Legends of the Serai

Rating:
Summary: I normally avoid fantasy novels, but...
Review: ... I have to say that, despite my reservations about fantasy, I enjoyed it throughly.

"Legends" worked for me especially because I enjoyed the author's voice. While reading, I got a sense of J.C.Hall watching her characters' lives unfold with fond bemusement. When you know that the author loves her characters, it's hard not to join in.

The other thing I really enjoyed was how the relationships between Cara, Karvel, and Jai were portrayed-- with subtlety. The author doesn't whack you over the head with the dreaded "this is EXACTLY what's happening here, this is EXACTLY what (s)he feels" two-by-four of character development....

Rating:
Summary: I normally avoid fantasy novels, but...
Review: ... I have to say that, despite my reservations about fantasy, I enjoyed it throughly.

"Legends" worked for me especially because I enjoyed the author's voice. While reading, I got a sense of J.C.Hall watching her characters' lives unfold with fond bemusement. When you know that the author loves her characters, it's hard not to join in.

The other thing I really enjoyed was how the relationships between Cara, Karvel, and Jai were portrayed-- with subtlety. The author doesn't whack you over the head with the dreaded "this is EXACTLY what's happening here, this is EXACTLY what (s)he feels" two-by-four of character development....

Rating:
Summary: Fantasy fans--alert!
Review: Action, adventure, fantasy, romance--PLUS a strong-willed female protagonist.....what more can a girl want? Well, for starters, it would have been nice to have a real juicy villain to sink my teeth into. Lorra and her dad as the villainous pair seem to lack something in the altogether evil department, y'know? Nevertheless, a ripping good yarn, with characters you come to care for. The writing is fluent, the plot just pelts along and the characterization is deftly-handled. The ending was left sort of hanging so guess I'll have to hold my breath till the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: For a start, I have to say I'm biased. As a devout fan of fantasy, I pretty much devour anything in the genre. Me, I'm not particular: Dungeons and Dragons give me as much satisfaction as Lord of the Rings. Recent faves include Robin Hobb's Assassin series (jsut to show you where I'm coming from). So, how does Legends fare with the greats and not-so-greats? Well, it's pretty much up there with the rest of 'em, IMHO. The prologue is lyrical; the story proper is action-adventure on a par with your usual run-of-the-mill fantasy. What makes Legends stand out is its use of a strong female protagonist (even in this day and age, that's a rarity in this popular genre)with her male sidekick (her spar, Jai) and a tortured love-interest (Karvel'len)and a host of well-drawn characters (even the minor ones). Some stories are character-driven, others rely heavily on plot. Legends manages to combine the two. A rollicking good read. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Legends of the Serai
Review: If it weren't for a friend of mine who couldn't stop raving over this book, I wouldn't have picked it up.I used to be an avid reader of books of this genre."Used to be" because I haven't been getting as much satisfaction from the new publications as I used to from the old ones. I found it increasingly hard to distinguish one story from another as they all seem to follow the same formula. Typically you will have a few dysfunctional main characters who are invariably tortured by their pasts; thrown unwittingly into an adventure of epic proportion but always manage to prevail in the end.Throw in some made-up legends, love interests and voila, you have a story.

Is "legends" any different? It has all the typical ingredients BUT YET the resulting story J.C.Hall "cooked up" is far from ordinary or predictable. It looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck but somehow, it's NOT a duck.

So what's the secret? Well, as most people would say, the secret is in the "sauce" and in this case, it's J.C.'s distinct style of writing which bound the ingredients together. It's fluid, lively and very "subtle" (for subtlety, check out J.C's treatment of "moments of passion"in the book.)I was hooked as soon as I finished reading the prologue.

"Legends"is past-paced. No question about it. In fact, my main criticism of the book is that things did get too fast at times.You would expect things to slow down a bit after a "climatic moment" but unfortunately you don't get it here which is a pity because it actually reduces the intended impact of such moments on readers if they are "lined up" too close together. You need to give readers a breather to allow them to take in the full impact and implications of momentous events/defining moments.

But all in all, a great read. I look forward to the prequel and sequel to "Legends".

Rating:
Summary: A finely wrought piece of work
Review: J.C. Hall is an international figure, having been born in Hong Kong; educated in London; and currently divides her time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Hong Kong. Legends Of The Serai is her first published novel, although she is currently working on The House of Orveen, and prequel to Legends of the Serai and has completed Lady of the Lakes.

As all great fantasy novels, Legends Of The Serai begins with the rough sketch of the world of the Serai. Goddesses who play in the mountains create the perfect backdrop for a goddess/human coupling. The offspring form the chosen, whether it be from the moon goddess, the sun goddess, or the goddess of the dark. Cara'sen is the Moon-Chosen, a Lead Officer in the Guild of the Overseers. Estranged from her father, and heartsick over her brother who left under mysterious circumstances fifteen years before, Cara and her spar Jai find themselves taking on a special mission, one that will have far-reaching consequences for the future of the Western lands. But not before stones of the goddesses wreak havoc in their lives:

"Cara cursed his lack of attention to the classic legend of his childhood. Lorra had turned her attention back to the luminary pair of stones and was admiring them, patiently waiting for Karvel'len's death. Any moment now, she would tug at the strings and find that she could not open the pouches. And Tal was still imprisoned within the shield with Lorn standing impassively over her."

Legends Of The Serai is a finely wrought piece of work that grips the reader from the first page. Cara is a brave and talented heroine, torn for her love of the men around her, including the father who she felt disavowed her. Cara's world is full of danger, and she leads the reader through a virtual labyrinth of sorcery, adventure, and fantasy. J.C. Hall is careful not to give too much away, thus opening the way for a series, much to the delight of the reader.

As is the case with several "publish on demand" books, Legends Of The Serai is a gem that deserves a wide readership. J.C. Hall is a gifted writer with a strong vision. Her characters are complicated, and at the same time exude the luminous quality of fantasy. A real find.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: A Review on Legends of the Serai
Review: Legends of the Serai brings you into a world of fantasy with adventures and characters that come to life. Characters whose lives are intertwined and were brought together in an unexpected twist of fate. Adventures filled with magic spells and charms which stirs ones imagination. J.C. Hall has indeed brought characters together that bring about an entertaining story in the Legends of the Serai...

Rating:
Summary: Legends is terrific.
Review: This is a stunning first novel. The author has an incredible knack of taking the generic fantasy battle of good versus evil, populating it with characters and issues entirely unique to the genre, and breathing life into it. She really creates an extraordinary world. The only dissatisfying thing about this book is that it doesn't have a sequel yet.

Rating:
Summary: Legend
Review: What struck me most about 'Legends' is its 'subtlety'. What, I hear you cry, do I mean by this? Well, it's the way things / events / relationship were presented to the reader. Things were never over, there was a lot left unsaid & unspoken, a lot of reading between the lines, yet I was never left in any doubt as to the depth of feelings, for instance, between various characters. (I particularly found the relationship between Cara & her half-brother, Holden, very moving.) The author manages to avoid sentimentality throughout a novel replete with emotional scenes (a feat in itself). My one complaint is to do with the ending. The anticlimax was so abrupt it took me by complete surprise. Let us hope the sequel delivers (& delivers in style & content) what is as yet only a promise of better things to come.

Rating:
Summary: Legend
Review: What struck me most about 'Legends' is its 'subtlety'. What, I hear you cry, do I mean by this? Well, it's the way things / events / relationship were presented to the reader. Things were never over, there was a lot left unsaid & unspoken, a lot of reading between the lines, yet I was never left in any doubt as to the depth of feelings, for instance, between various characters. (I particularly found the relationship between Cara & her half-brother, Holden, very moving.) The author manages to avoid sentimentality throughout a novel replete with emotional scenes (a feat in itself). My one complaint is to do with the ending. The anticlimax was so abrupt it took me by complete surprise. Let us hope the sequel delivers (& delivers in style & content) what is as yet only a promise of better things to come.