Seer of Sevenwaters

And Marillier does it again. Writes to sweep her readers off their feet, and crave for more. (Moooore. Moooooore.) Seer was a lovely comeback to Sevenwaters, or shall I say, to its characters, because this time the Sevenwaters forest will be present only in Sibeal’s thoughts and tales to help Felix get better. Does the story loses its magic because of it? Not at all. It is my deepest belief Juliet could send any of these characters to the most exotic places and the Sevenwaters magic would still be there, because it lives in them, in the love that clearly shows when a character thinks or speaks of the forest, tells the story of the brothers turned into swans, or that one about the girl who saved the Painted Man (and so on). But Sibeal show more doesn’t even go that far, and Inis Eala with Johnny, Clodagh, Muirrin, Cathal, Gull, and so many others, can surely be called home.

Seer’s tale starts in the island, with Sibeal managing between her druid’s tasks, and –to the reader’s rejoice– helping Felix restore his health; but later there’s a rescue mission that requires a group to get on a ship, sail through unknown waters, reach an unknown place, home of a legendary seamonster, and save a few of Felix’s comrades. I won’t say the boat trip was my favorite part (because my favorite part was the WHOLE book), but it was the one that kept me reading all night, until morning. I loved Juliet’s take on the seamonster myth (I can’t say more or I’ll spoil it, and I don’t want to) and how she portrayed the creature. Sometimes I seem to forget that it’s so like her to make the reader see the other side of a story, a character, and even of a terrifying, men-eating beast.

Prior to my reading, with only the synopsis for support –Sibeal+Viking shipwreck– I often thought Seer sounded like a cross between Sevenwaters and The Light Isles. Now if someone asks me, I’ll probably be a little more specific and say it’s kind of a cross between Son of the Shadows and Wolfskin, first because there is a man in need of rescue from a dark place, this time called loss of memory/physical limitations/feeling guilty/am I brave enough?/can I do this?; second, because besides the fact that for obvious reasons the couple kept reminding me of Nessa and Eyvind -when he’s sick and she takes care of him-, Sibeal also sent me the Nessa vibe when she goes through an inner war to make the choice between her religious call and her heart. But that’s not all, I also think Seer has a very mysterious storyline, from beginning to end, which at times, reminded me of some thrilling (chilling *scary*) Wolfskin moments.

Still about the couple: as always, it was delicious (really, this is the word for it) to witness their relationship grow, slowly, tenderly, and this particular set amused me greatly because they are the “nerdiest” of Juliet’s couples until date, with Sibeal being a druid, and Felix a scholar (and a poet!) – and don’t I love nerds and geeks so. (I really do :D )

About everyone else: it was delightful to meet those beloved characters from previous books again, but I’ll admit some reencounters were quite, quite painful; on the other hand, almost everyone provided me with laughing out loud scenes, being Gull, Cathal and Clodagh clearly in the leadership – I wasn’t expecting for them to be so active in this one, so it was a good surprise.

I say this all the time, and I’ll say it again: I’ll never be capable to put into words just how much I love this author and every single sentence she writes. Never. No praise is or will ever seem enough, simply because she’s beyond it. Her stories and writing go further than everything I have in high esteem. Her books, to me, are prized treasures I keep both on my bookshelf and in my heart. I do believe she knows, and at the same time doesn’t (fully), the precious gift she presents me -and I presume, all of the other fans- with, when a new book comes out, and everytime I look at my Marillier collection I immediately feel the need to somehow tell her thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. So, to finish, and as I gaze upon my Seer, I’ll just say this: thank you master storyteller, thank you queen of historical fantasy, thank you beautiful, kind, and much cherished lady, thank you for sharing your wisdom, your craft and your heart, once again, with all of us.
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Seer of Sevenwaters is the new instalment of the the once-trilogy-and-now-series of Sevenwaters. Even if I feel that nothing really compares to the first books on the series (which were the start of my love for Juliet Marillier's books), this book managed to surprise me in how much I loved it!

And now for a disclaimer: I love the books of Juliet Marillier, and in my eyes she can never do wrong. I read her books knowing that I'll love them. This one was no different.

Seer of Sevenwaters is the story of Sibeal, and what is basically her last summer holidays. Sent to the Isle of Inis Eala, where her cousin has his school of warriors, she can hardly wait before going back to the Forest, and begin her training in Druidic matters. But when a show more shipwreck occurs near the shores of Inis Eala, and the few survivors come ashore, she'll have to put her knowledge and abilities to the test, as well as her certainty in regard to her future.

Seer of Sevenwaters is told from two points of view, Sibeal's and Felix's. Felix is one of the survivors of the shipwreck and the book follows his recovery at the hands of Sibeal, and the amazing trio of healers: Muirrin, Evan and Gull. This was one of the things I loved the most about Seer of Sevenwaters. Multiple points of view is not a new thing, but it usually is done for characters not occupying the same space/time. Here we had two sides of the same story, and this is a bit harder to accomplish without repeating oneself. Juliet has done it beautifully! I never had the feeling that I was reading the same thing over and over again.

Returning to Felix, one of the new characters in this book, I have to say that I really liked him. I've always liked the name Felix, so I was instantly drawn to him (and instantly means right from the prologue! - the first word that is his name indicating it's his POV). But as I read along I couldn't help but love him more. He is not your usual hero, although brave, he is not a warrior. And it is refreshing to read a romance from the perspective of the male part. Of course that in this case, Felix is waaay more romantic than knowledge and duty oriented Sibeal.

Another thing that I loved, and that I believe is a treat to everyone who liked the original series (especially Son of Shadows, like me), was the inclusion of a lot of characters that were important then, and see how they have aged, how their life has changed. And it was so good to hear a story so well known to me (from Son of Shadows), but told from another point of view. It took me back to the feeling I had when I first read that book.

To me, it's a book of dualities. Two points of view, and also two parts on the story. The first one is recovery and getting to know oneself again. It's mostly character driven, but not without some action. The second part is about adventure and setting wrongs right. It's full of action and excitement. And all this dualities are so well woven one into each other, they complement each other, and you wouldn't want to have one without the other!

I loved this book, and even if I'm biased, I have to say that if you like historical fantasy, I really recommend Seer of Sevenwaters (or any other Sevenwaters book).

Also at Spoilers and Nuts show less

At its heart, like the other books in the Sevenwaters series, this story is a romance. [a:Juliet Marillier|8649|Juliet Marillier|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373081365p2/8649.jpg] manages to wrap it in layers of mystery, with seers and druids, warriors and mer-folk, family and foes.

I realized early on that Svala was some kind of mer-person, probably connected to the sea serpent/dragon, but I did not figure out how Knut was controlling her . Even with that realization, the story held enough twists and turns that I had no problem staying intrigued.

This is a well-written, engaging tale. I look forward to the concluding novel in the Sevenwaters series.

Sibeal, a daughter of Sevenwaters, has studied under her uncle Ciaran and is determined to become a druid. He sends her to the island of Inis Eala to spend the summer with her sisters. Then three shipwreck survivors wash up, their ship destroyed by an odd and menacing storm: Knut, who immediately fits in, Svala, Knut's mute wife, and a young man who has lost his memory and hovers near death. As Sibeal helps old Gull with the patient, she is unaccountably drawn to him. Sibeal also befriends Svala, and senses great despair in her. Over time, the nameless man grows stronger, and he finally regains his memory: he is Felix, and his brother died in the shipwreck. He also remembers that their ship encountered a terrifying sea monster, and that show more Knut abandoned some men on the sea monster's island. Knut tied up Felix's brother, so that he died in the shipwreck. It is Felix's word against Knut's, but Sibeal's cousin Johnny discerns the truth. Men volunteer to join Felix on a rescue mission, and Sibeal convinces Johnny that she must go to for the mission to be successful. Felix and Sibeal are falling in love, but Sibeal has intended to be a druid for her whole life.

When they find the terrifying island, Sibeal realizes that the mystery about Svala is that she is the sea monster queen, whom Knut trapped in human form. Gull is swept overboard, and Felix leaps after him, and they both disappear. Sibeal realizes then how much she loves him, but she thinks he is gone. She finds the abandoned men, and Felix and Gull somehow were brought to them. On their way out of the cave, the male sea monster threatens them, and Sibeal suddenly realizes that the men were sheltering under a strange hide that was Svala's. When she retrieves it, the sea monster carries them all to safety. Svala is able to return to her real form--and she promptly eats Knut.

The ship returns to Inis Eala, and Felix and Sibeal each separately declare to Ciaran their love for each other. Ciaran suggests a spiritual settlement he knows of for married couples, that does not require celibacy. Felix, turned off of Christianity by the hypocrisy he saw, wants to explore Sibeal's religion. Johnny sends Felix home to bear news of the shipwreck, and Felix vows to return for Sibeal.

Another lovely and mysterious story. A bit more obvious plot than the others, and a bit more menacing and pagan-feeling, with the peaceful druidism set in contrast to Christianity, rather than just left in a fantasy world of its own. The story carried a promise of more to come for Sibeal's brother-in-law Cathal in facing his faerie father, Mac Dara. show less

A strong addition to the series, though I was skeptical at first -- the first-person PoV alternates between the two protagonists, and, to make matters worse, one is in past tense and the other in present (though I confess that the present tense was rather effective when that narrator has total amnesia). I didn't hate this as much as I expected to, though (significant, as this is usually a deal-breaker for me), and the strong plot and complex characters made up for it, earning five stars.

Not quite as good as her previous Sevenwaters novels but still enjoyable and a chance to catch up on familiar characters. Nice to have more of a beta hero who isn't as sullen as some of the others, but he is injured for most of the book and doesn't get a chance to prove his strength and courage until the last 100 pages or so. Looking forward to Maeve's story, Flame of Sevenwaters, which will be released in November.

This is, sadly, my least favorite book of the series so far. I didn't connect with the main characters or found the romance appealing. Still, it was intended to be at least a 3.5 star book, until the very last chapters, which were just too predictable, and therefore tedious and dragging. I have to point out, however, that it was not a very bad book by any means. It's just that for Juliet Marillier's standards, I found it lacking. The writing was still beautiful, in typical and magical Juliet Marillier fashion, and the plot wove seemingly effortlessly, seamlessly, from one point to the next. The beautiful landscapes and fairytale-esque feel to the setting and plot was very much in evidence, which saved this book from lower rating. show more Overall, I was somewhat disappointed, but still think the Sevenwaters series is a beautiful one, and well-worth being read. I have yet the last book to read, and here's hoping that I would like it as much as the other books in the series... show less