Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

To be honest, it’s tough to get too excited about books involving dragons. I mean, when is the last time you read a truly novel take on the creatures? So a tip of the hat and a heartfelt thank you to Rachel Hartman, who manages just that in her YA debut fantasy Seraphina, an excellent first novel that leaves you wanting more at the end.

The book is set in the kingdom of Goredd as it prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between it and the neighboring dragon realm, a treaty signed only after a bitter and costly war between the two races. The peace has held for all that time, but uneasily, and tensions appear to be rising between the two groups, as especially evidenced by the growing power and popularity of an anti-dragon organization that doesn’t mind using violence to get its point across. A point of concern as the anniversary celeb... Read More

Rachel Hartman is the author of Seraphina, which my review called “nuanced,” “layered,” and marked by “complex characterization matched by depth of theme.” Ms. Hartman was kind enough to take out time from working on the sequel to answer a few questions for us. You’ll see right away that complexity and depth I was talking about; enjoy the interview and then pick up Seraphina. We'll be giving away one copy (with an autographed bookplate) to one commenter.

Bill Capossere: Two major subjects of Seraphina, related somewhat to each other, seemed to be empathy and how one responds to “the other.” We see these ideas explored most obviously in the gulf between dragon and human, but we also are presented a variety of characters who span class, ethnicity, sexuality, religiosity, etc. How deliberate were you in cre... Read More