Monday, July 17, 2017

Seeker ~ Veronica Rossi review [@rossibooks @torteen]

Seeker (Riders #2)
Tor Teen
May 16, 2017
352 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

** My review of Riders (#1) **

When Daryn claimed she was seeing visions during her sophomore year of high school, no one believed the truth.

She wasn’t losing her mind; she was gaining the Sight—the ability to see the future. Daryn embraced her role as a Seeker. The work she did was important. She saved lives.

Until Sebastian.

Sebastian was her first—and worst—mistake.

Since the moment she inadvertently sealed him in a dark dimension with Samrael, the last surviving demon of the Kindred, guilt has plagued her. Daryn knows Sebastian is alive and waiting for help. It’s up to her to rescue him. But now that she needs the Sight more than ever to guide her, the visions have stopped.

Daryn must rely on instincts, intelligence, and blind faith to lead the riders who are counting on her in search of Sebastian. As they delve into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems and where Samrael is steadily amassing power, Daryn faces the ultimate test. Will she have to become evil to destroy evil?

The very fate of humankind may rest in the answer.
Just like Riders introduced us to Gideon, Marcus, Jode and Sebastian, four young men who have become the four horsemen of the apocalypse (War, Conquest, Famine, and Death), Seeker gives more of a look at Daryn, their Seeker.

Without reading Riders first, you will be a bit lost in Seeker. The main story here about rescuing Sebastian and some of the characters (beyond the main five) were either introduced in the first book or are the result of how that story ended. You also won't be familiar with who Gideon is, what happened to him or how he came to know Marcus, Jode, Sebastian and Daryn. There are reminders, of course, but it's better if you read the first book, well first.

Seeker does not give us as much about the guys, who they are and what they can do (or why) as the first book but it does give you a fuller picture of Daryn and who she is, what she can do. I liked the focus on her character, her past, and on the characters' different relationships. Now that they know what they are and have spent some time together (some rather life altering time, at that) things are able to go beyond that preliminary, introductory phase.

As a follow-up to Riders, Seeker was a good story. It gave us more of the characters and their relationships and expanded on some things (like where Sebastian was trapped) from the ending of Riders. As the last book of a duology and presumably the last we'll see of these characters and this world, it was disappointing. I wanted more of the big picture, of the future and what them being War, Death, Conquest and Famine was going to mean. I liked the character developments but it was almost a bit of, 'can't see the forest for the trees,' where it focused on the problem of rescuing Sebastian and there wasn't as much of the grand scheme of things stuff I wanted.

Still, it was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to fans of Riders -- and recommend Riders if you have not already read it.



(although if this ends up not being the end to this series, it may change to four stars)





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