I love finding the first book in a new series by a relatively unknown author! In
Bloodring, Faith Hunter has created a postapocalyptic world with a twist: Christ has yet to show up, but angels known as seraphs have arrived and now run almost everything. Hunter introduces us to outcast mage Thorn St. Croix, who has built a life away from the enclaves confining the rest of her kind (think Japanese internment camps, only nicer ? and magical). Thorn lives in fear that the seraphs or the orthodox religious leaders of her town will discover that she is an unlicensed mage ? a fate that can only lead to death. Yet she risks everything to battle for the lives of those she loves.
Hunter has created an imaginative and engaging new series and an equally engaging heroine. Lush descriptions and appealing characterizations make up for some incongruities in the structure of this postapocalyptic world, and I'm eager to see how Thorn's story continues.