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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Man, I would love to have coffee with Rachel Hartman! It's not often that I discover a fantasy author whose influences include Diana Wynne Jones and George Eliot. Also, I should probably create a Goodreads tag for "books I pick up on a whim that turn out to be blurbed by Ellen Kushner."
Hartman is an exceptional stylist. This novel of a young court musician in a world populated by humans and shape-shifting dragons is propelled by familiar themes of identity, xenophobia, love, and finding a voice, but in Hartman's hands the story is imbued with complexity and psychological depth. She's a master of deep POV, which is a term I've always found a bit silly because it's the default way I learned to write close third-person, but it's the best way I can describe her talents.
I somehow missed most of the canonical dragon fantasy series growing up, so I've never been a huge dragon fan—but Vulcan-esque shapeshifters with complicated strategies for managing a life lived in two bodies, yes please! Both dragon and human societies are fully realized, with factions and prejudices and philosophical disputes, which makes for lots of fun intrigue and conflict. Also there are memory palaces, i.e. my favorite storytelling device ever.
The setting feels very organic and lived-in, with lovely details of medieval life like clothing and clockwork and musical instruments. The lively pantheon of saints is the only correct solution to inventing an authentic Christian-adjacent religion for a medieval setting, and the rest of us should just go home.
All in all, a strong, simple concept executed beautifully. I'm excited to return to this world.
Hartman is an exceptional stylist. This novel of a young court musician in a world populated by humans and shape-shifting dragons is propelled by familiar themes of identity, xenophobia, love, and finding a voice, but in Hartman's hands the story is imbued with complexity and psychological depth. She's a master of deep POV, which is a term I've always found a bit silly because it's the default way I learned to write close third-person, but it's the best way I can describe her talents.
I somehow missed most of the canonical dragon fantasy series growing up, so I've never been a huge dragon fan—but Vulcan-esque shapeshifters with complicated strategies for managing a life lived in two bodies, yes please! Both dragon and human societies are fully realized, with factions and prejudices and philosophical disputes, which makes for lots of fun intrigue and conflict. Also there are memory palaces, i.e. my favorite storytelling device ever.
The setting feels very organic and lived-in, with lovely details of medieval life like clothing and clockwork and musical instruments. The lively pantheon of saints is the only correct solution to inventing an authentic Christian-adjacent religion for a medieval setting, and the rest of us should just go home.
All in all, a strong, simple concept executed beautifully. I'm excited to return to this world.
I loved this. The world was fun and well-developed, and I loved how the moral was about a young woman learning not to hate her body and accept herself. Plus dragons that act like Vulcans and math and music.
Great world building, interesting characters, dragons, what more could you ask for?
As the cover says - the most interesting dragons I have ever seen and wow it is beautifully written with a heroin who is scared and second guesses herself all the time.
It is a fantasy world with tropes that are familiar but all have a slight twist which makes it refreshing without being jarring.
I cannot wait for the second.
It is a fantasy world with tropes that are familiar but all have a slight twist which makes it refreshing without being jarring.
I cannot wait for the second.
ugggghhhhh. DNF at 100 pages. I really really wanted to love this book, I mean...dragons! But my goodness, it was going nowhere and I felt guilty wanting it to enchant me. Apparently, it just wasn't for me even though I wanted it to be.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Why does this book get a four star rating? It wasn't because I couldn't put it down. It was entertaining, though I wouldn't say it was gripping. I found Hartman's take on dragons an interesting blend of Eragon and Wicked, if that makes any sense at all (and if it doesn't, read this book and then tell me I'm wrong. Hint: I'm not; I'm merely weirdly accurate). I found appreciation in her tackling religious themes and intolerance across many planes, from differing species (which can be simplified and applied to real-world differences) to differing sexual orientations, even if only in passing. For a young adult read, I think Hartman took a leap, one that places her among the ranks of Tamora Pierce, which is both refreshing and something I, as someone who grew up with Tamora Piece-style YA, was desperately thirsty for. Writers of love triangle dystopias can take a leaf out of Hartman's book - and proceed to following in the footsteps of Tamora Pierce.
As for much I love dragons, it was difficult to finish this book. I think I expected other thing but the story is cute. Maybe I wasn't totally familiar with the concepts of thw story. Mmm 3 stars because the scenarios were beautiful.
Lord, this was fantastic. Great writing, a strong and sympathetic female lead (who actually has several good reasons to be a fundamentally disturbed young adult), a complex world that challenges and threatens the characters in all the right ways... I loved it. Hartman's world-building is a bit knotty and obscure at first, but patience is a virtue here: everything soon comes into focus and takes off with such confidence that I forgot about any misgivings I had in earlier pages.
This is a studiously developed fantasy world that far exceeds the reach of most YA fantasy. In fact, can we give Seraphina to all budding YA genre writers as a textbook example of how to introduce a complete SF/F world within the confines of a 400-page novel? I've lamented before about the loose concepts and vague terminology that plague most books of this type. Hartman strikes just the right balance of detail and exposition; I was always immersed, and I always wanted to learn more about Seraphina's world.
I suppose I should mention the obvious appeal of this book, which is DRAGONS. But not just any dragons: scholarly dragons (instant win!) who are obsessed with order and knowledge. They can transform into humans, but they diligently train themselves to block the confusing emotions that come with their human form, believing emotions to be nothing better than a disease that interferes with their intellectual pursuits. In fact, a council of Censors exists to brainwash dragons who have become emotionally compromised. It's a brilliant dilemma and Hartman makes good use of it, especially toward the end of the book. When these dragons actually take dragon form, it's all the more exciting because of how rare it is, and how comfortable we as readers have become with the idea of them as humans.
In short: really impressive debut that deserves more attention. Read it! And bring on [b:Dracomachia|15754868|Dracomachia (Seraphina, #2)|Rachel Hartman|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|21451371].
This is a studiously developed fantasy world that far exceeds the reach of most YA fantasy. In fact, can we give Seraphina to all budding YA genre writers as a textbook example of how to introduce a complete SF/F world within the confines of a 400-page novel? I've lamented before about the loose concepts and vague terminology that plague most books of this type. Hartman strikes just the right balance of detail and exposition; I was always immersed, and I always wanted to learn more about Seraphina's world.
I suppose I should mention the obvious appeal of this book, which is DRAGONS. But not just any dragons: scholarly dragons (instant win!) who are obsessed with order and knowledge. They can transform into humans, but they diligently train themselves to block the confusing emotions that come with their human form, believing emotions to be nothing better than a disease that interferes with their intellectual pursuits. In fact, a council of Censors exists to brainwash dragons who have become emotionally compromised. It's a brilliant dilemma and Hartman makes good use of it, especially toward the end of the book. When these dragons actually take dragon form, it's all the more exciting because of how rare it is, and how comfortable we as readers have become with the idea of them as humans.
In short: really impressive debut that deserves more attention. Read it! And bring on [b:Dracomachia|15754868|Dracomachia (Seraphina, #2)|Rachel Hartman|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|21451371].