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Synopsis
A London rocker is faced with a life-or-death choice when he realizes that a powerful society of magic wielders are the only ones keeping London safe in this deft contemporary fantasy cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson with author and musician Peter Orullian. When Jack Solomon, a struggling musician who works in London’s West End, is killed, he awakens to a new reality in which light and music are used to create magic and where living eras of the past sprawl beneath modern London, layer upon layer, all the way back to recorded history. Jack also soon discovers that many of those who reside in the stratums of London’s past have grown angry with the present world, and that their anger is being channeled by a powerful society of light-and-music-based magic wielders who can cross the realms between life and death, between the present and the past. A past where the dead are sowing revolution against the living, and all of history is at stake. Welcome to the Strata Wars.
Is Songs of the Dead appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
A contemporary fantasy with a protagonist who dies and discovers a magical underworld beneath London. Features moderate violence in the form of conflict between the living and the dead, magical combat, and revolutionary themes. No sexual content or strong language evident.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include death, grief, and violence.
Publisher ages reflect reading level; our rating reflects content maturity — they can differ.
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the unique concept of London's historical layers coming alive and the power system based on music and light.