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The Curse Of The Chosen (The Song Of The Tears Volume 2) by Ian Irvine
01/03/2008 . Source: Sue Davies 
Pub: Orbit. 594 page enlarged paperback. Price: £12.99 (UK), $26.00 (US). ISBN: 978-1-84149-470-8. Buy The Curse Of The Chosen in the USA - or Buy The Curse Of The Chosen in the UK  check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
Nish, Maelys, and Flydd are the brink of being crushed by Jal-Nish when Maelys makes a daring assertion that gives them time to escape. Flydd is in his renewed body and still weak. Their companion, Colm, is sickened by what he sees as Maelys' betrayal but has no choice but to accompany them.
They are pursued not only by Jal-Nish but also by the powerful Vivimord and his creepy servant, Phrune. He has snares and enchantment for Nish and Maelys but there are worse things to be feared. Flydd tests his new-found powers but is troubled by a mysterious woman in red when trying to flex his new magical muscles.
What follows is a painful blow-by-blow account of their escape and travels as they seek out the Numinator, a mysterious figure in the far away frozen wastes. Blessed by lighter passages only occasionally, the novel is an unremitting tale of travail and gloom with some added misery. By the middle, I was prepared to chew off my left arm to avoid turning any more pages.
I am disappointed with this continuing saga as it fails to light up in any way. I admire the descriptions and even the story-telling but, in the end, very little happens. All the characters are either unpleasant or so stoic as to be very wooden.
I want to be able to report that this is an improvement on the last in this series "The Fate Of The Fallen" but, regrettably, this is more of the same. Characters are in a spot at the beginning of the novel and strangely in a spot not so very far removed at the end of another 600 pages. I am starting to long for brevity in this saga. My main reasons for this are that I simply have no affection for any of the characters. I wanted to put the book down and use it as a doorstop.
I feel let down by a book that wants me to cross continents and share its sandwiches when I would like to stay here and read a shorter book. One of my qualms is the micro-activity that takes place. I feel like I am going round in circles as the characters spend 200 pages just getting out of some corridors.
If you have an exceptionally long journey then this might make it feel longer. Misplaced hope and expectation has got me reading this saga when I should have read 'War And Peace' instead.
Sue Davies
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