Seraphs (Rogue Mage #2)

In a way I liked it better than book one, I always do though. I get more attached to the characters.

I’m still not sure about the Seraphs, good? or bad? Angelic beings from scripture, or aliens who have taken over the planet pretending to be angelic beings from scripture. Hopefully Host will tells us, as it is the last book!

The author has a REALLY annoying habit of using two phrases often enough to make me not only notice but grow irritated. Excessive repetition is always annoying, but on top of that they’re really cheesy sounding:

…really sucks Habiel’s pearly toes… Sometimes augmented to …really sucks Habiel’s pearly scabrous toes… Equally irritating either way.

and

Ducky as in, “That’s just ducky!” Sometimes the full phrase, sometimes just the word.

*sigh*

I like it, but she keeps me from loving it with crap like that

Second in the Rogue Mage apocalyptic, alternative history, science fiction series and revolving around Thorn St. Croix, a battle mage in hiding in Mineral City, Carolina.
“no display of my scars to remind them of the battle I had fought kept them safe nothing like demonstrating that people were beholden to you to make them hate you.”
My Take
I knowit’s a busy story, lol, and totally fantastic. Enough so that I’ve already bought the seriesand hope Hunter will continue!!

We see from Thorn’s perspective using first-person point-of-view, and that part of it is an easy read. Hunter certainly keeps the tension and drama up, enough so that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. Part of what slowed me down, however, is how confusing this world of hers is.

It’s taken several times through the story to figure out everything to do with Holy Amethyst, how Malashe-el fits in with the good and the bad, and understanding how/who the seraphs and cherub are who are imprisoned. And obviously this confusion hasn’t kept me from buying the books *grin*.

Hunter has blended parts of today’s world with this world of demanding angels (these angels are much more dictatorial than those in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter) and their Puritanical ideas of sin. Not to say that all of their views on sin are bad, but some of them take me back in history to times I’d never want to revisit! And it’s weird to hear of rock and roll being reinstated, using the Internet and yet living an Old West lifestyle a’horseback with wagons and limited electricity

The conflicts Hunter provides are mostly clashes of morals and values from greed to hypocrisy to prejudice. One of the problems, conflicts I guess I should say, is the sexual attraction angels have to mages and vice versa. Neither side wants the attraction, especially Thorn as it can out her, a death sentence for a mage in hiding.

The main theme is the prejudice humans have against mageswith a side order of greed and fear. It goes along with its the winners who write the history, leaving humans with no concept of the mages’ side. Nor do many of the townspeople think! I meanI get that the average person is terrified of those “perverse” mages, but Thorn has been blessed by a seraph. Doesn’t that count for something? Wouldn’t that make the bigoted stop and think?

I love how Hunter pulls in the shop, their art, and the raw materials that play such a huge part in every aspect of their varied lives and interests.

Hunter encourages you to root for Thorn and her friends and to despise those who cannot think beyond their own fears. It’s a pip!

The Story
Since being outed, Thorn is beset by those who hate and fear her, and she’s learned who her friends are. It matters not that Thorn’s powers have saved them and their town, all they can see are the demon spawn and succubae that attack. And the truth of her being one of the feared mages.

That fear and prejudice force Thorn to face a trial despite her sigil of acceptance.

But her real test is in the Trine, the mountains beyond Mineral City, where imprisoned seraphs are desperate for her help and hers and the lineage of others threaten their world.

Despite her fears of going beneath, Thorn must descend deep into those snow-covered mountains and battle the armies of Darkness.

The Characters
Thorn’s Gems is
a jewelry and lapidary shop owned by three best friends, including Thorn St. Croix Stanhope, a battle neomage working in stone who is no longer in hiding and with the permission of the High Host to be outside an enclave. Lemuel Hastings had been Thorn’s foster father and brother to Gramma Stanhope. Rose is the twin Thorn thinks was killed.

Rupert Stanhope is one of the partners and Lucas’ brother. Audric is a half-breed mule and a famous dead-miner with a claim on the town of Sugar Grove. He’s also in a relationship with Rupert. And, regrettably, bound to Raziel after events in Bloodring , 1. Both men declare themselves Thorn’s champards, her champions in battle.

Jacey is the third partner and married to Big Zed. Zeddy is his oldest; Cissy is both of theirs.

Thaddeus Bartholomew is a state police cop, Rupert’s cousin, and a kylen attracted to Thorn. Durbarge is an Administration of the ArchSeraph Investigator, an assey, who is supposed to protect a mage in the human population.

Mineral City is
located in the Appalachian Mountains and known for its quartz and feldspar. Esmeralda “Miz Essie” Boyles and her son, Eli Walker, a part-time miner and tracker who prefers cowboy gear and Sennabel Schwartz, the local librarian, and her husband are some of Thorn’s supporters.

Townspeople also include Old Lady Vestis who makes the sign of evil when she passes the shop; Howard; Ephraim; Earl; Widow-woman Henderson; Louis; Richard; Joseph (he is thought to own a still in the hills); Florence Watkins who is firm orthodox; Mrs. Abernathy who gossips; Hannah Zelmack; Mack who is up for cursing, lewd speech, and propagandizing for supporting the EIH; Amos and Mabel Ramps who were bought witnesses; Ken Schmidt who is a miner; Eugene who is a fiddler; and, Derek Culpepper and his father who are two of those who hate Thorn, partly because she screwed up a business deal for him. Sarah Schubert and her husband own Blue Tick Hound Guns.

Lucas Stanhope is Thorn’s catting-about ex-husband, currently married to Jane Hilton. He’s changed since he was taken prisoner and fed manna. Ciana is his eight-year-old daughter (who prefers Thorn’s company) with his first wife, the nasty Marla. Their grandfather, Mole Man, a.k.a., Benaiah Stanhope, is revered by the seraphs and the local humans. His wife, Gramma Stanhope, had been Adain Hastings’ daughter.

The Council of the Town Fathers include
the kirk elders. Elder Jasper, a Cherokee, had been Thorn’s friend, as was his wife, Polly. Elders Culpepper and Perkins are definitely not her friends. Elder Shamus Waldroup, a baker, is the senior judge over all civil and criminal disputes; Do’rise is his wife. Tobitt is a bailiff.

The High Host of the Seraphim are
the ruling council of seraphs, angels of punishment who descended upon Earth and destroyed its populations. Now humanity answers to them. Raziel is a warrior angel who bound Audric and is second to Michael. Michael is the ArchSeraph. Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel are also high-order seraphs, princes. Adonal is the Angel of Punishment, a.k.a., a “terrible angel”, who had judged Thorn in Bloodring . Cheriour answers the mage-in-dire cry, a two-edged sword, as it usually ends with the Sword of Punishment that can rebound back on all humans in the area. Garshanal.

Watchers are Fallen but repentant angels, who had lived on earth and taught new skills to humans. For this they were stripped of many powers and exiled to earth. Minor Flames are creatures of spirit and energy, warriors who look like fire.

Holy Amethyst is a cherubim whose Wheels were freed in Bloodring , but she is still trapped. She claims Malashe-el as hers by day. Zadkiel, her winged-warrior mate and Right Hand of the ArchSeraph Michael, is also trapped.

Baraqyal “Barak” is a Watcher imprisoned by the Dark. He might also be Baraqijal who taught astrology. Daria is a neomage with whom Barak mated, the first seraph to take a mage lover.

The EIH is
a.k.a., Earth Invasion Heretics who believe the angels are aliens here to enslave the earth. Joseph Barefoot invites Thorn to join the EIH. Tomas and Rickie are EIH operatives.

The Enclaves are
reservations for mages. Lolo is the priestess of the New Orleans Enclave and is as a grandmother to Thorn. Mages have specific powers that use creation energies: stone, metal, earth, sun, moon, sea, weather, and water.

Oliver Winston and Romona Benson are reporters with Satellite News Network.

Powers of Darkness are
demons, who are immortal spirits with two physical forms, and the Fallen who taught skills to man. Malashe-el is a daywalker, mortal, and a Minor Darkness in thrall to the Master of the Trine (the mountain) by night. Azazel is one of Satan’s. Ephrahu is one of the human guards.

Forcas is now a Major Power, promoted after Bloodring , after Lucas.

Dead-miners scavenge abandoned homesteads and towns for the household goods left behind. Kylen are half-mage, half-angel who may only breed with humans with all offspring taken to a Realm of Light. Mages, the first unforeseen, aren’t fertile with humans but they are with seraphs. Mules are the second unforeseen, sterile, incompletely developed, and half-human, half-seraph. An omega mage can command seraphs in battle. Federal crimes include forbidden sexual practices and black magic.

Back History
General Bascomb, a parent of one of the original neomages, ordered a nuclear bomb dropped on these teens. Enoch was a human man who had pled for the Watchers before the Most High.

The Cover and Title
The cover has dark borders with an explosion of gold in the middle with a background of industrial abandonment. It’s the red-haired Thorn in the middle of it all in her black leather battlesuit, swords in hand and one on her back with a flourish of what seems to be the misty red flame lining of a black cape. The title is in a shadowed white across the center with the author’s name in white at the bottom.

The title reflects our closer introduction to the Seraphs.

Book number two of a three fantasy post apocalyptic series, the Rogue Mage series. I read the well printed and well bound MMPB published by ROC in 2008. I have already purchased book three in the series.

It has been 105 years since the first plague, and 87 years since the last battle between the seraphs and the darkness that killed 90% of the human race. The war is unresolved as seraphs and demons pursue each other across the face of the Earth and in the depths of the Earth. As a result of the nuclear weapons used by the humans against the demons, the earthquakes, and the volcanoes, the Earth is in a serious Ice Age.

Thorn St. Croix is now a legal neomage who has been given a visa by the seraph of death. There are two seraphs and a cherub imprisoned in the mountain that Thorn is wanting to free. But, there is a dark power in the mountain also.

Note: This review covers all three books in the Rogue Mage series.

World/universe:

I’ve read many thousands of books and I’ll tell you it’s been a long, long, time since I read a truly new take on anything. Faith Hunter has done a fantastic job blending post-apocalypse, urban fantasy, romance, science fiction, a bit of the Spanish Inquisition, a dose of theology, and a dash of “something” I can’t quite put my finger on, into a what is truly a unique universe.

Some authors go so deep into trying to present how their universe works that the details drown the characters and story line. Others just throw a bunch of things together in such a way that nothing really seems to fit, there isn’t any logic, and ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ become impossible. Ms. Hunter has mastered a superb balance between the two.

As the story and characters develop, enough is revealed about the universe that the reader is able to grasp a good sense of the underlying logic and reality, enough that it all carries a certain kind of sense. This makes some of the more imaginative scenes actually work well, because you have this feeling that if you (or if Thorn) just knew a little more, it would all become understandable. It’s actually very tantalizing without ever being so revealing that the mystery is lost. An excellent job!

Characters:
Ms. Hunter has done a good job here as well. While not perfect, she did a good job of fleshing out side and supporting characters enough that you become invested in more than just the fate of the prime protagonist. She also manages to keep pulling you in a constant love/hate relationship with several characters, where some times you really wish Thorn could do a little slice-n-dice on them, and other times you are really rooting for them to pull it together!

While there is a clear antagonist in this series, the focus is dispersed somewhat across multiple characters, some whom turn out to not be quite what they appear – both good and bad.

Plot Devices:
I don’t have a lot to say because I don’t want to give a lot away. Ms. Hunter did an excellent job working various plot twists in subtle and unexpected ways, with twists you see coming — just like the movies you find yourself yelling “NO, DON’T GO IN TH…. oh you IDIOT!”. And then as you continue to read and suddenly you’re thinking, “wait…WHAT JUST HAPPENED?” (Much like Thorn).

Overall:
All in all, while not 100% perfect, I was left sincerely hoping Ms. Hunter will continue the series for at least another trilogy. There is a lot of novel thought here left to explore.

I liked this book but I must admit to being fairly confused. If you are looking for a supernat romance then this aint it! More Lord of the Rings than Twilight!

In a strange way I found it easier to follow than the first installment, Bloodring, but there was so much in it – I had to just keep ploughing through. Although I came out the end wanting to know what happens next (which is what I look for in a book) I am still not completely sure of what has just happened (got the general picture but got lost on the who does what, how and sometimes why!!)

I think its worth a read but you definitely have to like the “full-on” fantasy fiction type books to like this.

Recommend you check out her Jane Yellow Rock novels first as this was a good way to lead in to this series as gave me a feel for how the writer guides you through the stories and the type of characters she builds – although I think they very different in content (which is a good thing).

Give it a go as worth a punt. I shall plough through the series but at this stage I am not sure that I will make it to the end and feel pleased that I bothered… Could go either way, but outlook at this stage is bright.

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