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rogue_lurker's review against another edition
4.0
Wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I really enjoyed it. I wondered if a book about angels (seraphs) would end up being a neo-christian/get ready for the rapture kind of story - but nothing could be further from the truth.
The premise of this story is actually quite fascinating, and I think unique. A true post-apocalytic world, after the seraphs unleashed plagues and destroyed the bulk of humanity, a race of souless (but I doubt that) neomages tha control stone, metal, earth, sea and lots and lots of darkness. Definitely some great world building and I'm a sucker for angels that kick ass (in the bible, it usually wasn't a good thing when an angel showed up). At times things kind of plodded on when it came to describing the conjuring (or her outfits), but all in all, the desire to see more of the world Hunter has created and a likable/sympathetic heroine kept me glued to the pages.
The premise of this story is actually quite fascinating, and I think unique. A true post-apocalytic world, after the seraphs unleashed plagues and destroyed the bulk of humanity, a race of souless (but I doubt that) neomages tha control stone, metal, earth, sea and lots and lots of darkness. Definitely some great world building and I'm a sucker for angels that kick ass (in the bible, it usually wasn't a good thing when an angel showed up). At times things kind of plodded on when it came to describing the conjuring (or her outfits), but all in all, the desire to see more of the world Hunter has created and a likable/sympathetic heroine kept me glued to the pages.
ashesofabookdragon's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting story definitely fantasy. I like the way this book is written and how they describe her character. She's not overly beautiful or special but for this story she's important to the people around her
kurenai's review
2.0
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I absolutely love the use of stones interwoven throughout the entire book. Unsurprising this would be due to the fact that I grew up with semi-precious tumbled stones and wire-wrapped necklaces of labradorite and amethyst and bloodstone and chrysocolla my entire life so that part of the story really resonated with me. I had a much harder time with the religious aspects of the book and found myself skimming through anything that had religious undertones. Also, I'm not a huge fan of angel stories (again more than likely due to the religious nature of seraphs and whatnot) so I suspect this series just isn't my cup of tea. Fair enough.
I think I'll just stick with the Jane Yellowrock novels and leave this series to others who might appreciate it more.
vkemp's review
1.0
Could not finish it. Wanted to like it. I like the Jane Yellowrock books, but this was almost incoherent. I could not figure out what was going on.
threadpanda's review
4.0
Faith Hunter imagines a post-Apocalyptic world filled with seraphs, Dark beings, and mages (as well as ordinary humans). Thorn St. Croix is an unlicensed mage living amongst the humans in secret in the town of Mineral City in what used to be North or South Carolin. Her ex-husband, Lucas Stanhope, is kidnapped in the middle of the night, and this event sets off a series of events that leads Thorn to believe that something Dark and dangerous is massing an army in the mountain behind the town. As Thorn attempts to find out what happened to Lucas, she comes closer and closer to disclosing her own abilities and putting herself in danger.
I had seen this book in the bookstore and was mildly intrigued, so I checked it out from the library. It's really quite good. Hunter fully realizes this post-Apocalyptic world, and one is able to really see how this could come about. The pacing might have been a little bit better in the beginning, but towards the end, I didn't want to put the book down.
I had seen this book in the bookstore and was mildly intrigued, so I checked it out from the library. It's really quite good. Hunter fully realizes this post-Apocalyptic world, and one is able to really see how this could come about. The pacing might have been a little bit better in the beginning, but towards the end, I didn't want to put the book down.
behindthepages's review
1.0
First off the world building skills of this author don't seem to exsist. The reader is thrown into a post apocalyptic world with multiple new species that are explained quickly, never giving the reader a chance to absorb the information and a history that is tossed at them in a news story. The main character does try to embellish the explanation after the news cast , even hinting at the possibility the supposed angels are actually aliens, but I was still left with so many questions.
And now for the main character. Her race is barely explained and she is just plain stupid! She is always making mistakes that can out her as a mage which is a hated race. I don't understand the concept of why she gave up her training when she left the mages enclave, you would think it would be important to her survival. She also seems to have this instinct to attack anyone who bashes mages, or contains darkness. Why does she have this uncontrollable rage?
I will not be continuing this series. I was left confused and frustrated by the end of this book.
And now for the main character. Her race is barely explained and she is just plain stupid! She is always making mistakes that can out her as a mage which is a hated race. I don't understand the concept of why she gave up her training when she left the mages enclave, you would think it would be important to her survival. She also seems to have this instinct to attack anyone who bashes mages, or contains darkness. Why does she have this uncontrollable rage?
I will not be continuing this series. I was left confused and frustrated by the end of this book.
mimie7ea4's review
4.0
3.5 stars but rounding up for the apocalyptic ice age setting... which sounds pretty nice right about now, what with the last election we're ever gonna have coming up and the world ending shortly thereafter. Just kidding?
Anyhow.
This book is a unusual blend of almost everything I like to see in urban fantasy with the exception of angels and biblical tie-ins. Am not a fan of angels and even less a fan of angels + biblical things. Though, here, they aren't too heavy-handed.
The writing is decent, albeit slow in the beginning, but you get used to it as you read on. The characters are okay, as are the plot and mythology. There's a good amount of government conspiracy theories to give the story a futuristic, sci-fi feel, and everything else is decent and interesting enough that I'll most likely finish the trilogy. It'll take some time getting there, but as I've learned, this book, and most likely this whole trilogy, is meant to be taken slowly, with frequent breaks in between.
The one thing that made this book stand out among the hundreds (or hundreds of thousands?) of urban fantasies of its kind--many of which I passed on simply because they looked too much like something I'd seen or read before--is the setting. It's an endless, bitterly cold winter. A refreshing break from the usual dark and dank magical urban settings.
This is a world buried under a ton of snow and hasn't seen any seasonal changes since the apocalyptic ice age hit. No one alive remembers the seasons changing. They speak of warm weather as though it's a myth because all they know is winter. I find that most intriguing because the way things are going, we might one day speak of cold weather the way these people speak of the myth that was summer.
Overall, a good story with a slow burn, though not one I'd recommend unless you're looking for something fairly different (but still somewhat the same) on the urban fantasy shelf.
Full(er) review at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/review-bloodring-rogue-mage-series-1-by-faith-hunter/
Anyhow.
This book is a unusual blend of almost everything I like to see in urban fantasy with the exception of angels and biblical tie-ins. Am not a fan of angels and even less a fan of angels + biblical things. Though, here, they aren't too heavy-handed.
The writing is decent, albeit slow in the beginning, but you get used to it as you read on. The characters are okay, as are the plot and mythology. There's a good amount of government conspiracy theories to give the story a futuristic, sci-fi feel, and everything else is decent and interesting enough that I'll most likely finish the trilogy. It'll take some time getting there, but as I've learned, this book, and most likely this whole trilogy, is meant to be taken slowly, with frequent breaks in between.
The one thing that made this book stand out among the hundreds (or hundreds of thousands?) of urban fantasies of its kind--many of which I passed on simply because they looked too much like something I'd seen or read before--is the setting. It's an endless, bitterly cold winter. A refreshing break from the usual dark and dank magical urban settings.
This is a world buried under a ton of snow and hasn't seen any seasonal changes since the apocalyptic ice age hit. No one alive remembers the seasons changing. They speak of warm weather as though it's a myth because all they know is winter. I find that most intriguing because the way things are going, we might one day speak of cold weather the way these people speak of the myth that was summer.
Overall, a good story with a slow burn, though not one I'd recommend unless you're looking for something fairly different (but still somewhat the same) on the urban fantasy shelf.
Full(er) review at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2017/01/13/review-bloodring-rogue-mage-series-1-by-faith-hunter/
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