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Amazon.co.uk Review
Novels by the controversial author for teenagers, Melvin Burgess, do not happen along every year, so when one does land it is always an important event. And Bloodsong has certainly been worth waiting for. Six years on from Bloodtide, this sequel--also inspired by the Icelandic Volsunga Saga that Burgess has been an admirer of since his youth--is every bit as violent, gripping and explosive as its predecessor.
Set in a future Britain, amidst a terrifyingly savage post-apocalyptic landscape, Bloodsong tells of the life and many deaths of 15-year-old Sigurd, young hero of this particular age. Sigurd is sent on a suicide mission to a bomb-flattened London to try to kill a seemingly invincible dragon-creature, who in reality is a much-augmented human being with impenetrable scales for skin and a peerless command of technology in its defence. Armed only with a flawed but God-tinged sword as a weapon, the young Volson’s plan is to lie in wait for the beast in a shallow grave, and to gut the monstrosity as it trundles overhead.
That Sigurd succeeds in this impossible mission is due to his courage, ingenuity and timely reincarnation after his unfortunate first death. Reborn to re-unite the kingdom, Sigurd passes first into a captivating underworld, where he finds love, then onwards towards glory and wealth.
Tighter than the first book, the reader is gripped on the first page. Telling a shorter story this time, in glorious bloody technicolour, and using his effective multi-viewpoint approach, Burgess weaves a tale that is not for the feint-hearted. Love, passion, death, treachery--it’s all here in spades. Sigurd’s short life hurtles towards an inevitable climax that exhibits both powerful drama and has added edge-of-the-seat tension. It’s an unforgettable story that will stay with you for a very long time to come. (Age 14 and over) --John McLay
Review
"Bloodtide: 'It will rank along with the 20th-century classics.' Sunday Telegraph Lady: 'It's original, and challenging and incredibly rude.' Independent Junk: 'Everyone should read Junk.' Times Doing It: 'This is Burgess on top form - punchy, provocative, on the edge and in your face.' Tim Bowler, Carnegie Medallist
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Regin said, 'It's time.' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Regin said, 'It's time.' Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
September 8, 2005
Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess
Set in a terrifying Britain in the near future Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess portrays a time when science and industry have gone mad and power-crazed warlords bestride the land, wreaking havoc and violent death on all opposition. They are armed with potent cyber tools including 'womb tanks,' which can clone any living creature, and blend humans with animals, extracting parts from both. They can also repair bodies, and improve them by adding and subtracting qualities such as compassion and fear. Into this ruined, former industrial landscape strides the young hero, Sigurd, descendant of the ruling house of the Volsoms, favoured by the god Odin. Armed solely with a knife ground down to dust Sigurd's destiny is to rid the land of a fiercesome dragon and fight for his place as King of a united Britain.
Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess
Set in a terrifying Britain in the near future Bloodsong by Melvin Burgess portrays a time when science and industry have gone mad and power-crazed warlords bestride the land, wreaking havoc and violent death on all opposition. They are armed with potent cyber tools including 'womb tanks,' which can clone any living creature, and blend humans with animals, extracting parts from both. They can also repair bodies, and improve them by adding and subtracting qualities such as compassion and fear. Into this ruined, former industrial landscape strides the young hero, Sigurd, descendant of the ruling house of the Volsoms, favoured by the god Odin. Armed solely with a knife ground down to dust Sigurd's destiny is to rid the land of a fiercesome dragon and fight for his place as King of a united Britain.
Bloodsong is peopled by heroes and villains and virtually indestructible cyber robots. Burgess' powerful imagination has created entirely convincing scientific advances just waiting to be invented. The story which abounds with treachery, evil and violence, is based loosely on the old Volsunga saga and is over 300 pages long. It reveals the best and the worst in human beings but is still the stuff of nightmares with its blood-drenched cover an excellent pointer to the violent contents. I couldn't bear to put it down until I'd finished all the twists and turns of the remarkable story so I stayed up all night reading it. If you enjoyed Bloodtide you'll love Bloodsong, but like me you'll be begging Burgess to write another and make it a trilogy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Burgess continues his awesome, flesh-creeping and blood sodden reworkings of Icelandic sagas set 200 years into a post-apocalyptic future. This and its predecessor Bloodtide are amongst the most terrifying and challenging books to appear on the young adult bookshelf in years. They are superb but deeply unsettling. I read Bloodsong in a single breath-held marathon and ended the book drained and full of sorrow. All human vanity, frailty, deceit is on intensely provokative display. I hope Burgess's own family life is a little jollier than his fictional worlds. Both books would work equally well for teens of either sex (and on which subject - Burgess is a master at dealing with sex in his books). But expect some disturbed sleep for the whole family afterwards.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this post-apocalyptic world, war and corruption thrive, as the innocent people who occupy it must adapt. England has been torn apart and two families, Niberlin and Portland, are still worrisome toward one another, even though there is a truce intact.
The answer to saving this chaotic world lies with one person, the "chosen one," "the hero," - Sigurd, son of King Sigmund. The only surviving Volson, Sigurd's only chance in reuniting this torn country is by doing one simple thing...slay a dragon. Simple? Not so much.
Throw in three lovely lady distractions, resurrections, technologically-based animals and humans who aren't so human (including a human-turned-dragon) and a protagonist who is part lion, and it's all a little complicated.
On the surface, BLOODSONG looks like the normal adventure based on the heroic cycle, where the main character goes on a journey to accomplish one thing, slay the nemesis. However, in this case it's a technologically advanced dragon.
BLOODSONG begins a generation after BLOODTIDE. But nothing is different from the first time period. There is still blood, war, and love. With those elements, Melvin Burgess creates a complex world that is so imaginative and advanced that it feels like you are in an action-packed video game. And when you finish, you just have to sit back and say WHOA!
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
The answer to saving this chaotic world lies with one person, the "chosen one," "the hero," - Sigurd, son of King Sigmund. The only surviving Volson, Sigurd's only chance in reuniting this torn country is by doing one simple thing...slay a dragon. Simple? Not so much.
Throw in three lovely lady distractions, resurrections, technologically-based animals and humans who aren't so human (including a human-turned-dragon) and a protagonist who is part lion, and it's all a little complicated.
On the surface, BLOODSONG looks like the normal adventure based on the heroic cycle, where the main character goes on a journey to accomplish one thing, slay the nemesis. However, in this case it's a technologically advanced dragon.
BLOODSONG begins a generation after BLOODTIDE. But nothing is different from the first time period. There is still blood, war, and love. With those elements, Melvin Burgess creates a complex world that is so imaginative and advanced that it feels like you are in an action-packed video game. And when you finish, you just have to sit back and say WHOA!
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The retelling of an old norse saga packed with adventure and blood
The story of Sigurd really does begin quickly and Melvin doesn't waste too much time going over what's happened since Siggy became King Sigmund in Bloodtide but the basic gist is... Read more
Published 3 months ago by valkyrie1008
Just bizarre
I wasn't sure which of the many terrible examples to choose to illustrate how bad this book was. I settled on the part of the story where the hero finds the love of his life... Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2007 by J. Hinves
Pleasing, but a letdown
Tell you what, Bloodtide was fantastic (the old cover is better than the new wierd footprint one, by the way).
Perhaps this is why Bloodsong was a slight letdown. Read more
Perhaps this is why Bloodsong was a slight letdown. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 2006 by Dag Aggerman
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