Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.
Release Date: July 10, 2012
It has been a long time since I have read such an exquisitely developed pure fantasy novel. There are many aspects of Seraphina that are strong and need to be praised: characterization, details, world building, and plot development.
The main characters of Seraphina are individual and extremely well developed. Seraphina herself experiences heartbreak after heartbreak concerning her personal life and she struggles throughout the novel to understand the reason for her existence and to accept that she is worthy of friendship and love. Not only does this create a natural connection between Seraphina and the reader, but it establishes empathy exceedingly well. Orma, Seraphina’s teacher, is wonderfully serious, caring, and intelligent all at once. He is protective of Seraphina and her secret, and strives to help her along her discovery of her heritage and her love of music.
I really want to mention Hartman’s great development of secondary characters like Princess Glisselda, Prince Lucian Kiggs, and the inhabitants of Seraphina’s garden. Glisselda is as precocious as you would expect a young fifteen year old princess to be, and just as intelligent. She is sharp and demanding, but she has the right to be as the first heir to the throne. Prince Lucian (referred to as Kiggs throughout most of the novel) is Glisselda’s devoted fiancé and friend. He is a bit judgmental, but as the head of the royal family’s guard, he should be. Fruit bat is the obvious favorite of Seraphina’s garden, and Hartman’s ability to develop his character without the character speaking for most of the novel is wonderful.
The world building and details that Hartman employs throughout this novel are absolutely perfect to provide an intricate vision of the city of Gorrida and the characters themselves. Hartman utilizes the idea of motherly memories passed on through dragon lines to help establish a clear purpose and main dramatic question for the novel, and to create tension within Seraphina and in the turmoil surrounding her.
Once the narrative began to pick up, about 100 pages into the story, then the plot development was well done. At the beginning, it felt like Hartman was pounding so many details into the readers’ mind that it was easy for me to confuse the names and titles. It is possible that the pacing will have been corrected or quickened in the final publication, since I read an Advanced Reader Copy.
Overall, I think that Seraphina is a completely innovative and beautiful story. I recommend it to fantasy fans and even paranormal fans looking for a new main character to love. I’m awarding Hartman’s debut with 4.5 Bards. Go read it!
Moving! 