Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Bonus Content: To get perspective on the series from the author, check out this interview with her here:
FAQ’s for C.E.
Laureano/The Song of Seare Trilogy
1.How did the Song of Seare Trilogy come about ?
I’m a longtime fantasy
reader, starting as a child with the Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit, but
this particular series began with a single premise: what happens when you have
a young man who is raised to rule, but his personal, religious, and
philosophical beliefs are different than the country over which he’s meant to
reign? The story went through a number of iterations. In the early drafts,
Conor was already in his twenties and about to take the throne of Tigh. But I
realized that the real story began much earlier, where those personal beliefs
were formed: his fosterage with a rival king. As I dug into the story, I
realized that Conor was only a small part—or maybe the culmination—of a
generations-long struggle that has at last come to a breaking point. And so the
final storyline of the Song of Seare trilogy was conceived.
2. Why Celtic fantasy?
I’ve been interested
in Ireland for as long as I can remember, maybe because of my distant Irish
heritage. I had the opportunity to travel there during college, and I’ve never
felt such an instant affinity for a place. While America will likely always be
the place I “hang my hat”, I realized that Ireland was my heart’s home. Ever
since then, I’ve written Irish characters and settings. But it was only when I
started reading books by Juliet Marillier—wonderful historical fantasies that
showed the pagan/Christian conflict from the pagan point of view—I knew I
wanted to do something similar with a Christian slant.
3.How much is based on
history and how much was made up?
The culture of Seare
is very much based on ancient Ireland before the 10thcentury, but since
relatively little is known about that time period, much of it is extrapolated
from research done in the 1920’s. (Some of that research, like the idea that
the Irish wore kilts, has since been disproven.) But the food, weaponry, law,
and social structure of Seare is very similar to how things might have been in
ancient Ireland. Of course, the addition of magic changes things, so I got to
imagine how the existence of supernatural gifts and blood magic might have
affected their culture. I also re-envisioned the faerie mythology from a
neutral, mischievous role into something more malevolent.
4.What kind of
research did you do to write this book?
I have a fairly extensive
library on Irish history, and what I wasn’t able to buy, I checked out from the
library (thank goodness for inter-library loan...some of my books came all the
way from Nebraska.) Because Seare was united by a man who had been a mercenary
in the Holy Land, I also did a lot of research on the Near East and the Roman
Empire from that time period. You’ll see traces of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Greco-Roman
influence in the FÃréin brotherhood, especially their fighting and training
styles. I also usedmy background as a martial artist and fencer to create a
fighting style that was believably cross-cultural.
5.Why did you choose
to write Christian/inspirational fantasy?
I didn’t start out to
write fantasy for the Christian market. I’d originally envisioned the series as
having a Christian worldview but little overt religion. However, the coming of
Christianity so heavily influenced the history of Ireland, removing it left my
society feeling flat and unrealistic. Not to mention that I quickly found out
Conor wasn’t happy without a wider perspective and deeper goals than just
bringing peace or winning the throne. The spiritual thread came along
organically and tied the story together.
6.Who is your favorite
character and why?
That’s almost an
impossible choice, but I’d have to say Conor, my primary hero. He’s definitely
the one I find most personally relatable. He knows he was created for something
greater, but he doesn’t always make the right decisions—he lets his emotions
sway his thinking and he lets down the people who depend on him—but he always
comes through in the end. In that way, he’s something of a Biblical hero than a
superhero...David was described as a man after God’s own heart, but he still
did some seriously stupid things.
7.What do you hope
readers will take away from your books?
I didn’t want to write
a “safe” story where you know that everything is going to be okay and everyone
will come out unharmed—because real life isn’t like that. It can be scary and
messy and unpredictable. But through it all, if you look hard enough, is the
ever-present thread of God’s grace and provision. My greatest wish is that
readers come away with the understanding that they have a purpose, that they
matter, that God cares for them as individuals and not just as a face in the crowd.
I’ll consider my job done if readers walk away with hope.
8.If you could spend a
day with one of your characters, who would it be?
Aine...because it guarantees
that I would also get to spend time with Conor and Eoghan! After all, one or
the other is always shadowing her. Plus, she just seems like the type of person
I’d like to hang out with: practical, no nonsense, and filled with interesting
knowledge She’s also the one you want around if you’re going to do something
dangerous—her healing ability would come in handy!
9.What do you think
makes a book Christian or not?
Christian authors
can’t help but create a world that reflects our beliefs in some way. Sometimes,
it’s an overt parallel to historical Christianity as it is in the Song of
Seare. Sometimes, it’s the presence of the values that we learn from the Bible:
faith, love, hope, loyalty, perseverance. Even if God isn’t mentioned by name,
if you look closely, you’ll often find Him there.
10.Who are your
fantasy writing inspirations?
My two direct
inspirations for this series are Guy Gavriel Kay and Juliet Marillier, both of
whom write lovely historical fantasy. But I also enjoy Karen Hancock, Patrick
Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, David Farland, C.J. Cherryh...the list goes on.
11.What’s on your
bookshelf /e-reader?
My reading habits are rather
eclectic, so you’ll find everything from non-fiction, biographies, and
spiritual memoirs to romance, steampunk, literary fiction, and fantasy. Some of
my current favorites are Patrick Carr, Mary Weber, A.G. Howard, Billy Coffey,
and Susanna Kearsley. But I have at least a dozen paperbacks waiting to be read
and hundreds on my e-reader. There’s just not enough time to consume all the
wonderful books I come across. Not to mention all the research books I keep around
to spark ideas for new projects!
by Marianne Hering and Wayne Thomas Batson, Focus on the Family and Tyndale House Publishing, 2013
Notes: This is the 11th in the Imagination Station Adventures series. The series is much like the secular Magic Tree House books but instead of wizards and magic it’s imagination and inventions giving them the different place/different time experiences. The radio show the concept is taken from is very solid – full of great spiritual elements and lessons and challenges as well as fun and excitement. This book did a much better job than some of the other in the series at focusing on spiritual elements. The spiritual element in this story is how much Christ can change a life. A solider who follows Christ risks his own life and career multiple times to rescue those in trouble or help those in need. It’s the example Beth needs to be able to find the courage to stand up for what is right in her life. As with the Magic Tree House, part of the focus of the series is on giving a picture of the time and place featured in the setting of the book. 
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