Review: Georgian England is one of my favorite time periods to read and study, especially when it involves the popular society’s cant, so it was a pleasure to read a story beginning in this era.
What I enjoyed about Serere, although it is short, novella length: it is dense. It isn’t a quick read. Each sentence has inflection and nuances that could be missed if you skim along. It’s intriguing to learn more of beings whose traits suggest vampirism, but promise to be much more and far beyond the common offerings of blood drinkers and sharers that have flooded the market. It’s a chilling angle that left me anticipating how the characters and story will develop, their motivations and ultimate goals.
We are taken briefly through a few time periods, but my preference was for the classic setting instead of the contemporary, where the modern language type with it’s particular curses were a bit much for me , but I always enjoy the fine descriptions and very readable, flowing style Frankham-Allen uses, “Serere” is the introductory tale in the series “The Garden”, which will be launched simultaneously in print from Hirst Publishing and in ebook format from Untreed Reads. I’ll be looking out for the next installments.
Note: This is a review I did for QMO Books as a guest reviewer, April 2011. Although it is also posted on my profile at Goodreads.com it seems I’d previously forgotten to ever post it here.
- eBook, 1st
- Published March 1st 2011
- Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
- ISBN13: 9781611870763
Description: In 1788 a mysterious man arrives in Newington Green, England, to discuss something of the utmost importance with Isobel Shelley. While there he happens upon the pages of the Book of Origin, and finds himself caught up in a series of events that lead him back to Newington Green 214 years later. There he bumps into a man called Willem Townsend; it is an accidental encounter that will change the lives of both men forever. Things have been set in motion, a prophecy waits to be fulfilled…
“A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills.”
This ebook-exclusive novella is a prelude to Frankham-Allen’s upcoming series The Garden, launching in March 2011 with Seeker. The series will be launched simultaneously in print from Hirst Publishing and in ebook format from Untreed Reads.
Author Bio:
Welsh-born Andy Frankham-Allen’s passion for writing began with a love of Doctor Who. He’s been writing since as far back as he can remember, and, although unsuccessful, he wrote a Doctor Who novel for BBC Books in 1996 after an accident caused him to be out of work for four months. Following that writing fell back into a hobby until 2001 when he began an ongoing fan-fiction series called Doctor Who: The Legacy, which carried on until 2006.
He has been writing professionally since 2004, through several official Doctor Who short stories, and since 2010 with horror shorts of Untreed Reads Publishing. March 2011 saw the release of his novel, ‘Seeker’, the first book in The Garden Saga, published in print by Hirst Publishing and in all digital formats by Untreed Reads.
Red Haircrow Review 