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erin_lawless 's review for:
Seraphina
by Rachel Hartman
[I was given an advance copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
4.5 stars
Our eponymous heroine Seraphina is the quiet, isolated and circumspect assistant to the Music Master at the Royal Court of Goredd. As the story begins to unfold, Goredd is preparing to celebrate forty years since the peace treaty between humans and dragons. It is an uneasy peace and tensions are high, so it is the worst possible time for one of the royal princes to be found murdered, his head missing – a manner highly suggestive of a dragon being involved – so obviously so that the astute Seraphina (and Kiggs, a lesser prince of the royal family and Captain of the Guard) cannot help but think it’s a set-up to increase racial hatred of the dragons. However, Seraphina is such a beautifully and intelligently crafted story that to go any further into the plot would be a disservice to the reader.
The world-building in this story is absolutely top-notch. Geography, history, religion, language, law! Everything is fleshed out to the extent that the book – unashamedly high fantasy – felt so real and immediate. The characters are as fully developed as the plot and the world itself and Seraphina is a wonderful heroine. The writing itself is first class. The romance done with the lightest touch – this is really a story focused on issues of politics and race and Seraphina’s own bildungsroman journey.
Really, the only quibble I have is – and other reviews have pointed this out – slight pacing problems. In a lesser book, I probably wouldn’t have noticed, but as everything else is so exemplary it felt a shame that there were – on occasion – infodumps or large expositional passages that interrupted the story’s flow.
I am nit-picking. The book was just excellent. A definite must if you are a fantasy fan – a great read even if you’re not.
4.5 stars
Our eponymous heroine Seraphina is the quiet, isolated and circumspect assistant to the Music Master at the Royal Court of Goredd. As the story begins to unfold, Goredd is preparing to celebrate forty years since the peace treaty between humans and dragons. It is an uneasy peace and tensions are high, so it is the worst possible time for one of the royal princes to be found murdered, his head missing – a manner highly suggestive of a dragon being involved – so obviously so that the astute Seraphina (and Kiggs, a lesser prince of the royal family and Captain of the Guard) cannot help but think it’s a set-up to increase racial hatred of the dragons. However, Seraphina is such a beautifully and intelligently crafted story that to go any further into the plot would be a disservice to the reader.
The world-building in this story is absolutely top-notch. Geography, history, religion, language, law! Everything is fleshed out to the extent that the book – unashamedly high fantasy – felt so real and immediate. The characters are as fully developed as the plot and the world itself and Seraphina is a wonderful heroine. The writing itself is first class. The romance done with the lightest touch – this is really a story focused on issues of politics and race and Seraphina’s own bildungsroman journey.
Really, the only quibble I have is – and other reviews have pointed this out – slight pacing problems. In a lesser book, I probably wouldn’t have noticed, but as everything else is so exemplary it felt a shame that there were – on occasion – infodumps or large expositional passages that interrupted the story’s flow.
I am nit-picking. The book was just excellent. A definite must if you are a fantasy fan – a great read even if you’re not.