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41 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Worse of the Lunas Thus Far, April 29, 2004
By A Customer
I've been keeping up with the Luna imprint for a friend interested in submitting. I love fantasy, like a well-written romance. No hardship I'd have thought. If it weren't for that, I would have stopped reading "Seraphim" at the prologue. From the start, the prose was riddled with jarring point of view shifts, tense shifts, and the purplest of prose. There is much use of words like "'twas," "magick," "damsel" "yonder" and such overwrought mixed metaphors as "[He] shot cupid's arrow through her heart, where the iron branded a new scar onto her soul." The hero's eyes are "violet" and the heroine's is often described as "sapphire." This kind of writing is especially evident in the explicit, graceless major love scene. It's the kind of book it's more irresistable to MST than read. I won't spoil things for those insistant on trying it anyway, but it's filled with the most implausible plot twists in creation--I guess they are twists except in the case of the heroine and antagonist their very names makes them seem clueless not to realize their own natures. It's not giving much away though to relate this is based on the hoarist of fem fantasy cliches--rape and revenge. Only so many have done it so much better. I've never even submitted a review here before, I don't live to tear authors' works apart. On the whole, I've liked the Lunas. I enjoyed Lackey's "Fairy Godmother" which had the best world-building, was disappointed with Asaro's given her rep (but it wasn't as bad as "Seraphim"), truly loved Zettel's "In Camelot's Shadow" which managed to make that legend fresh, and was charmed by Hale's "The Wizard's Ward" which had perhaps the most appealing hero and interesting character arc. But skip "Seraphim"--which I can only hope is an abberation in this line of books.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant read- better as you get in to it, October 1, 2004
To the other readers who abandoned the story early on- you missed out on climactic action, a battle between good and evil, some cool plot twists and introductions to new realms of magic that will be continued in another volume.
Seraphim in brief opens with a woman in black armor travelling with her reluctant squire on quest for vengeance against the evil brothers who have tormented and tortured through a reign of terror. THe worst of the 5- Lucifer killed Seraphim's family leaving her for dead.
Along the way she is forced to do battle with real evil, accept the help of a mysterious mercenary, put aside her hatred and prejudices to conquer evil.
Solid broad fantasy themes, good action and an intersting heroine and decidedly different hero who embraces her as a partner and equal.
I am a firm believer that the solid themes in all of the Luna books of equality, strength and moral fortitude make for great reading. I highly recommend this line particularily for younger readers.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dragged down, July 23, 2004
This was not a hopeless read, not so bad as that - there were some very good ideas, but the poor things were dragged down by the sludge of purple prose and weak points in the story premise.
Seraphim is Seraphim d'Ange the only survivor of her murdered family. Armed as the black knight and aided only by the ex-novice monk Baldwin, she is fuelled by a furious thirst for vengeance against the evil de Morte brothers, authors of her suffering.
At the opening of the tale, she has already dispatched one, quickly chops up a second and then rides on for the remaining trio. With all the much vaunted evil of these fallen angels, Seraphim's defeat of them is just not believable, it is far too easy.
On the road to vengeance, she encounters Dominique San Juste. He is a changeling faery desperately seeking his own origins, who joins her for that end. He is definitely the best part of the tale. Interesting, haunted, handsome, magical etc. etc. Far too good for the slightly cardboard Sera. She is described in glowing terms as being so very wonderful, but unfortunately she is not that at all.
There is a good deal of horror enmeshed in the story, of the nasty slimy type. The way in which the next two demons are dispatched is more than revolting.
Secrets of both Sera and Dominique eventually emerge on the journey and then in the final confrontation with the most evil brother, Lucifer.
A shame so much promise was lost in the mix.
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