 | Sistersong is an intriguing and magical retelling of the Scottish “Two Sisters” ballad. The story is told through the perspective of three royal siblings: Rebellious Keyne, who struggles for acceptance and develops a magical bond with the land; Dutiful Riva, the eldest, who was maimed in a fire and can heal others but not herself; Vain Sinne, the youngest, who longs for adventure and can (sometimes) foresee the future. All three are granted their desires for acceptance, healing, and adventure by the end of the book, although not in the manner they expected. |
Sibling rivalry drives much of the story’s action: Riva is jealous of Sinne’s easy beauty, Keyne feels judged by rule-bound Riva, and flighty Sinne can’t understand their angst. We also see these three characters struggling to bridge the divide caused by their competing personalities and goals, which heightens the pathos of the story.
Supporting characters include:
- Their father the king who has forsaken his bond with the land hoping to lead his people into a more prosperous future;
- Their stern mother who encourages a Christian priest for political purposes;
- The over-zealous priest who tries to suppress the ancient Pagan practices;
- Mori, a wise witch in the woods who rescues Keyne as a child;
- Myrdhin [Merlin] the magician who mentors the three siblings;
- And a handsome, enigmatic stranger, Tristan, who rescues the eldest Riva when she is lost.
 | The love story between Riva and Tristan has a lovely beginning when Tristan reveals an uncanny ability to see the beauty within Riva’s mangled body after rescuing her. Riva is ashamed of her deformities from the fire she survived: a clawed hand and lame foot, and she confesses to feeling ugly. “I’ve seen worse injuries, Riva,” Tristan says. . . . “It isn’t ugly. It’s like a battle scar. And you are no more or less because of it. In fact, I’d say you are more for learning to live with the use of a single hand, where everyone else has two. The world can be an unforgiving place. You must have been strong to weather it.” |
Woven throughout the novel are lovely renditions of the land magic Keyne experiences:
 | “The vole’s tiny voice pops in the dark like bubbles on wash water. And the trees—their voices surround me, a chorus. I can hear the sap beneath their skins, the slow draw of water through roots.” “I fall to the earth like rain, seep into stone. Beneath its surface is a web branching off into darkness. But where I go, I carry light. I am the water and the rock. I am the blind things that live on the underside of the world. I delve further. I am the ore, the years, the blood, the bones. And as below, I am above.” But there's danger in merging deeply with the land: it can unravel the soul. |
Mori instructs Keyne: “The land supports a million lives and a million deaths. It is bone, seeds, and breath. And it can rip you apart if you’re not careful.”
 | An early and painful scene has Keyne forcefully stripped of the male clothing he prefers by order of the Christian priest, who considers it improper for a royal “daughter.” Keyne’s emotional trauma is palpable. Though female in his family’s eyes, Keyne knows himself to be male. Mori gives Keyne an alternative understanding of gender identity, describing the Enaree priests of the Eurasian steppe: “they were Scythian shamans, men who donned feminine dress and did not conform to either sex. . . . And they are not the only ones. The followers of the goddesses Cybele and Astarte are also known to have transcended their given sex.” These are historically factual statements, woven into the text to provide Keyne support after his humiliating experience of being stripped of his preferred identity. |
The author masterfully weaves competing philosophies (Mori and Myrdhin versus the Christian priest) and desires (Riva and Sinne both covet handsome Tristan), without vilifying any one party. We are meant to empathize with the three siblings, but the motivations of their parents and the priest are also made understandable to the reader, adding complexity and depth to the story. And all of the characters are flawed humans who must struggle to overcome their own shortcomings, especially with the Saxon army advancing toward their homeland.
When the Saxons do arrive, Keyne provides a clear-eyed view of the horrors of war: “Father’s warriors always seemed eager for battle. They talked of glory, of honor. But there is nothing glorious about this. There is no honor to be found in a man’s spilled guts.”
When the Saxons do arrive, Keyne provides a clear-eyed view of the horrors of war: “Father’s warriors always seemed eager for battle. They talked of glory, of honor. But there is nothing glorious about this. There is no honor to be found in a man’s spilled guts.”
 | In the story’s climax, all three siblings draw upon their magical abilities to bring about the story’s thoroughly satisfying resolution and reaffirm their deep love for each other. As Sinne says, “Because we are not so very different, he [Keyne] and Riva and I, and our bonds are as strong as the land.” |
Sistersong is a five-star read for the complex characters, depth of storytelling, and wondrous magical elements. Highly Recommended.
For another version of the Two Sisters ballad, read my review of The River Has Roots;
find more powerful land magic in another five-star book, read The Queens of Innis Lear;
for more gender-bending magic, try The Four Profound Weaves or The Bruising of Qilwa.
find more powerful land magic in another five-star book, read The Queens of Innis Lear;
for more gender-bending magic, try The Four Profound Weaves or The Bruising of Qilwa.
RSS Feed