Steelflower (Steelflower Chronicles, Book 1) [Paperback]

Lilith Saintcrow (Author), Josh Z Carter (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2008

The first book of the Steelflower Chronicles features Kaia Steelflower--thief, assassin, and famous for all the wrong reasons. After she picks the wrong pocket, Kaia wakes up with a hangover, and gets far more than she bargained for.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow was born in New Mexico, bounced around the world as an Air Force brat, and fell in love with writing when she was ten years old. After taking second place in a fiction-writing contest sealed her addiction to the written word, it's often supposed that she has ink instead of blood filling her veins. A previously published author, she has written a paranormal romance, Dark Watcher. She currently lives in Vancouver, WA with her husband, two small children and a houseful of cats. Her website is: http: //www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599986426
• ISBN-13: 978-1599986425
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lilith Saintcrow lives in Vancouver, Washington, with her two children and assorted other strays. She has been writing since she was nine years old. Find her on the web at www.lilithsaintcrow.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not what i expected, October 2, 2008

By 

Elfhelm (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steelflower (Steelflower Chronicles, Book 1) (Paperback)

I bought this on a lark when looking for something to read while out of town not expecting too much. I must say I was pleasantly surprised! The book is narrated by the protagonist; an outcast elf cast adrift in a hostile world. The females of her race are gifted with Power and are "twinned" with a male partner. Kaia was born without Power and has made her way as a mercenary, thief, assassin or a combination thereof. Things get sticky when she picks the wrong pocket...
The story kept my interest and I polished it off in record time! The story moves along briskly with nary a lag while finishing up the plot. Some weaknesses exist however; there are too many confusing terms presented in the "elvish" language, the culture is ill defined in the beginning, but does eventually get developed. There looks to be more in this series and I look forward to reading them despite some minor drawbacks.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than I expected, November 15, 2008

By 

Jocelynne Weathers (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Steelflower (Steelflower Chronicles, Book 1) (Paperback)

I bought this book right after it hit Amazon and then I put it on my TBR pile because I was nervous about reading it. From the back cover blurb, it's the kind of sword and sorcery novel that can either be good or bad, no middle ground. Now, I am a fan of Ms. Saintcrow's work so I had high hopes, but still I hated to disappointed. Even a good author can have off books, and I was too nervous to immdiately take the risk.

I should have been brave and waded right in because I was not disappointed in the least. There are all the elements that I have come to expect from Ms. Saintcrow's books: characters I care about, a vivid and well developed world, and a twisty plot that is tightly built.

One thing I found particularly interesting was her use of language ideas from her heroine's native tongue. So often when dealing with sword and sorcery novels, foreign names and words are thrown around as some sort of exotic spice with no thought to linguistic intergrity. Apostrophes are plunked into the middle of words just to make them look a little foreign. I usully find this particularly annoying and was very happy to see that Ms. Saintcrow's apostrophes were used correctly from a linguistic standpoint and like the rest of her novel, the details of language were well thought out.

Now, obviously for most people language use and developement are not going to be critical elements of the story, but this is all to say that her non-English words will not detract from anyone's enjoyment. What details she adds, whether they are about language or hair styling, are all important to the characters and story. Each new detail adds to the overall richness. Frankly, once I started this book, it was so well written and developed that I simply could not put it down. To fans of sword and sorcery style fantasty, I can highly recommend this novel.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick and easy read, November 19, 2008

By 

Genie K (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Steelflower (Steelflower Chronicles, Book 1) (Paperback)

Here's the deal with this book as I see it. If you're looking for epic fantasy, high brow world building (which I thoroughly enjoy)...look elsewhere. There's not a lot of depth here.

If you're looking for a quick read that won't task your brain much, this book is ideal and the reason I picked it up. I would read this while commuting or just to kill some time without a lot of mental commitment.

You've got your standard skillful but emotionally stunted heroine and her dark brooding partner (very similar to Dante Valentine and her demon) but it's set in a regular fantasy world instead of the semi-techy one of the Dante series.

I enjoyed most of the characters in the book but they ARE broadly drawn. And I have to agree with reviewers who did not like the illustrations in the book. They are not very good. These drawings reminded me of the ones my friends and I used to draw in Jr High!

The language parts weren't that big of deal for me as I didn't dwell too much on it. I enjoyed it overall and would read the next book in the series if there is one, but please no more illustrations.