Story: 3.75⭐️
Narration: 4.25⭐️
I will be the first to admit that 1) I had reservations about “Brothersong” going in because I honestly felt like Livingstone could have been dealt with in Heartsong (and I stand by that assessment) and 2) I probably wouldn’t have been able to enjoy all the narrative choices Klune makes if I hadn’t read the short story Feralsong (free on Klune’s website) or been reading instead of listening to Kirt Graves.
Having Graves narration, for me, kept the many time jumps and introspection from being too jarring as I had his voice cues to go on. As for reading “Feralsong”, I had a much greater understanding of all the unspoken and (almost invisible) brotherly/familial conflicts that are finally exposed and given room to heal in “Brothersong”. When Klune says this book is about the Bennett brothers, he really means it as more of the on page and emotional payoff is centered on one or more of the Bennett brothers.
As I’ve never really considered the romances in the series central to the story, I was neither surprised nor disappointed that Gavin and Carter’s romantic relationship takes a backseat to the all the other characters and moving pieces whose developmental arcs need to be resolved. It also makes sense given that Gavin is pretty much still feral and Carter still skittish during almost all of the story. Every one else’s romance played out over a span of years; even when we didn’t get to see it, we got to see the foundations and results of it. Gavin and Carter’s romantic bond is only given months so if you were looking forward to Carter’s awkward courtship of a dude, be prepared for disappointment in that regard.
However, if you are looking for a series finisher that showcases the entire community, family and redemption upon which the stories are built, I have to say that “Brothersong” is one of the best I’ve seen in a while. It may not have given me everything I wanted or made choices that seemed to be unnecessary, bur it did give me elements I didn’t know I needed.
As for the narration, normally, I don’t say much as Kirt Graves always does a stellar job, and I know I enjoyed this behemoth of a brotherly lovefest more bc of his performance. Yet, weirdly enough, this is one of his weaker recordings in the series. I’m so used to his productions being relatively error-free that I was taken by surprise by some of the inconsistencies in character voices and lack of spacing between chapters. Most of the voice errors are subtle and I probably only notice bc of my familiarity with the series. The lack of a breather between chapters is slightly more bothersome bc there was no time to really take in some moments at the end of chapters, which is fine when you don’t go from something tonally dark or emotional in one breath to a chipper/quirky chapter header in the next. That being said, overall, Kirt’s performance is as moving and spot-on as always, and I think “Brothersong” is a fine send off for the town of Green Creek.