Sebastian (Ephemera, Book 1)
by Anne Bishop
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 621)
Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
no one!
This was really terrible. Anne Bishop is known for writing id-fulfillment in fantasy novels, complete with as many abused Mary Sues as possible. I expected lots of fluffy titilation with very little substance (no real plot or cohesive world building, I mean), but I was annoyed at how boring and dull the would-be-titilation was. Sebastion is an incubus living in a world created specifically to cater to "dark desires", and yet all he does is have bland sex with women. No kinks, no ge...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
People who like fantasy
I loved it. If you liked Anne Bishop's other books (the Dark Jewel Trilogy), you will probably like this book. There is a lot of similarity between the characters in this book and the previous series, but without the gross pedophilia. The world is a really neat place where thoughts bring about your heart's wish, where landscapers hold different pieces of creation together, and where dark creatures and creatures of the light exist in equal measure. I loved that the main character was an incubus, ...more
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I hate to criticize Anne Bishop since the Black Jewels trilogy is among my favorite books of all time, but... I just don't like anything she's done outside the BJT universe. I didn't like the Tir Alainn trilogy particularly, but Sebastian was just bad. :(
Much like the Tir Alainn trilogy, the world and magic she's created is awesome.
Everything else isn't, though.
I read maybe 4/5ths of Sebastian before I took a break and never picked it back up. I had two main problems with the book.
Fir...more
Much like the Tir Alainn trilogy, the world and magic she's created is awesome.
Everything else isn't, though.
I read maybe 4/5ths of Sebastian before I took a break and never picked it back up. I had two main problems with the book.
Fir...more
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I went back on forth on liking this book and being just, eh about it. The world created was interesting, but I would've liked to understand it a little better (4 stars). Seems like the story could've been told better with less points of view from minor characters (3 stars). The relationship between sister and brother, Glorianna and Lee, was nice, and so was the friendship between incubi (plural for incubus?)Teaser and Sebastian (4 stars). The romantic relationship between Lynnea and Sebastian la...more
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Read in March, 2008
I loved Anne Bishop's other books, and I've been waiting to read this one (until the second one got released) because she often puts in a sort of cliff-hanger ending. Anyway, I like the new world; as usual, Bishop leaves details in the dark until the final confrontation, which I like. The basic tenets of the world are revealed up front, but the whys take longer to discover, because the characters don't know them and are discovering things for themselves. I also like that the heroes or heroine...more
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Read in May, 2008
I read this one after I read Belladonna, and I have to say, I would have understood more about Belladonna, more easily, if I'd read this one first. It really explains all the different types of people/creatures/magic/whatnot that goes on in this fantasy world. Its an engaging read. There's some grossness with the evil thing, but not too bad. I read one review where the reviewer was annoyed that Sebastion wasn't having kinky sex all the time (as a sex demon), but a large part of the story are...more
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Read in July, 2007
I was hoping for complex characters, like she had in the Black Jewels Trilogy. Unfortunately, this book was reminiscent of The Fae books, and I really didn't like that series too much. Of course I liked certain parts and characters, like Teaser, but overall, it's a pass. The other books in the series will be library reads. I can't in good conscience buy more of books. The tentacle rape scene had me cringing as well. I like her darker tones, but that was too far for even me. It felt like it serve...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommended to Kelley by:
Tinarecommends it for: People who life sci-fi
Josh read this to me. I really enjoyed the alternate reality that was created in this world. I enjoyed the way the characters interacted with eachother & the world around them.
The author creates a world, so unlike where we live, with so many 'issues'. It is interesting to see where she goes...
The author creates a world, so unlike where we live, with so many 'issues'. It is interesting to see where she goes...
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Read in November, 2008
This was a good book, it was different and interesting. However, if you are expecting another Jewels Trilogy this is not it. While it is well-developed and the characters are well formed it really can't compare to the outstanding writing, work, and development of the Jewels books.
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Read in July, 2008
I got about 2/3 the way through this book and just had to quit.
The premise of the story was very interesting. However, the writing was dull, flat, and not descriptive at all. On the surface, the characters had potential to be interesting (well, Sebastian and Glorianna, anyway) but the rest were annoying fluff.
The sensual/erotic scenes were pretty good, and probably some of the best I've read. Not too messily detailed, but enough physical/mental attributes described to be interesting. A g...more
The premise of the story was very interesting. However, the writing was dull, flat, and not descriptive at all. On the surface, the characters had potential to be interesting (well, Sebastian and Glorianna, anyway) but the rest were annoying fluff.
The sensual/erotic scenes were pretty good, and probably some of the best I've read. Not too messily detailed, but enough physical/mental attributes described to be interesting. A g...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
no one. Run!
Truely a disappointment because I dearly adore her Black Jewels trilogy and enjoyed the Tir Alaan books. Sebastian, however, was lacking severely in likability. First and foremost, for a succubus who was pitched as an erotic demon capable of making all your fantasies come true, Sebastian, the character, fell short. In terms of writing there wasn't any substance to Sebastian. It ran on and on without anything to draw me in and I found myself sludging through the chapters, determined to finis...more
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Read in June, 2007
this book has so much depth to it, perhaps unknowingly? Will have to look at other series by this author to determine that. in the meantime, I am throughly enjoying the exploration of the necessity for Dark to exist, for it be in balance with Light... yes yes a topic explored in pretty much all fantasy tales, but this one puts it in the context of worlds that respond to your heart's desire, and we all know our hearts resonate to both Light *and* Dark forces... I still have to tell myself it's *n...more
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Read in September, 2008
This was an interesting book, oeverall, but it was a little bogged down with the perspectives of some of the lesser characters for my taste. THe concept of the world itself was interesting, and the manner in which the major characters could impact the world I don't remember seeing before, but the story dragged along at several points. It took me far longer to finish then a book of it's size normally does, but I didn't switch to any other books to take a break from it either.
I may or may no...more
I may or may no...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
romantics
This was a sweet read. I like the concept of Ephemera, which is reminiscent of C.S. Friedman's Coldfire (one of my favorite fantasies). It's not very scary or dark for a gothic fantasy -- pretty much a straight romance. But the world is intriguing. The Eater of the World is promisingly menacing.
One of my quibbles -- most of the characters get familiar names, western-sounding names -- Sebastian, Lee, Glorianna. Except the bad guy -- Koltak. Heck, even Koltak's brother is named Peter. I guess ...more
One of my quibbles -- most of the characters get familiar names, western-sounding names -- Sebastian, Lee, Glorianna. Except the bad guy -- Koltak. Heck, even Koltak's brother is named Peter. I guess ...more
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Not that I was looking for it, but seriously, the apparent eroticism in Sebastian (that's frequently lauded by published reviewers on the inside cover) makes one of those Harlequin Romance novels seem like hardcore erotica. A 12 year old could read this and not blush.
But anway, although this isn't the most fascinating read, I do appreciate Anne Bishop's vision for creating Ephemera and its characters. I was getting burned out from the standard fantasy format (magic! dragons! broadswords!), s...more
But anway, although this isn't the most fascinating read, I do appreciate Anne Bishop's vision for creating Ephemera and its characters. I was getting burned out from the standard fantasy format (magic! dragons! broadswords!), s...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers
I found myself wondering on several occasions if I'd missed something, like a previous book in this series, because Bishop sadly does not really do a good job of bringing you up to speed on her world. Sad because it's an interesting world she's built and completely unlike our own, which is why it's so confusing.
Despite that, I really loved the book and the characters and the story line. I love the idea that your heart picks where you live and resonates with places so that you only really fe...more
Despite that, I really loved the book and the characters and the story line. I love the idea that your heart picks where you live and resonates with places so that you only really fe...more
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Read in March, 2007
I feel like nothing has measured up to the promise of the first book in Anne Bishop's Black Jewel series, as a reader of fantasy. This new series was even worse than the second and last book of the Black Jewel series; descent into plain ol' romance sprinkled a simple 'we must preserve the Light' plot. There's some fantasy interwoven into the romance, and even a few original ideas (a world splintered into multiple landscapes), but it's juvenile, unfortunately. I don't think I'll bother persuing h...more
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