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It's been a while since I've read high fantasy on a regular basis. I read the first Game of Thrones book last summer and, while I see the draw, was not impressed enough to continue the series. I've been chewing through a lot of dystopias and low fantasies lately but after reading Kristen Cashore's Fire was thirsty for something to keep that going.
Initially, the title caught my eye. My husband and I have planned on naming our theoretical daughter Serafina, after a family member.
I read the short story that was released prior to publication about Seraphina's audition and mostly enjoyed it. I found the incredibly logical, cold, unemotional portrayal of dragons to be disturbing at first. I associate dragons with magic and mystery; I didn't think that these matter-of-fact dragons with no understanding of human emotions to make any sense. The characterization did grow on me, though, and when I thought about how long-lived dragons are and their propensity for hoarding it made more sense. After the first few chapters I accepted it.
The world building combined with the author's clear interest and research into medieval history and music successfully immersed me in Phina's world. Religion plays a heavy role in this world, as it did in medieval Europe, and I am keen to learn more about its history. At first, I thought it was basically a high fantasy version of Christianity - saints, Heaven, churches, sin, heresy. But the saints seem to be more like deities in a polytheistic setting, there is no one central higher power. Homosexuality is accepted and supported, although only just hinted at in the book (the glossary in the back is the only way I was able to confirm certain statements) and women seem to have equal footing, at least in Gored (they are ruled by Queens).
The story is long but engaging. I thought the pace was pretty good overall - a steady, sturdy build up with few falters. It took me a week to work through this, reading a little bit every day, and I was continually engaged. I didn't want to rush through any passages. The climax, thought was a little muddled, I wasn't disappointed and it didn't happen so fast or so vague I was confused. But it wasn't as, I don't know, stable? as the rest of the book. I also didn't realize it was part of a series until I noticed that not everything was coming to a conclusion and I was 80% through the book. I had thought it was a standalone.
One of the best parts (of many great aspects) was that I didn't see the twist in this one coming. THe author leads the reader through a nice little setup, making me think I knew what was going on all along and then quickly I realized I was wrong. All the other little hints suddenly made sense, it was impressive. It's been a long time since I've read a book and didn't see all the supposed twists laid out from the very beginning. Perhaps too much mediocre writing in YA literature has left me rusty. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.
Finishing this book has caused me to wonder why it is considered a YA novel and what makes something YA. This was the first book I've read on my Kindle that made me intensely happy with the built-in dictionary. Hartman not only used vocabulary specific to the medieval world but she also wrote at a level I'm unused to in teen books.
The length, level of writing, and the slight dryness that has a tendency to accompany high fantasy gives me pause as to who the target audience is for this book. I suspect that it will be popular with older teenagers, definitely with adults, and most who already enjoys high fantasy. I think there's a lot there to offer to folks who enjoy historical fiction or someone with a heavy interest in medieval music. I never got very far with Eragon but I think readers who enjoyed that series may like this one as well.
Initially, the title caught my eye. My husband and I have planned on naming our theoretical daughter Serafina, after a family member.
I read the short story that was released prior to publication about Seraphina's audition and mostly enjoyed it. I found the incredibly logical, cold, unemotional portrayal of dragons to be disturbing at first. I associate dragons with magic and mystery; I didn't think that these matter-of-fact dragons with no understanding of human emotions to make any sense. The characterization did grow on me, though, and when I thought about how long-lived dragons are and their propensity for hoarding it made more sense. After the first few chapters I accepted it.
The world building combined with the author's clear interest and research into medieval history and music successfully immersed me in Phina's world. Religion plays a heavy role in this world, as it did in medieval Europe, and I am keen to learn more about its history. At first, I thought it was basically a high fantasy version of Christianity - saints, Heaven, churches, sin, heresy. But the saints seem to be more like deities in a polytheistic setting, there is no one central higher power. Homosexuality is accepted and supported, although only just hinted at in the book (the glossary in the back is the only way I was able to confirm certain statements) and women seem to have equal footing, at least in Gored (they are ruled by Queens).
The story is long but engaging. I thought the pace was pretty good overall - a steady, sturdy build up with few falters. It took me a week to work through this, reading a little bit every day, and I was continually engaged. I didn't want to rush through any passages. The climax, thought was a little muddled, I wasn't disappointed and it didn't happen so fast or so vague I was confused. But it wasn't as, I don't know, stable? as the rest of the book. I also didn't realize it was part of a series until I noticed that not everything was coming to a conclusion and I was 80% through the book. I had thought it was a standalone.
One of the best parts (of many great aspects) was that I didn't see the twist in this one coming. THe author leads the reader through a nice little setup, making me think I knew what was going on all along and then quickly I realized I was wrong. All the other little hints suddenly made sense, it was impressive. It's been a long time since I've read a book and didn't see all the supposed twists laid out from the very beginning. Perhaps too much mediocre writing in YA literature has left me rusty. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.
Finishing this book has caused me to wonder why it is considered a YA novel and what makes something YA. This was the first book I've read on my Kindle that made me intensely happy with the built-in dictionary. Hartman not only used vocabulary specific to the medieval world but she also wrote at a level I'm unused to in teen books.
The length, level of writing, and the slight dryness that has a tendency to accompany high fantasy gives me pause as to who the target audience is for this book. I suspect that it will be popular with older teenagers, definitely with adults, and most who already enjoys high fantasy. I think there's a lot there to offer to folks who enjoy historical fiction or someone with a heavy interest in medieval music. I never got very far with Eragon but I think readers who enjoyed that series may like this one as well.