-31170-4. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com and www.adamstemple.com
Douglas is a junkie who decides that he wants to live. Realising a complete break from his junkie mates is the road to recovery, Douglas takes the high road to Scotland where he remembers being truly happy. His Grandma McAllen takes in this lost soul and provides a safe drug-free haven and Douglas realises he can use his spontaneous song-writing talent to make a living on the well-heeled streets of Edinburgh. The Festival offers even more money to be taken off the willing tourists but its not just tourists who are visiting.
Douglas is so good and attracts the attention of the fey folk and is granted the 'gift' of the sight. But this is a gift that Douglas would have preferred not to have unwrapped. Events conspire to make life more dangerous than heroin addiction as he seeks a way of returning his 'present'.
This is a first novel from Stemple and it is full of luscious detail including some rather neat guitar playing stuff. The main character, this story is in the first person, is believable and not unsympathetic. His battle with drugs is described with real feeling and the aftermath of violence is also not shied away from.
Most of this novel really hooked me and I enjoyed the characters, the setting and what happens to Douglas then something changed and I became increasingly disheartened by the way it was going. It is beautifully written but there is a cold hard edge that increasingly develops as we get to the final chapters. I found the last chapter peculiarly nasty towards women and felt that it changed the character of Douglas losing all sympathy for him. I hope there is a sequel so that the downbeat ending will acquire more meaning.
Sue Davies
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