Rating: 
Summary: Interesting stuff but no depth
Review: After reading the trilogy set, I can go back to this first book and safely say that Sea Dragon Heir is my least favorite of the three. I'm tired of being "told" what Valraven is rather being "shown." In fact a great many things are being told and hence the characters are barely flesh and bone and I didn't care about the melodramas going on in their lives. There are too many convenient plot devices that is contrived and tiresome. As for the bed-hopping scenes..... why? They don't seem to serve any other purpose other than to "oh lets be shocking, shocking(!)" and then left at that with no futher insights to the characters themselves. Once again it is the "telling" rather than the "showing" flaw of Constantine's writing that bores me to no end. I will say that Constantine's writing style is lovely and rather poetic. Too bad she waste it trying to be the next Anne Rice or something.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting stuff but no depth
Review: After reading the trilogy set, I can go back to this first book and safely say that Sea Dragon Heir is my least favorite of the three. I'm tired of being "told" what Valraven is rather being "shown." In fact a great many things are being told and hence the characters are barely flesh and bone and I didn't care about the melodramas going on in their lives. There are too many convenient plot devices that is contrived and tiresome. As for the bed-hopping scenes..... why? They don't seem to serve any other purpose other than to "oh lets be shocking, shocking(!)" and then left at that with no futher insights to the characters themselves. Once again it is the "telling" rather than the "showing" flaw of Constantine's writing that bores me to no end. I will say that Constantine's writing style is lovely and rather poetic. Too bad she waste it trying to be the next Anne Rice or something.
Rating: 
Summary: Constantine creates epic fantasy
Review: Desiring power, the king of fire, Cassilin of Malagash, conquers the Palindrakes, whose power belongs to the sea. Cassilin's archmage takes the Palindrake heir and forces the lad Valraven to swear allegiance to their god Madragore. Her husband dead and her son held hostage, the Lady of Palindrake knows it will take several lifetimes before they throw off the yoke of Madragore's denizens, but she vows the power of the sea will surface one day as an unending tidal wave sweeps away the taint of Cassilin. Two centuries later, twins are born to the Palindrakes. The male is forced to adhere to his ancestor's vow of fealty to the followers of Madragore. However, the female Pharinet does not have an obligation to Madragore. She begins to learn the magical secrets of the Sisterhood of Dragons who serve Dragon Queen Foy. As the twins begin to return power to the sea dragons, the land turns to darkness even while freedom comes closer and closer for the people of Palindrake. SEA DRAGON HEIR shows why Storm Constantine is one of the most acclaimed authors of epic fantasy novels. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action and magic even as the characters are fully developed. This realm feels genuine because the cast feels real even when magic is used and gods and dragons appear. With novels like the Wraeththu trilogy and this story, genre fans will want more works especially the sequels to this tale, from the talented Ms. Constantine who makes the unbelievable so believable. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: A good read but ultimately unsatisfying
Review: I enjoyed this book but it wasn't compelling enough to make me read the rest of the trilogy. The story feels somewhat contrived, as if the protagonists are doing things the author requires them to do in order to reach a certain goal, rather than acting naturally as a result of how their characters have been developed. The dialogue is often stilted and the author uses it as a means of conveying information that she needs to get across, rather than representing what real people would actually say in a particular situation. There isn't a lot of narrative tension -- we don't get much build up to major events in the novel, and as a result the story ends up feeling rather flat. And ultimately, not that much happens. Several major scenes are rushed or merely summarised, or they happen off stage. The prose style is a bit flat as well -- not particularly lyrical, and with occasional lapses into 20th century diction, which doesn't really suit the subject matter. On the plus side, the setting is well-drawn, and the magical elements are interesting and original. But I don't think this book is entirely successful as a fantasy novel.
Rating:
Summary: A misplayed game of show-and-tell
Review: I first stumbled across Storm Constantine through her Wraeththu series, and she's been on my A-list ever since. I like her brand of occultism. I like her brand of eroticism. So I had high expectations for "Sea Dragon Heir." Expectations that this book didn't meet up to. My main quarrel? The characters. Blarrgh. It looks to me like the plot (a fairly decent one) was constructed first, with all its lovely embellishments, sunlit corridors and dark, dusty corners. Then Storm decided at the last minute that she needed some unwitting little lifeforms scampering around down there, perfect little silly-putty creatures that would mold themselves conveniently into whatever contortions the plot demanded of them. Thus, we have characters that aren't fleshed out, and characterization that's inconsistent. Take Pharinet for example. She vacillates between petty maliciousness and indulgent self-loathing through the whole book -- switching when it's convenient for a plot twist. Next we have the 'show-and-tell' problem. Storm rushes through events, leaving an inordinate amount of storyline up to the reader's imagination. For instance, we're TOLD Pharinet's twin brother Valraven was once a kind, loving soul (though it was never evident to me); a few pages later he's cold and aloof, and legendary for his cruelty on the battlefield, even though we never actually SEE him on any battlefield. Or look at Prince Bayard. One minute he's a nasty little brat who delights in making Valraven's life miserable. The next minute, they're lovers, and Valraven's going around calling him 'Bay!' Of course one or two lines are set aside to explain away Bayard's insults and jibes as a kind of courtship. Well, wouldn't it have been more effective to digress, to go inside Bayard's or Valrven's head and show us their relationship's development rather than mentioning it as an aside? That would've taken care of similar situations scattered throughout this book. And if I managed to pick through the fragmented characterization and find something solid, I found there wasn't a single likable person in this book, and the 'heroine' Pharinet was the worst of them all. She was a slutty, selfish caricature of a woman, and unfortunately half of the story is told from her point of view. I sighed with relief when the POV shifted from her to Varincienne (spelling???), but SHE turned out to be no better. The only halfway-decent personality here was Valraven's friend (I can't even remember the guy's name, so that pretty much sums up my impression of him). Overall they were depraved and self-serving; no redeeming qualities at all. Hey, its alright to have unsympathetic heroes. Sometimes they make the best, most memorable characters. But at least have us poor readers feel SOMETHING for these people other than eye-rolling loathing. And of course there's the erotic element, an integral part to Storm Constantine's storytelling, and something that she's famed for. I remembered the Wraeththu books, and the sultry magic she wove into her characters' sexuality. Well, that was far from the case in "Sea Dragon Heir." The love scenes seemed tacked on, and were either rushed and grubby or cold and mechanical. I couldn't help but feel unpleasantly dirty after reading them. After "Sea Dragon Heir," I won't be picking up the other two books in this series. But despite my disappointment with this book, I'll continue to be a Storm Constantine fan. I have yet to read her acclaimed novel "The Thorn Boy" (out of print and hopelessly impossible to find), and maybe she'll redeem herself with the new Wraeththu installments she's currently working on. I'm not giving up on Storm by a long shot, but I am giving up on this series.
Rating:
Summary: A misplayed game of show-and-tell
Review: I first stumbled across Storm Constantine through her Wraeththu series, and she's been on my A-list ever since. I like her brand of occultism. I like her brand of eroticism. So I had high expectations for "Sea Dragon Heir." Expectations that this book didn't meet up to. My main quarrel? The characters. Blarrgh. It looks to me like the plot (a fairly decent one) was constructed first, with all its lovely embellishments, sunlit corridors and dark, dusty corners. Then Storm decided at the last minute that she needed some unwitting little lifeforms scampering around down there, perfect little silly-putty creatures that would mold themselves conveniently into whatever contortions the plot demanded of them. Thus, we have characters that aren't fleshed out, and characterization that's inconsistent. Take Pharinet for example. She vacillates between petty maliciousness and indulgent self-loathing through the whole book -- switching when it's convenient for a plot twist. Next we have the 'show-and-tell' problem. Storm rushes through events, leaving an inordinate amount of storyline up to the reader's imagination. For instance, we're TOLD Pharinet's twin brother Valraven was once a kind, loving soul (though it was never evident to me); a few pages later he's cold and aloof, and legendary for his cruelty on the battlefield, even though we never actually SEE him on any battlefield. Or look at Prince Bayard. One minute he's a nasty little brat who delights in making Valraven's life miserable. The next minute, they're lovers, and Valraven's going around calling him 'Bay!' Of course one or two lines are set aside to explain away Bayard's insults and jibes as a kind of courtship. Well, wouldn't it have been more effective to digress, to go inside Bayard's or Valrven's head and show us their relationship's development rather than mentioning it as an aside? That would've taken care of similar situations scattered throughout this book. And if I managed to pick through the fragmented characterization and find something solid, I found there wasn't a single likable person in this book, and the 'heroine' Pharinet was the worst of them all. She was a slutty, selfish caricature of a woman, and unfortunately half of the story is told from her point of view. I sighed with relief when the POV shifted from her to Varincienne (spelling???), but SHE turned out to be no better. The only halfway-decent personality here was Valraven's friend (I can't even remember the guy's name, so that pretty much sums up my impression of him). Overall they were depraved and self-serving; no redeeming qualities at all. Hey, its alright to have unsympathetic heroes. Sometimes they make the best, most memorable characters. But at least have us poor readers feel SOMETHING for these people other than eye-rolling loathing. And of course there's the erotic element, an integral part to Storm Constantine's storytelling, and something that she's famed for. I remembered the Wraeththu books, and the sultry magic she wove into her characters' sexuality. Well, that was far from the case in "Sea Dragon Heir." The love scenes seemed tacked on, and were either rushed and grubby or cold and mechanical. I couldn't help but feel unpleasantly dirty after reading them. After "Sea Dragon Heir," I won't be picking up the other two books in this series. But despite my disappointment with this book, I'll continue to be a Storm Constantine fan. I have yet to read her acclaimed novel "The Thorn Boy" (out of print and hopelessly impossible to find), and maybe she'll redeem herself with the new Wraeththu installments she's currently working on. I'm not giving up on Storm by a long shot, but I am giving up on this series.
Rating: 
Summary: The Beginning of An Addiction
Review: I got Sea Dragon Heir because it was on sale and ever since I have been searching for more books by Storm Constantine. This book is one of the best I have read in a long time....even though the brother/sister thing is a little disturbing.....I couldn't put it down until I finished it. It made me want to know more about the characters, their history and their futures. I have looked everywhere for more books by Storm and until now, have been unable to find them. The next book in the trilogy will be the next book I buy.
Rating:
Summary: Missing peices
Review: I have loved Storm's writing for several years now. The Wreaththu books, the Grigori books are marvels -- they take speculative fiction into entirely new directions with daring, vision, and (most importantly to me) a wonderous writing style that few have matched. She is a Romantic writer of the old definition and this book shows it best -- the beauty, the horror, the claustrophobia, the decadance. I must admit, however, that I am glad to hear this is the beginning of a trilogy because there is not only no sense of closure to this book, but indeed it ends with a gaping wound. This is not to say the book is bad, far from it. Not only are the characters intriguing, but the setting is marvelous and, once again, Storm Constantine takes on a task that few would dare in such settings -- she squarely hits Neo-Paganism at its roots (or lack thereof). The worship of the sea serpents is central to the whole book and makes the most fascinating study as you see it first from one angle, then from another, but rarely whole on or at once. At times, however, as with the ending, the writing breaks down. You get interested in a character only to have the character's role end; you become fascinated with a line of story only to have the scene shift to several years later. Later, however, the threads are picked up again, but from a different perspective. That is an important aspect of the book -- nothing is lost forever, no matter how much the characters would prefer that to be true. These are real people and all are fleshed out, warts and all. There is no single character to love or to hate; instead each of them is so complex that you wonder what is "true" about them. You are left to make up your own mind about them. Indeed, much like people in real life, the more you know about them, the more complicated they become and the less you understand what at first appeared to be their motivations. The characters decieve each other, but they also decieve themselves and, in so doing, cause a world of hurt to those around them. This is not an easy book, but it is a very worthwhile book. I look forward to the next volume with relish!
Rating:
Summary: So so... Mainly Disappointed
Review: I just finished the first book in the series and have to say it was less then I expected. The fetish with the so-called "erotica" was silly, incest to homosexuality to adultery, it has it all. I could deal with all of that and expected an over imagination surrounding sex from the author. However, I could not deal with the limited information about characters, such as Valraven, he is somewhat the center point of the book but so little information is given about him. Goes from smiling kid to having sex with his sister, to getting training as a soldier (wildly lacking any information there) to being the greatest military mind and warrior in history. All of that could be placed on a couple of pages. No detail of him at all, a great disappointment because he could have been a powerful character in the book, all I was left with was a guessing about him. I understand it is more about the feminine characters but even there it is lacking a great deal. Pharry is a complicated character but I get the feeling of reading about a paper character just no depth to her, no connection can be made by me with the characters in the book. There is a great piece of work in there somewhere, the world and setting are wonderful the characters just are horribly lacking.
Rating:
Summary: MOST MARVELOUS
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK! PLAIN AND SIMPLE. I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO BOOK TWO. THE WAY STORM WRITES CAPTIVATES YOU IN A WHIRLWIND OF MAGIC,HATE,LOVE, AND DESCRIPTION. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. IT KEPT MY EMOTIONS ON A ROLLERCOASTER. I GOT THE BOOK BY ACCIDENT BUT NOW I AM LOOKING IN TO BUYING MORE OF STORM CONSTANTINES WORK. I WOULD REFER THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE.
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