Review: Sepherene: The Complete Chronicles by Daniel Beazley

Title: Sepherene: The Complete Chronicles
Author: Daniel Beazley
Series: The Sepherene Chronicles 1-4
Publication: August 9th 2015
Genre: Science-Fiction ~ Fantasy
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 4/5

Review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

  

In a time where religion has become no more than a convenient commodity and angels bask within their god-like existence upon the mortal planes, can Sepherene the fallen angel find the path to redemption and at what cost? She has chosen Lucius to journey with her but his past is hidden beneath a dark shroud and he carries troubles of his own. As he is drawn deeper into an ancient struggle between good and evil, will he be able to stay upon the right path or will darkness obscure the way?

The Sepherene Chronicles tell a tale of unity and righteous endeavour where the line between good and evil becomes ever more blurred. As humankind reaches out into the far corners of the universe and colonises extraordinary worlds along the way, the struggle for hope continues against overwhelming odds. With adversity lurking in every shadow, will the bond between man and angel provide the only path to survival?

Sepherene: The Complete Chronicles contains all four books of the Sepherene Chronicles.

I already read Eventide back in May so I've added that review to this one for the complete collection.

Eventide:

Books that have angels in them are usually really not my thing. I think I maybe only like two books that have angels in them. I decided to read this book because the author had send me a review request and Jennifer from Book Bird Reviews thought I might like it. And guess what? I ended up really liking Eventide, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. It was something new and different. 

When I started reading this book I was a bit confused as to what in the world was going on. I guess I just didn't catch on that quickly but once I got more into the story I was getting really invested in it. The author's writing style was a big part of that. The writing was really amazing in my opinion. Descriptive and detailed but not to the point that it was getting boring, not at all. I loved it.

Basically there are two main characters in one body; Lucius and the angel, Sepherene that's within him. Sepherene is on a mission to redeem herself by hunting down fallen angels. I really liked this storyline. It also had lots of action and the end was a bit of a shocker. 

With 78 pages the story is rather on the short side, but it's not so short that there wasn't enough character and world building (which is a pretty big deal to me with books). I felt that the lenght of the book was just right and the ending has definitely left me with wanting more. 

The thing about Eventide is that it isn't your typical angel book. It's fantasy but it also has a lot of science fiction elements. I just loved that. It's pretty much a whole new world to discover and from what I've read so far, I'm liking it a lot. I'd definitely recommend this story!

Dark Shroud:

Dark Shroud is the second book in The Sepherene Chronicles and I think I actually liked it a little more than the first book. Don't get me wrong, Eventide was really good but this one was even better, in my opinion. 

The story picked pretty much right up where it left off. Lucius is being convicted of murdering his wife and children even though he can't remember if it's true or not, which added a lot of intrigue to the story with not knowing if he really did it or not. 

There was also the added mystery of Herane, a woman who was in the cell next to him before he made a deal to get out while in the meantime also getting Herane out. Who is she? Why does Lucius feel a connection to her? The question did not get answered in Dark Shroud but I'm sure that it will get answered eventually.

Just like with Eventide there were plenty of action scenes when Lucius and Sepherene battled others like her kind who don't want to be redeemed. I loved those because they were written so well just like the rest of the story. 

I might've said something similiar in my review of Eventide but the author's writing style is one of my favorite elements in this series. It is amazing! 

Overall, Dark Shroud was a great sequel to Eventide that continued the story while also adding more intrigue and mystery. I simply love reading about Lucius and Sepherene's quest!

Night's Shadow:

I don't know if it's just me but I felt like Night's Shadow certainly had a darker feel to it than the other parts. Of course this is not a bad thing, I love it when stories get darker but you definitely notice this. 

The story continues with Lucius going forth on his journey with Sepherene. They again meet fallen angels who don't want redemption, which was good in my opinion because they really were vile creatures. Even more so than the others were, actually. So good riddance! 

But anyway, we got some answers to Lucius' past (at last!) when he by chance meets up with Herane again, who's some sort of diviner that can help him look into his past. We finally find out if he indeed killed his wife and children. Of course I'm not giving anything away from that, you'll just have to read it to find out. 

The cliffhanger at the end is making me really curious to start Dawn of Hope, which I'm going to read when I'm finished writing the review, as we speak, for Night Shadow. But I gotta say I'm a bit nervous because it's the final part. Who knows what will happen! 

Dawn of Hope:

Okay, first of all, this last part kicked ass. I loved it! And second, I'm really glad I got to read Sepherene: The Chronicles because I really enjoyed it so much. And this is coming from someone who 90% of the time hates books featuring angels/demons, heaven/hell, god/lucifer, etc... so that really means something!

Lucius and his companions have taken Herane who is hurt to Iolaus' father to be healed. And the final battle for Sepherene and Lucius is taking place. Let me just say that I practically inhaled every word and couldn't read fast enough - it was that exciting! And I think Dawn of Hope is my favorite part in the whole book. 

As always there were the elements of fantasy, sci-fi and a little religion. Although the religion wasn't the biggest factor. At least nog for me. I also gotta mention something that's been bugging me since the first book. Every since Eventide I've had the feeling this book had some sort of connection to Hercules/Herakles and his twelve labours. And after reading this last part I'm pretty sure about this. I kept recognizing all these names that appear in Greek mythology that almost all had a connection to the myth of Herculas to that yet another factor that I love in this book. 

Dawn of Hope was a great conclusion to a very different series. Although short in pages, it felt like a full book and it was just so unique. The writing was amazing, like really amazing and I was so invested in Lucius and Sepherene that I couldn't keep my eyes off my Kindle almost. 

Overall:

I'd highly recommend Sepherene: The Complete Chronicles. All parts are fast to read (though the chapters are really long), I loved the sci-fi and fantasy elements, there's even some Greek mythology hidden in the story. I really enjoyed all parts!

About the Author:

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Daniel Beazley was born and raised in the South West of England. Growing up he became captivated and drawn into the World of fantasy courtesy of the writings of Tolkien, Feist, Gemmell, Lewis, Livingstone and Dever. These together with films like Conan, Red Sonja, The Dark Crystal, Willow and Krull, truly inspired him to want to join the creative journey that is fantasy.

He began writing in 1996 whilst spending some time in the sunny climes of Sicily. This continued periodically whilst working in the Army and then the Police; living in various parts of the country as well as overseas.

In 2012, after winning a short story competition for the Fantasy Faction Anthology about an orc and goblin he decided that there were more adventures that needed to be told. Six months later the first book of the Trivial Trials series, ‘Goblins Know Best’, was complete and ready for publishing.

Daniel now lives with his family in the rural countryside of Devon.