Fireborn (The Seraphim Trilogy) by David Dalglish
| Fireborn (The Seraphim Trilogy) by David Dalglish | |
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| Category: Fantasy | |
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Reviewer: Ani Johnson
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| Summary: Second in the Skyborn/Seraphim series starts with dire danger and ends with all hell breaking lose. A definite fantasy-lover action-fest. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 496 | Date: November 2016 |
| Publisher: Orbit | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0356506517 | |
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When the Center (the government that's meant to protect them) destroys the Academy Bree and Kael Skyborn take the only route open to them. They join the resistance and some allies who they'd be more wary of in other circumstances. Indeed the Prophet Johan may not have seemed that attractive to them in the past but he has resources that will come in useful as well as some interesting secrets. Bree and Kael will definitely learn a lot, including why the Skyborn family are so prized by the dictatorial organisation they now battle against.
American fantasy author David Dalglish certainly knows how to tempt us in to a book. This, the second outing for the Skyborn twins, starts with the complete destruction of their academic world which includes some deaths, proving no one is too big for this author's Grim Reaper scythe.
The initial events throw our feisty boy/girl team into a nasty, increasingly evil world with only part of a combat education. This forces them to employ a mixture of instinct and on the job training. On the good side it means David treating us to one edge of the seat life-threatener after another, interspersed with some interesting revelations as Bree becomes a bit of an icon and Kael… well… Kael develops a relationship that we were partially promised in Book 1.
It's not just any relationship but a dalliance with a princess who isn't a slouch herself when it comes to a bit of world saving. Actually the whole royal family are central to this instalment and therefore Kael (always considered previously to be one of the lesser talented of the Academy students) has the opportunity to shine as brightly as his twin. Indeed it's satisfying to know that after all that upset and soul searching last time out, he turns out to be special in his own right now. How? I'll leave that for you to discover.
This is no second book syndrome story; it can't be accused of even trying to just mark time between volumes. There's a lot going on including some intriguing past mysteries uncovered. The biggest surprise to Kael and Bree is the extent of a world's ignorance as to what's really been going on over the centuries. The result is pure horror and a great light bulb moment when the true ingenuity of the book's title hits.
By the last page the situations surrounding our heroes have gone from very bad to very worse. Once or twice the dialogue may clunk a little but we forgive happily as the excitement ratio soars higher than a Seraphim. If that didn't make us crave Book 3 (and it does!), the final sentence most definitely will. Shadowborn when you're ready please Mr D!
(A big thank you to Orbit for providing us with a copy for review.)
Further Reading: Do please give yourself a treat with Skyborn: 1 (The Seraphim Trilogy) by David Dalglish if you haven't read it already. If you have then The Shadow of What Was Lost: Book One of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington is a wonderful way to help pass the time before the third book in the series.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Fireborn (The Seraphim Trilogy) by David Dalglish at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Fireborn (The Seraphim Trilogy) by David Dalglish at Amazon.com.
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