Great Jones - Shop now
$9.99 with 50 percent savings
Digital List Price: $19.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Adam Stemple
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Singer of Souls Kindle Edition

by Adam Stemple (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

Leaving his life of petty crime and drug abuse behind, young Douglas flees from Minneapolis to Edinburgh, Scotland, to his stern but fairminded Grandma McLaren, who will take him in if he can support himself. Fortunately, few cities are friendlier than Edinburgh to a guitarist with a talent for spontaneous rhyme, and soon Douglas is making a decent living as the busker who can write a song about you on the spot.

But Edinburgh has its dangers for the unwary. The annual arts festival, biggest in Europe, draws all manner of footloose sorts, and tempted by the drugs offered by a mysterious young girl, Douglas stumbles.

What follows isn't what he expects. Suddenly, Douglas can see the fey folk who invisibly share Edinburgh's ancient streets—in all their beauty and terrifying cruelty. Worse, they can see him, and they're determined to draw him into their own internecine wars--wars that are fought to the death.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    238 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tor Books
  4. Publication date
    November 19, 2013
  5. File size
    876 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of Stemple's wonderful fantasy debut, his first solo effort (he's collaborated with his mother, Jane Yolen, on children's music books), Douglas "Doc" Stewart, a recovering heroin addict and talented street musician, flees Minnesota for Scotland and his Grandma McLaren, who welcomes her grandson with open arms but warns, "I've buried three husbands and I'll bury you, too, if need be." Doc's subsequent success as a busker in Edinburgh strengthens his resolve to stay clean. During the Fringe arts festival, he meets a fey young woman, Aine, who gives him the gift of sight distilled in white powder he shoots into his arm. This ability to perceive the faery world puts him in grave danger after Aine is abducted by a strange priest, Father Croser, who uses his own magical sight for evil purposes. A "bogie" (or mischievous spirit) enlists Doc's assistance in rescuing Aine, but Doc soon finds himself drawn into a faeryland that's alarmingly similar to the world of addiction he thought he'd escaped forever and an erotic adventure that holds shocking consequences. Fans of Charles de Lint and Clive Barker will find much to like.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Douglas Stewart, 22, has two obsessions: guitar-playing and heroin. He has recently broken the hold the narcotic has on him but realizes that he needs to get far away from his old life in Minneapolis if he has any hope of staying clean. He flies to Edinburgh and the sanctuary that his grandmother offers. Finding that busking is a viable profession there, he uses his gift for on-the-spot composing to establish a comfortable income among tourists. But an encounter with a mysterious young woman leaves him with a vial of white powder that he can not resist. Injecting the substance does not give him the expected high; rather, it opens his eyes to the vast populations of fey folk on the streets of the city. Suddenly, he is caught up in a battle between two factions of magical creatures that have been warring for countless generations. Add to the mix a sadistic priest devoted to eradicating all such beings and the fact that Douglas's talent gives him a power in the netherworld that he barely understands and the ingredients for a highly original adventure are in place. Faintly reminiscent of Ash in the cult film Army of Darkness, Douglas is an antihero whose tragic flaws make readers root for him that much harder. Stemple blends the majesty and brutality of the faery world with the grit and pulse of contemporary society. He writes with an assurance that belies the fact that this is his first adult novel and shows himself to be a voice to be reckoned with–and much anticipated.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FIL1UP0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books (November 19, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 876 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 238 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Adam Stemple

Adam Stemple

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Adam Stemple is an award-winning author, poet, and musician. Of his first novel, SINGER OF SOULS, SFWA Grandmaster Anne McCaffrey said, "One of the best first novels I have ever read." Of his later works, Hugo Award winning author Naomi Kritzer said, "No one writes bastard-son-of-a-bitch characters as brilliantly as Adam Stemple."

Like most authors, his life experience is broad and odd. He spent 20 years on the road with a variety of bands playing for crowds of between 2 and 20,000 people. He ran a poker training site. He worked in a warehouse. He picked corn. He traded options and demoed houses. He drove pizzas for nine months in 1986, which for 27 years was the longest he'd ever been employed. He has been sober for over 15 years. He published his first book at the age of 16, "The Lullaby Songbook," which he arranged the music for. His mother is a famous children's book author. His children are artistic. His wife is a better person than him in nearly all regards.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
25 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Jake
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Still one of my favorite books
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • MAmazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars love this book and author
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Writing style is smooth and draws you into a new world seamlessly. Bravo
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Christina Paige
    4.0 out of 5 stars A DARK take on human-fey interactions
    Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
    First warning: Do not be fooled by the optimistic sounding back blurb or Anne McCaffrey's endorsement - this story is seriously, dementedly dark. There are a series of turning points that are little, little warnings of how bad things will get, and a few not so subtle cues, like the fight wilth the priest who kills anything fey he gets his hands on. Second warning: Do not get fond of ANY characters; odds are, you will not like what happens.

    That being said, I loved everything else about Singer of Souls: the descriptions of music, as pertinent and detailed as any duel - verbal or otherwise - in The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny; the depictions of an addict's reality, and the pitfalls that bedevil any effort to get clean; the descriptions of the Fringe Festival in Scotland, and the fey counterpart to the human market; the sense of family that almost redeems the disastrous bad choices. Honestly, I haven't been this pissed off with a protgonist since reading Phantastes, by George MacDonald. (That Hideous Strength doesn't count, for in that case I am furious with the author. It's a subtle distinction.)
    After finishing the epilogue, I put the book down, feeling bemused, and wondered if the second half of the book was a bad trip the protagonist slipped into along the way. I was relieved to discover that a sequel exists, becuase I want to know what it was that dropped to the floor in the torture chamber; if it wasn't importent, it wouldn't have been mentioned, and it certainly would noy have gotten part Stempel's beta readers.
    I think the thing to remember here is that Adam Stempel is not just a Minneapolis musician whose former comrades include Emma Bull and Steven Brust, two authors who also take or follow their characters into very dark, weird situations; Stempel is Jane Yolen's son, and when did she ever give her characters a happy closure, unless they were dinosaurs?
    If you can countenance violence and degradation, this is a supremely wonderful tale; if you prefer a faerie tale with silver bells instead of dissonately tolling knells, I recommend Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Pizzamancer
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book
    Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2012
    I read through some of the other reviews and a lot of people seem to have been put off by the ending. It was foreshadowed though when the author mentioned that Scottish fairy tales do not end well.

    I planned on reading this book over spring break, but it only lasted a day. I couldn't put it down. It even made music theory interesting.

    Now I have to add the Fringe Festival to my bucket list.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Army Wife
    1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing! :-(
    Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    This book had such wonderful potential. Like others who reviewed this book I don't always expect a happy ending, but the vindictive torture and maiming here was so unnecessary. What marvelous character development there is in the first nine tenths of the story. It was a joy to read and I was completely hooked. Everytime I had to put it down I couldn't wait to have even 10 minutes to read some more. Then, it's as if the author let some evil child with a poison pen (or one of his nasty-minded wee folk) write the ending. There should have been a couple hundred more pages in this book. I would love to see this book republished with an ending that is worthy of the rest of the story. My recommendation? Don't bother reading this unless you love to feel disappointed and thrive on let downs.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Steven Horton
    5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT! A Full Story with a hard-landing finish.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2006
    Adam Stemple has created an interesting and engaging story which crosses from our world to faery. From the very beginning, the books pulls you in. The story is well told and the language flows perfectly. You won't find yourself stumbling over clumsy style or grammatical errors. Most notable he establishes a fascinating relationship between music and magic.

    The characters are full and often dark. Watch out for Father Croser...Whoa!

    We could do with out the one sex scene, which is boring and obviously plays to the fantasy of male readers with little experience. Of course you might laugh too since it's so incredibly over the top cheesy.

    The pace near the ending of the book changes suddenly. It took me by surprise anyway, and unpleasantly so. Days later I'm still digesting and can't quite get it out of my head. But upon reflection, it all makes sense. The main character stumbles into a world where his only talent becomes his greatest power. Sympathies, loyalties and positions change, dramatically.

    If you need a feel good, fuzzy, happy ending this story is NOT for you! Personally I can't wait for the sequel.
    6 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Mikeal Blackford
    5.0 out of 5 stars A faery tale...And everything that means.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2005
    The two most important things to know about this book:

    1. It is a faery tale.

    2. It is *not* a disney faery tale.

    Adam's first solo novel is still running through my head and in the end, I'm not entirely sure I liked it; Singer of Souls will stay in my library, but it may be a while before I can re-read it. I sure didn't know what I was getting into. It is 'good' from the perspective that while I did not see most of the big turns coming, retrospectively, they made sense.

    It's also worth noting that Singer of Souls, while somewhat reminiscent of some of the faceted-darkness works of Charles DeLint, perhaps owes more to the deeply incestuous music/literary scene of the twin cities. This interconnected group of serious local musicians has involved, off-hand, emma bull, will shetterly, neil gaiman, and steven brust. Heck, a former band, Cats Laughing, now has 3 published authors as alumni, in Emma Bull, Steven Brust, and Adam Stemple. As a former observer of this musical/literary scene, I can't believe no one has done a PhD dissertation on it yet.

    In conclusion, read the book, but don't say you weren't warned.
    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report