Seraphs: A Rogue Mage Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Faith Hunter (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 2, 2008 | Series: Rogue Mage

Living among humans in a post- apocalyptic ice age, neomage Thorn St. Croix is a source of both fear and fascination for the people of Mineral City?and now she faces her ultimate test.

Deep under the snow-covered mountains beyond the village, an imprisoned fallen seraph desperately needs her help. There, hidden in the hellhole, the armies of Darkness assemble to ensure this subterranean rescue will be Thorn?s final descent?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After what happened in Bloodring (2006), Thorn St. Croix can't hide that she is a neomage, and neighbors who had suspended judgment develop great wariness of her. Given a postapocalytic world that keeps going after the events of Revelation, paranoids are the least of her worries. Under the nearby mountains, a seraph lies imprisoned while her essence is used to create unholy creatures capable of defeating humans and neomages alike. Initially unaware of the seraph's plight, Thorn eventually leads a rescue team to her. More adventure than detective story or romance, and definitely more splattered with gore, Seraphs may disappoint Bloodring enthusiasts. Others, however, may relish its development of Thorn's world. Murray, Frieda
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

A native of Louisiana, Faith Hunter spent her early years on the bayous and rivers, learning survival skills and the womanly arts. She liked horses, dogs, fishing and crabbing much better than girly skills. She still does.

In grade school, she fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, reading five books a week and wishing she could "write that great stuff." Faith now shares her life with her Renaissance Man and their dogs in a Enclave of their own. Faith is working on a new series, which Roc will publish starting in the summer of 2009, and a role-playing game, called The Rogue Mage, based on Thorn.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Roc; Reprint edition (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462440
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462442
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Faith Hunter, urban fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. Hunter fell in love with reading in fifth grade, and best loved SciFi, fantasy, and gothic mystery. She decided to become a writer in high school, when a teacher told her she had talent. Now, she writes full-time and works full-time in a hospital lab, (for the benefits) tries to keep house, and is a workaholic with a passion for travel, jewelry making, white-water kayaking, and writing. She and her husband love to RV, traveling with their dogs to whitewater rivers all over the Southeast.

The dark urban fantasy Skinwalker series, featuring Jane Yellowrock is composed of Skinwalker, Blood Cross, Mercy Blade, the compilation e-book Cat Tales, Raven Cursed, the compilation e-book Have Stakes Will Travel, death's Rival, and Blood TGrade (April 2013).

Her Rogue Mage novels, a dark, urban fantasy series--Bloodring, Seraphs, and Host--feature Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage in a post-apocalyptic, alternate reality, urban fantasy world. These novels are the basis for the world book / role playing game, Rogue Mage. Rogue Mage contains lots of fiction!

Under her pen name Gwen Hunter, she writes action adventure, mysteries, and thrillers. As Faith and Gwen, she has 28 books in print in 28 countries.

Along with other published writers, Faith participates in an online writing community geared to helping fantasy writers with tips and publishing advice called www.MagicalWords.net

Join the fans at the official Faith Hunter Facebook fan page now located at
https://www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter or follow her on Twitter @HunterFaith
For more, including a list of her books, freebies, & upcoming events see www.FaithHunter.net and www.GwenHunter.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#47 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#52 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#86 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#47 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#52 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#86 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Intricate angel-dancing on a mountain May 18, 2007

By Cees Jan Mol

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Now people know that you're a mage. And some are really not happy with it. Not happy as in wanting to see you sort of dead.

Thorn has to fight. The orthodox, who want to persecute her because of their not-understanding the powers of her blood. The spawn, out to devour her. Her ex-husband, for loving her in his way and not hers. Her more or less adopted daughter, because she is so loving yet continues to break through all magical protection.

Thorn gathers her strength. Fights her fights. Increases her power. Makes more friends. And fights battle upon battle. To return to the mountain. To free the angel and slay the dragon. Even so, darkness will grow.

Very few authors manage to create a highly compelling universe the size of one small town on a mountain. Yet Faith creates a believable post-apocalyptic reli-twisting world, one that makes you crave more. This story is an excellent sequel to the first introduction to that world. The story flows fast and twirls at the right moments. A minor note of criticism could be that the battles aren't optimally balanced (for me, there could have been less action in the village and more on the mountain). The only reason I can't really bring myself to give 5 stars, is the incredible surprise that the first book brought and that this book (as it's the second) can't continue to deliver. Otherwise, it's a very worthwhile read!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The story continues May 3, 2007

By Liz N

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Thorn St. Croix's story continues in the latest Enclave book by Faith Hunter. The main plot surrounds the side effects of exposing herself as a mage in book 1 and the rescue of the imprisoned seraphs and cherub that were left in the pit. While Thorn battles local bigotry and continuing attacks by the darkness, she comes to the reluctant conclusion that she will have to return to the Trine.

What works...

Hunter continues to offer strong and clear writing. Her imagery is excellent even when describing complex concepts and fast-paced action. She also nicely expands on the world introduced in the first book, including mage powers and mage/human/seraph histories. And while others have complained about the excessively hateful view of humans toward mages I think its a plausible reaction of fear and awe toward the unknown and it is described and elaborated well in the second book.

What doesn't work...

While the main character isn't prone to ruminate for chapters at a time and the action seems fairly consistent throughout the book, things still manage to feel stagnant. Perhaps its Thorn's reluctance and indecisiveness that prevents a clear concept of movement and purpose through the book. Even after the climax of the book comes and various revelations are made, I'm still left asking, "So what?" While formulaic its nice to have a cause to invest our hero's energies in and this grand cause that fuels actions in other books seems to be lacking here. As a character Thorn is developing and her powers seem to be building-up in expectation of something, but what that "something" is remains unclear.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Big disapointment August 23, 2010

By CFMR

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read the first book in the series and was intrigued with the potential created in this universe post-apocalyptic with Angels, Mages, demos and poor average humans. Even though it was not as good as I thought, I decided to give a try to the second instalment.

It was a big disapointment. Several reasons:
There is a consistent recurrency in repeating scenes - I lost count how many times the main character creates a circle, draws the energy, load the stones, etc
too many sideline scenes that did not add information or depth to the plot.
The plot was incosistent. She has information from the beginning that angels were trapped still in the Trine and did not do anything about it until the end!
Big scene last less than 60 pages and you get the feeling that the book did not make the story evolve. No new elements to help understand the world apart from some pages. I found several inconsistencies in the book.

Will stop reading this series now. Does not make sense to continue as I do not expect things to change.-