WARNING: The following review contains spoilers of Skin Hunger, the first book in this series. If you have not read Skin Hunger, dash off to your local library as fast as you can and read it! Then you may read this review, and subsequently Sacred Scars, at your leisure.
When we left Sadima at the end of Skin Hunger, she, Franklin, and Somiss were in a cave with several orphan boys, kidnapped from Limori. Sadima is miserable living in the cave. She feels the fear and loneliness of the trapped boys, whom Somiss forces to learn how to copy the Gypsy symbols. Somiss is even more reclusive- and yet somehow even more frightening- than before. Worst of all, Franklin is gone all night, stealing food, and asleep all day, so Sadima has almost no time with him. As more and more time passes, she realizes that maybe he doesn’t even love her anymore. And slowly, she realizes something she knew all along. She cannot stay in this cave. She must escape.
Hahp, at the end of Skin Hunger, had made a pact with his roommate Gerrard to destroy the academy at all costs. They both realized the danger of their agreement, and as their fragile almost-friendship teeters on the verge of breaking, it seems to Hahp that Gerrard isn’t keeping his end of the deal. But that is far from being the boys’ only problem. As their lessons become more and more difficult, life becomes more painful. The wizards are acting even more strangely. Hahp’s sleep is haunted by dreams that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Worst of all, the safety of all the boys is threatened by the violent, unpredictable, and dying Luke. As the pact between Gerrard and Hahp expands to include the rest of the boys, they are forced to make the most difficult choices of their lives. And as the connection between the story’s two plots becomes more apparent, the eternal question still nags at the reader: where is Sadima?
This book most definitely lived up to the precedent set for it by Skin Hunger. Although Sadima’s story lagged somewhat in the beginning of the book and at certain points throughout, most of that plotline, and all of Hahp’s, moved at a fairly brisk pace. There were numerous plot twists and unexpected events sprinkled throughout to keep the story moving.
Hahp’s story was definitely the more engaging of the two plots. There was so much story material there, weaving a rich, detailed plot, and as always, Hahp is a realistic and dynamic character. But this should not be taken to mean that Sadima’s story was not also compelling; on the contrary, since the action progressed somewhat more slowly for most of the book, it provided a nice complement to the tension of Hahp’s story, building up to the dramatic climax and cliffhanger ending in both cases.
Overall, Sacred Scars is a fabulous second installment in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy; I’m anxious for the conclusion. Four and a half magical daggers.
Yours in suspense,
Tay
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Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Magic, fantasy, Sadima, Skin Hunger, Hahp, Kathleen Duey, Trilogy, Resurrection of Magic, Sacred Scars, Add a tag
Blog: 3 Evil Cousins (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Magic, fantasy, Sadima, Skin Hunger, Hahp, Kathleen Duey, Add a tag
Skin Hunger, the first book in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy, tells two stories, centuries apart but mysteriously linked. The first is the tale of a rural teenager named Sadima, who lives in a world where magic exists but true magic is forbidden. At the time of Sadima’s birth, a “magician” assisting with the birth stole her family’s valuables and left her mother to die. As Sadima grows, she discovers a talent for speaking to animals, but conceals it for fear of arousing her father’s bitterness towards magicians. One day, an enigmatic visitor to Sadima’s family’s farm, introducing himself as Franklin, recognizes Sadima’s ability and offers to take her away to the city, but Sadima, frightened, declines. Secretly, though, Sadima yearns for freedom, and years later, she decides to seek Franklin out.
She locates him in the city, working as a servant to a brilliant but arrogant and ruthless young man named Somiss. As time goes on, her relationship with Franklin becomes more than just a friendship. Somiss, meanwhile, spends every day shut away in his study, working obsessively. Slowly, Sadima learns what he is trying to do: bring back magic.
The other plotline, which takes place centuries later, tells the story of Hahp, the son of a wealthy merchant. In Hahp’s world, magic has returned, but can only be used by a select few people, trained at special academies of magic. Hahp’s father sends Hahp to one such academy, where he hopes that Hahp will emerge from the school as a wizard. But Hahp soon finds that only one of the ten boys admitted to the school will graduate, and that the only requirement for graduation is survival.
Skin Hunger’s two-story plotline is definitely unusual, but surprisingly, I didn’t think it detracted from the book at all, because both stories were so good. Reading the book, I searched for the connection between the stories of Sadima and Hahp, and did not find it; nor did I find answers to the many questions that still lingered at the end. Skin Hunger is by no means a complete story in itself. The ending is, somehow, very satisfying, yet leaves the reader hungry for more (no pun intended.) This book made me really want to read the sequel.
And of course, the greatest thing about this book was the compelling storyline. I was completely swept up in the sagas of Sadima and Hahp. I read the book in a single day because it was practically physically impossible to put down. The only thing I didn’t really like was the awkward semi-romance between Sadima and Franklin, which, although it was an interesting plot twist, I felt was rather unnecessary. Still, though, since it was a minor element, the overall book was excellent.
Tay
Blog: Chickengirl Design (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Renegade craft fair, Add a tag
Some really cute stuff I picked up from the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn this past weekend:
I get very overwhelmed by these fairs because I want to buy everything! I ended up just getting this cute print and twill tape from The Small Object.
Here is a close up of the print...too cute:
And I finally got a chance to see in person some of my favorite works from M. Patrizio, My Paper Crane, and Seamripper. I wish I could of stuck around longer so I could of gotten some goodies from them too. Wait till next year....
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sounds like a very interesting book :)
Dear 3 Evil Cousins, how did you pick this name for your blog title? The site is awesome in appearance, and you've obviously read lots of books.
Would you care to take a look at the synopsis of my ebook )NO reader needed, just a PC or laptop)? It's entitled, Forever Endless Night, and involves a witch and a vampire as its main characters--though ghosts, cemetaries, secret chambers, and such like find their way into the story.
Hope you like the synopsis enough to read the book. The link for it and my blog follow.
eloquentbooks.com/ForeverEndlessNight.html
oldtimehorrors.blogspot.com
Cordially,
L.A. Wood
Forever Endless Night
i loved the book, only downside is how obvious the connection between the 2 plots are. i rekon the plot line will deteriorate though - but I'll take the chance - any info on the next book?
My only complaint with Skin Hunger is the wait for the sequel...http://kathleenduey.blogspot.com/2009/07/sacred-scars-to-be-released-august-2009.html