Host (Thorn St. Croix, Book 3) (Paperback)

by Faith Hunter (Author) "I'd been feeling itchy all day, like something was about to happen..." (more)
Key Phrases: seraph stones, prime amulet, blended scan, Most High, Mole Man, Mineral City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The third novel in Hunter's postapocalyptic fantasy series (after 2006's Seraphs) finds neomage Thorn St. Croix working as a jeweler and town mage in the rural Appalachian town of Mineral City, Carolina. Then her former home, the New Orleans Enclave, sends arrogant metal mage Cheran Jones, ostensibly to instruct her in media relations as she is woefully lacking in diplomatic knowledge and abilities. When the deadly succubus queen's war on Mineral City provides enough death energy for the powerful Dragon to escape its prison between the planes of reality, Thorn is pulled between the demands of the ultra-lawful Administration of the ArchSeraph and its rivals, the Earth Invasion Heretics, who claim to know the origins of seraphs and demons and the whereabouts of Thorn's missing twin, Rose. Hunter's world continues to expand in this highly original fantasy with lively characters where nothing can ever be taken for granted. (Nov.)
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Product Description
In a post-apocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix was nearly driven insane by her powers. She lived as a fugitive, disguised as a human and married to a human man, channeling her gifts for war into stone-magery. When she was discovered, her friends and neighbors accepted her, but warily. Not so the mage who arrives from the Council of Seraphs, who could be her greatest ally-or her most dangerous foe. And when it's revealed that her long-gone sister, Rose, is still alive, Thorn must make a choice-and risk her own life in the process.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Roc Trade (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451461738
• ISBN-13: 978-0451461735
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #526,242 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Thorn St. Croix Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and disappointing at the same time, April 25, 2008

By	T. Warning (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

Throughout this series, Thorn often lusts after men because they are seraphs or the progeny of seraphs. I understand that she can't help it and I think the idea is intriguing. However, all this lust never culminates or amounts to anything. Books don't require sex in order to be good but if Thorn is repeatedly throwing herself at guys, I come to expect something to result from it. I expect her to find a guy (human, mage, kylen, seraph, WHATEVER) and pick him AND end up with him. When I finished the epilogue, I felt incredibly disgusted but not at all surprised. It seems like all three books so far have ended somewhat abruptly with loose ends, just a few pages after the battles are over.

That being said, the characters are well-developed and likable, my favorites being Audric and Eli. And, of course, my favorite aspect of the books is the world-building; I'm a huge fan of seraphs vs fallen/spawn in a post-apocalyptic setting.

The end leaves a lot unsaid and afterwards I went to Ms. Hunter's website, hoping for news of a fourth book though I had a sinking feeling that I wouldn't find anything. One page on the site calls the series a trilogy but I would still love to see what happens to Ciana, Thorn, Cheran, Rose, Audric, and the seraphs. Hopefully there's some evil left for them to fight.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent, November 15, 2007

By	Cees Jan Mol (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...is the angel when you finally stand face-to-face. And yet, it isn't mere beauty staring you in your eyes. It's fury leashed, chaos controlled, might masterfully guarded.

This is the 3rd book in perhaps the best post-apocalyptic fantasy. Faith Hunter simply continues to grow as a writer, to enrich her character with strength and beauty and to paint a universe novel, bright and entertaining.

The village our hero lives in has been cut off. Rescue will not come. And the Big Bad Uglies are on their way. Thorn has to unite her friends, unite the town behind her, pull her forces together and find a way to survive. Without calling the Angels, who may just turn out to have nasty little genocidal streaks all by themselves...

I finished in 2 days. Simply couldn't put it down. Please... More!

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down, January 4, 2009

By	N. T. Bufkin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I couldn't put this book down, outstanding third book in the series. I wasn't sure I wanted to read these books before because the descriptions had serious religious overtones, but this perspective makes for a great background without ever requiring belief or getting preachy. In fact, one of the themes was the question of if the seraphs were truely angles or aliens from another world.