Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, Book 1

By: Amélie Wen Zhao

Narrated by: Annie Q

Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation's past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

“Brims with pure magic. Zhao has woven together a story of self-discovery, slow-burning romance, and heart-pounding revelations.”—Rebecca Ross, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divine Rivals

“A magical tale set in a glittering, dangerous world featuring a dynamic heroine and an enigmatic hero.”—Isabel Ibañez, #1 New York Times bsetselling author of What The River Knows

Lan spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the Elantian colonizers. Her days are consumed by the search for knowledge about the strange mark—an untranslatable Hin character—burned into her arm by her mother in her last act before she died.

Zen is a practitioner—one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom. He’s never seen anything like Lan’s mark, but he knows that if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Yet, both Lan and Zen are hiding secrets—secrets that are buried deep within them. Secrets that even they have still to unearth. Both hold the power to liberate their land, if they don't destroy it first.

Now the battle for the Last Kingdom begins.

Inspired by ancient Chinese mythology and folklore, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night transports listeners to a lush fantasy world filled with high-stakes adventure, glittering magic, and against-all-odds romance from beginning to end.

©2023 Amélie Wen Zhao (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Zhao weaves, within the pages of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, an epic, masterfully rendered tale of reckoning and heritage that draws its readers into a world as rich as it is nuanced, and as intriguing as it is magical.”—Ayana Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Beasts of Prey

“A thrilling quest, a wild and wondrous magic system, twists and turns aplenty—but the true jewel in Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is how Zhao expertly handles the heart-wrenching impact of generational inheritance. Prepare to stay up all night!”—Sara Raasch, New York Times bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes series

“The perfect book for fans of the Chinese xianxia fantasy genre.” —The Nerd Daily

Amazing!

A seriously awesome book!
I loved the world, the culture, and the characters. I cannot wait to read the next story.

not bad

the story isn't bad, but some of the works building needed work, specificity in the description

Great Storyline

Very enjoyable, I’ve not listened to this author before but will now add her to my list of favorites!

Fun and well written

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. The narrator was excellent. I look forward to the next one!

Engaging and fun

My only disappointment with this book is that I read it right when it came out and now I have to wait who knows how long for a sequel! It's a fairly long book but there were very few slow moments. Lots of action scenes but also great world building too. I can't wait to hear more!

Stunning and Action Packed Debut

Boy Oh boy! this book felt like being on a roller coaster where you feel like your constantly going up waiting for gravity to take you down. AND MY OH MY this author has done so with the closing of this book coming to an end.
This is a great tale between power and control; Each character has to discover their own power and learn to control that power. In doing so, that’s the true testament of the strength they have.

Rated 4.25!

I really, really enjoyed this! It was fast paced, magical and enchanting. I went through this SO quickly, especially considering I listened to it on audio. I could not get through this book fast enough! I read Blood Heir a few years ago, and I think you can see how AWZ has grown as an author. I will definitely be picking up the next book.

Also narration was fantastic!

Gorgeous, ethereal fantasy!

The characters and world-building were beautifully brought to life and woven together. The detail and history of the world is rich and filled with torment and triumph in equal measure. The narration is wonderful! Annie does an excellent job of establishing different voices for each character and truly brings them to vibrant life. I loved every minute of this story and greatly anticipate it’s continuation in a follow-up book!

Was hoping it'd get better, but it didn't

Was excited for this one. I was referred it because I read MDZS. If it's like MDZS it's the wish version. Everything from characters to plot. Found many characters' voices annoying as well. Shouldn't have finished it, but I was hoping it'd get better.

Skip This One, Seriously

This book was...not good. The main character is "But Mommy I want it NOOOOOWWWW! Mommy! I waaaant it! I deserve it Monmy! Mommy! Waaaah!" Personified. Just incredibly rude, manipulative, and bratty. I can't fathom why anyone likes her, which is probably why the relationships all feel contrived and fake. She just insults everyone, even those just treating her wounds, and has no respect for tradition and culture she supposedly is so upset is getting wiped out. Not a nice person at all, and not in a justifiable or likeable way.

On top of that the writing wasn't good. The humor and insults were were cringey and fell flat. If "fart, dog, fuck, and whore" seem like S Class insults and humor, then you'll like this. If not, I encourage you to skip this one.

The descriptions were repetitive and didn't inspire. There were a lot of wasted words here. For example, the main character ends up at a magic school and learns almost nothing because she assumes she knows better than her teachers (despite knowing nothing two weeks ago). Instead we get long descriptions of how bored and stifling it is, along with more lame insults. There is no character growth or quality world building happening in this long section.

At 40% I was wondering how there was 60% left in the book. I felt this way up until maybe the last 10%, and then things started happening. Unfortunately, nothing up to this part in the book really has any influence on the outcome. Seriously, we aren't there because of any character growth or plot development. We're just there because well, stuff has to happen at some point and this is where they were going in the first place. Oh, and Lan is just prodigiously good at magic, she "just knows what to do" because "she just does." Nothing is an obstacle so nothing feels like an achievement. There is no struggle.

This felt like a seriously long winded, disappointing prequel to an actual story. Unfortunately, I hated this enough to not care to pick up the next.