After this introductory chapter with the Storyteller, we pick up with the continuing adventures of Kindred Greyreach in Chapter One proper. Or, should I say, the aftermath that she's left behind in her wake. We catch up with her soon enough, as she makes her way to the great depths below to search for her grandmother, the Marchess.
In a separate location, we are also introduced to a small group of children, Idyll, Zim, Aster and Flitch, who are of the Borders house and whose father is Baron Borders in the King's court. It seems they are predisposed to having adventures of their own - and are equally likely to wind up causing trouble for themselves and, at times, their house, even on a good day. And these are not good days. With the pirates incoming and the sea burning with wildfire and the events that have occurred out at sea in the last book, political tensions are... tense.
The Borders Estate has a mysterious secret hidden in the basement. A... mystical one, at that. One of boon and horror in equal measure. Something that may have been responsible for the children's mother's death... and a mystery whose heart they will have to probe. Something that the Baron has kept from his children until now, but times have become desperate and so have the necessary measures.
Of course, that's not enough action for one book, so there are also new things to discover at the seafloor, unexpected allies and strange surroundings to be in awe of and to respect. Kindred will find that one of her newfound friends is being haunted and hunted by a mythical creature of extreme power who follows a strict - and odd - code. Kindred will also discover a great threat to the people above and will have to find a way to help them repel the threat and she may just discover the fate of her grandmother, to boot.
The Endless Song is interesting, full of action and wonderfully written, continuing the story from the first book and also introducing new characters and plotlines and also revealing more about the magic system in the Forever Sea universe and the framing element of the Storyteller. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, I highly recommend The Endless Song, but be wary if you're not a fan of stories with lots of moving parts. There are several different parties acting individually, together, or in ways that you may not be sure at times if they are even contemporaries. These threads weave together to make much more sense by the end, but you have to be able to get there. Personally, I'm hoping for another installment, but I must admit that the ending felt more like wrapping up a duology than anything that would be continued. But, time will tell; as long as there exists a Storyteller, there may yet be stories to tell.
