Bloodring (Rogue Mage Series #1)

by Faith Hunter

Overview

In a novel filled with lush imagery and exhilarating action, Faith Hunter creates a near-future world caught in the throes of an ambiguous apocalypse - where a woman with everything to hide finds her true destiny revealed.

As humanity struggles with religious strife and seraphs and demons fight a never-ending battle, a new species has arisen. "Neomages" are human in appearance, but able to twist left-over creation energy to their will. A threat to both humans and seraphs, they are confined in luxurious Enclaves.

Thorn St. Croix is no ordinary neomage. Nearly driven insane by her powers, she is smuggled out of an Enclave and now lives among humans, channeling her gift of stone-magery into jewelry making. But when Thaddeus Bartholomew, a dangerously attractive policeman, tells her that her ex-husband has been kidnapped, Thorn risks revealing her identity to find him. And for Thorn, the punishment for revelation is death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101212899
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/04/2008
Series:	Rogue Mage Series , #1
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	93,314
File size:	463 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

A native of Louisiana, Faith Hunter spent her early years on the bayous and rivers, learning survival skills and the womanly arts. She liked horses, dogs, fishing and crabbing much better than girly skills. She still does.

In grade school, she fell in love with fantasy and science fiction, reading five books a week and wishing she could "write that great stuff." Faith now shares her life with her Renaissance Man and their dogs in a Enclave of their own. Faith is working on a new series, which Roc will publish starting in the summer of 2009, and a role-playing game, called The Rogue Mage, based on Thorn.

Editorial Reviews

Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage, lives secretly among humans in this entertaining if flawed postapocalyptic fantasy, the first in a new series from the pseudonymous Hunter.... Even Thorn's friends, with whom she crafts jewelry, don't know she's a member of the new race that emerged in the catastrophe brought by winged "seraphs" a century earlier. When her ex-husband disappears, Thorn must use her only partially trained mage powers against the forces of Darkness. Outstanding supporting characters help compensate for a milieu with jarring inconsistencies (sugar is rare, but coffee and aspirin are common; no new computers have been built since most of humanity was wiped out, but the Internet is still an active source of commerce). The author's efforts to sex up the action with the concept of "mage-heat" mages are uncontrollably lusty around seraphs become tiresome, but the strong, cliffhanger of an ending bodes well for future adventures. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The apocalypse has come and gone, and now seraphs and demons rule the world, waging war on an Earth plunged into an ice age. Only a few gifted humans, such as Thorn St. Croix, live as fugitives among normal humans. When Thorn's ex-husband is kidnapped, Thorn is accused of the crime, and she is forced to use her magic to find him at the risk of her own life and freedom. Hunter's distinctive future vision offers a fresh though dark glimpse into a newly made postapocalyptic world. Bold and imaginative in approach, with appealing characters and a suspense-filled story, this belongs in most fantasy collections. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

A hundred years after near-biblical plagues wiped out most densely populated areas, angel-like seraphs are at odds with the Dark Powers that live deep underground in a world covered with ice. Thorn St. Croix is a neomage, able to channel energy into spells. She makes a living polishing and carving trinkets that she infuses with harmless bits of positive magic, living in fear of being discovered and put to death by those who don't take kindly to her talents and background. But the town where she lives has some sinister secrets. Thorn's ex-husband, Lucas Stanhope, is kidnapped by the Dark Powers residing nearby. The blood of his grandfather was used to defeat them in their last battle against the seraphs, and by kidnapping Lucas they hope to acquire the power to start taking over the town. In order to save everyone, Thorn has to risk revealing her true self to her friends, as well as to the very alluring Thaddeus Bartholomew, who has shown up to investigate the kidnapping. The conclusion hints that Thorn is tied into the ongoing seraph/Dark Power conflict, but can't remember why, leaving the option of more books on the table. With so many fantasies featuring heroes who spring from nowhere and are either virtually or literally orphans, it's a pleasure to read this engaging tale about characters connected by strong bonds of friendship and family. Mixes romance, high fantasy, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic adventure to good effect. Agent: Lucienne Diver/Spectrum Literary Agency

Kirkus Reviews