12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intricate angel-dancing on a mountain, May 18, 2007
This review is from: Seraphs (Thorn St. Croix, Book 2) (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!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The story continues, May 3, 2007
This review is from: Seraphs (Thorn St. Croix, Book 2) (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.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Quite Great, But Close, May 11, 2007
This review is from: Seraphs (Thorn St. Croix, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)
Seraphs starts off not long after the events in Bloodring unfold, leaving Thorn St. Croix exposed as a mage hiding for the last ten years in the typical post-apocalyptic town of Mineral City, where mages are hated as much as they are feared.
For the most part, Seraphs was even more enjoyable than the first. The pace is fast, expecting readers to have the first book fresh in their mind, and not slowing down much to let you catch up. Almost immediately, Thorn is brought before the town elders to face a series of charges which could leave her branded, imprisoned, killed or worse. After reading the first book, I was still left wondering why everyone hated mages so much. After all, there are far scarier and more powerful creatures out there- what's so wrong with the mages? Luckily, in Seraphs, mage history is explained in more detail, from the mage and non-mage point of view.
Thorn and the people of Mineral City are faced with the constant threat from creatures of Darkness: Succubae, Inccubi, dragonets, fallen seraphs, demon spawn, daywalkers, and more. What I find so interesting about the world Ms. Hunter has created is the full cast of vastly different characters. From the hateful, Orthodox mage hater to the four headed cherub and her Wheels (which I couldn't really even begin to describe), there are many many different characters in this book and each is richly drawn, unique and often, strangely fascinating.
Seraphs was non-stop action, and a very quick read. The only real problem I had was the ending. The entire book was building toward Thorn's return to the mountains, but by the time she decided to go back, there was only sixty pages left. And by the time she actually made it into the mountains, there was approximately only forty pages remaining. There was so much action, and so many battles, and deaths and near deaths, and revelations in these last few pages, and it could easily have used twice the page time. As I kept getting closer to the end, I constantly worried that Ms. Hunter was going to cut off the book in the middle of the fight, leaving us with a cliffhanger.
The rushed ending also made it a little difficult to keep up with the action. Several times, I had to go back and re-read a passage because I was having a difficult time imagining the characters or visualizing what was happening. But even the rushed ending and occasional difficulty picturing something couldn't stop me from breathlessly turning each page and losing sleep to stay up late to find out how Thorn was going to survive the end of the book. Seraphs is intriguing, entertaining and an exciting follow up to to Bloodring, and I definitely recommend it.
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