{"id":2850,"date":"2015-06-10T08:28:45","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T15:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/?p=2850"},"modified":"2015-06-10T08:28:45","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T15:28:45","slug":"tara-mayas-review-the-fire-seer-by-amy-raby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2015\/06\/10\/tara-mayas-review-the-fire-seer-by-amy-raby\/","title":{"rendered":"Tara Maya’s Book Review: The Fire Seer by Amy Raby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caveat\u2014Reader Beware!<\/span><\/h3>\n

My reviews are written from a writer\u2019s perspective, with an eye to dissecting good novels to find out what makes them work. Although I try to avoid explicitly discussing book endings, I am not as careful about avoiding all spoilers as some reviewers. I find if I employ too much caution about giving away plot twists, I\u00a0am not\u00a0able to provide a concrete analysis of the book\u2019s structure. And frankly, I hate vague reviews.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So\u2026 there may be spoilers. If that bothers you,\u00a0read the book first<\/a>. Then come back and read my analysis and let me know if you agree\u2026or what I missed!<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Title: The Fire Seer<\/a><\/h3>\n

Author: Amy Raby<\/h3>\n

Genre: Fantasy Romance<\/h3>\n

Read: First Time<\/h3>\n

Style: Third Person Past<\/h3>\n

Type: Kindle ebook<\/h3>\n

* * * * *<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Overview<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

The Fire Seer<\/a> is structured by a murder mystery, which the heroine and hero must solve together, much to the heroine\u2019s dismay, because they have a history\u2014and it\u2019s not a pretty one! Honestly, the hero had done something so unforgivable to the heroine when they were both younger, that I was really on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how Amy would redeem him and make me want the heroine to forgive him, never mind love him. But Amy pulled it off.<\/p>\n

Plot Summary<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

Taya lives in a society where anyone with magic must belong to a monopolistic organization. The alternative is to drink a potion that eliminates one\u2019s magic. Those who use magic without permission are called \u201cjackals\u201d and treated as criminals. Taya is on her first assignment after graduating her training, and her job is to investigate a murder and hunt down the jackal responsible.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Mandir, the man assigned to protect and aid her in her mission was the same boy who tormented her in school\u2014and even tried to kill her. Though he should have been executed or at least deprived of his magic for attempted murder, because Mandir is a prince, he was assigned only a year penance.<\/p>\n

As Taya and Mandir work together to find the murderer, they discover that situation is rather more complex that it first appeared. Taya comes to question everything she\u2019s been taught to believe, about her organization, her mission and her partner.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

TAYA (Heroine):<\/strong> Most magic-users in their society are from the upper two castes, but Taya is from the lowly farmer\u2019s caste. That made her feel self-conscious from the start\u2026 and being teased throughout her school years by popular Prince Mandir didn\u2019t help her make friends or fit in. Her background has made her all the more determined to loyal and skilled, however. This makes it all the more difficult for her when she starts to question some aspects of her training and beliefs.<\/p>\n

MANDIR (Hero):<\/strong> Mandir\u2019s father might have been royalty, but he was also a malicious, manipulative bastard who taught his son only cruelty. Mandir has struggled to become a better person, but it\u2019s taken harsh experience to change him. How can Mandir convince Taya that he\u2019s not the same boorish boy who hurt her? How can he expect her to trust him? And yet, Mandir\u2019s job is to protect her, whether she wants to believe it or not, and the danger to her is real.<\/p>\n

Setting\/Worldbuilding<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

I loved the culture based loosely on the ancient and mysterious Indian archeological find in Harrapa, because I am a total archeology geek. There\u2019s a caste system and an interesting theology of Three Goddesses, which ties into the rules of magic as well as the themes of the book. The setting is well-developed and unique, not at all cookie-cutter, making it an excellent fantasy. However, the setting never overtakes the focus on the relationship between the characters.<\/p>\n

Complexity\/Series Arc<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

The novel juggles the requirements of three genres: Fantasy, Mystery, and Romance. The elements of each are handled with finesse, in perfect proportion. The plot flows well, with no slow spots, and nothing hard to follow. There are enough suspects to give the mystery heft, but the mystery, like the setting, does not steal the focus from the changing relationship between the heroine and hero. There are 43 chapters, most with just one scene; 16 of 43 chapters have more than one scene, for a total of 62 scenes. Only one chapter, close to the midpoint, has 5 scenes. The Actual Midpoint = Scene 31, Chapter 24; the Story Midpoint = Scene 38, Chapter 26. This is the point when Taya\u2019s tentatively growing trust in Mandir is shattered by a seeming betrayal.<\/p>\n

As in a Romance novel, there are two PoV characters, Taya and Mandir. Taya\u2019s PoV predominates, while 11 of 62 scenes from Mandir\u2019s PoV. Nonetheless, the scenes from the hero\u2019s PoV are critical, since they demonstrate his desire to be a better man is sincere, and brings the reader over to his side before Taya herself starts to trust him.<\/p>\n

In addition, there are also 8 flashback scenes, covering three years (between nine and six years before the story), all brief and from Taya\u2019s point of view. The flashback scenes are all well chosen and well positioned to caste light on the current events. They work well to add depth to the story.<\/p>\n

\"Fire<\/a><\/p>\n

62 scenes<\/p>\n

Actual Midpoint = Scene 31, Chapter 24; Story Midpoint = Scene 38, Chapter 26<\/p>\n

16 of 43 chapters have more than one scene<\/p>\n

1 chapter has 5 scenes<\/p>\n

11 of 62 scenes from Hero PoV<\/p>\n

8 flashback scenes, covering three years (between nine and six years before the story)<\/p>\n

Code: <\/strong>Pink = Heroine; Green = Hero; Aqua = Heroine’s Flashback<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Although apparently the first book in a series, The Fire Seer<\/a> stands alone. The mystery and the romance plots both come to a satisfying conclusion.<\/p>\n

Personal Remarks<\/u>:<\/h3>\n

I have enjoyed the other Fantasy Romance series by Amy Raby, and I wasn\u2019t disappointed by this one set in a new fantasy world. It was just what I was in the mood for. This is the first book in a new series. As of writing this review, I haven\u2019t read the second book, The Fire Seer and Her Quradum<\/a> by Amy Raby.<\/p>\n

My reading time: 6 hrs.<\/p>\n

Buy The Fire Seer<\/a> by Amy Raby.<\/p>\n

Buy\u00a0The Fire Seer and Her Quradum<\/a>\u00a0by Amy Raby.<\/p>\n

Read this month’s other Book Reviews:<\/p>\n

Tara Maya’s Book Review: Enchantment by Orson Scott Card<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caveat\u2014Reader Beware! My reviews are written from a writer\u2019s perspective, with an eye to dissecting good novels to find out what makes them work. Although I try to avoid explicitly discussing book endings, I am not as careful about avoiding all spoilers as some reviewers. I find if I employ too much caution about giving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,58],"tags":[709],"class_list":["post-2850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amy-raby","category-book-review","tag-tara-mayas-book-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}