Voran meets a mysterious Pilgrim while on a hunt for the white stag, and is sent on a quest to save his country. There is magic in the song of a Sirin that could heal his nation, but at a terrible cost.

I only read through page 85 of this book and then DNF'd it. I just wasn't in the mood to continue, and I've seen in other reviews that it gets really violent later on. Not my cup of tea.

The writing was very dense. Every scene had the same dramatic intensity, even if the characters were doing something simple like eating breakfast. Everything has a secret symbolism. A loaf of bread can't just be a simple loaf of bread; it has to have a deeper meaning. After awhile, that constant symbolism became oppressive. I felt like I had to remember every little detail, because it might be important later on.

I did not connect with the characters. They have interesting personalities, and it looked like there was some good setup for character development later in the story. But somehow I just didn't care about them.

The world building is very rich and imaginative. You can really feel the weight of history in Voran's country. Part of the story is about how the people have forgotten their true heritage, and the song of the Sirin should help them rediscover their national heritage again. However, it felt like too much information all at once. I couldn't keep track of all the symbolic beliefs and rituals and historic monuments. Once again, it became oppressive.

I think other people might like this book better. I just wasn't in the mood for such a dense story.