Seer's Blood

First I have to say I have lived most of my life in the NC Appalachian mountains and this story grabbed at my heart. Lovely book that gives you a bit of everything....magic, suspense and laughter. The characters were wonderful and interesting to get to know (language and all....I've heard a bit of that language here!) and the hounds so lovable that I wished I owned them all! I couldn't put it down. You had to know what was going to happen and it surely kept you sitting on the edge of your chair.

Doranna Durgin's novel "Seer's Blood" follows feisty mountaineering outcast Blaine who follows enigmatic newcomer Dacey on a daring coming of age journey to save her family and her home. Blaine has been haunted by troubling dreams when she sees a large group of strangers camping out near her family's homestead. Not too long after a curious man, Dacey, brings warning of an ancient enemy. Blaine, armed with the incomplete knowledge of the long-lost seers, eventually allies with Dacey and his frankly awesome dogs, they learn, grow, rally their strength and lead an epic ass-kicking charge.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. It had a shadowy, possibly novel magic system, a straight up awesome villain, a solid heroine and a good dynamic show more between the two main characters. It had dogs, written well! So much potential, and instead of doing anything revolutionary Durgin meandered through the plot. Which is to say the climax was well done, but I was a little upset because it could have been so much more expansive in scope.

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This Book is well written, it allows a reader to stand in the middle of the field and be apart of whatever is going on. Although this book does have familiar themes found in other books, this one does deviate and gives you an idea of the authors ability to write.
Seer's Blood takes place in a world where 90% of the world is about to rediscover Magic. While the other 10%, the bad guy in the book have the same power to touch and take over a body knows about it and uses their brand of magic to dominate the world. In fact they want to control the re-emerging magic.

The book is fast paced, but it does get confusing at times. But it is a good read and is something that you will want to rad through till the end.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I remember liking other books by this author a great deal, especially _A Feral Darkness_--although I have to admit that recent re-readings of _Touched by Magic_ and _Wolf Justice_ left me cold.

The Appalachian-inspired setting seemed new and different to me, and the hounds were, like the author's animal characters in her other books, realistic and compelling. The human characters and the plot, however, seemed familiar, and not in a good way. At times, I wondered if I had read the book before--which is possible, since it was originally published in 2002. However, having read something before does not automatically make it a slog to get through it a second time. The basic plot line--country girl show more finds adventure, romance, and grows into herself after a mysterious stranger comes to town--is traditional, but there are plenty of original, memorable, and re-readable takes on that theme (Czerneda's _A Turn of Light_ and Bujold's _Sharing Knife_ series come to mind). The ending of the book brought to mind the film "The Goodbye Girl" (another personal favorite), but not in a good way (guitars don't have feelings; dogs do).

This is a pleasant read, free of the typos and other errors that seem to plague most e-books today. Somehow, the pieces just did not come together for me. YMMV.

NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. show less

Seer's Blood by Doranna Durgin is a wonderful, magical story set in the Appalachian region. Durgin is great in making you feel as if you are really there with the atmosphere and the dialogue. The story is about Annektah who intend to steal the magic from the mountains and the land, and use the people. Killing the people as necessary. Dacey, who has some seer blood, goes to warn the community they are coming. Blaine ends up helping him and and she too has seer's blood. The story is fast, intriguing, has well developed characters, full of twists, danger, magic, fantasy, and a touch of romance. Well thought out book. This is the first book I have read by her but it won't be the last. I won this book on LibraryThing and I am so glad I did!

Seer's Blood is a well-paced read that contains a nice interplay between the main heroine's (Blaine's) personal struggles and her home's fight against the force seeking to enslave them. It may take some time to acclimate to the use of terms listed at the beginning of the book and the dialect that the characters sometimes lapse into, but in the end they give Seer's Blood a uniqueness that is not often come across.

Once upon a time in a Holler far away, a young man appeared on her doorstep. He was Darcy, she was Blaine. Darcy had a seeing; the Annektch (Takers) were returning to the mountains for the magic and for the people. His kin were Seers immune to the magic of the Takers. He came to help if only they would believe. Blaine was of the hills, wild and trying to be free. Her way of life demanded things she wasn't willing to give, but were necessary for survival. She'd found an old book of history and magic once so she would believe. Together they fight to persuade her people of the danger. Mountain folk, isolated, suspicious of strangers, loyal, hard working, clinging to what they knew. Most didn't believe until too late. Then Darcy and Blaine show more fought the Takers-those creatures who took over another's body and used it up-enjoying every pleasure and pain they could inflict. And the mountain people joined the fight. But how can you win against a creature who can take your mind and control you with a touch? show less