Seafire Book Review

In my experience as a writer, large casts of characters are hard to manage, even when they aren’t all in the same chapter. A large amount of supporting characters who play major roles, despite not being a main character, are hard to manage. Characters primarily in one gender are hard to manage and have difficulty resonating with the opposite gender. So, when reading Seafire, I refused to believe the Parker could pull all three off and make it work. I was wrong, on all accounts.

Seafire generates a balance among all its characters, from fiery Redtooth to intuitive Hime to despondent Caledonia. Each one is unique and has her own personality. The female forward cast doesn’t hurt the story that badly, and it adds extra tension when a boy is thrown into the mix. All the characters have a connection that strings them all together, even the ones who aren’t supposed to get along but secretly do. This connection, in part, is created by the plot, which twists worse than Red’s braided hair. Every good story, I’ve been told, should have a secret, ticking time bomb, or both; Seafire has at least a half dozen of each. The backstory of Seafire is incredibly creative and thorough, and it plays into the plot well. That and the prologue help enhance the story as a whole, giving it some of those time bombs and secrets mentioned before. And--minor spoiler alert!--I kind of like Amina and Hime together.

“‘Caledonia Styx,’ Oran said, his smile as vibrant as the noon sun. ‘I suspect your regrets are few and legendary.’ He didn’t know how right he was.”

Recommended for anyone who wants a modern, feminine twist on a classic pirating adventure.

-Grace Nask