Summary: Student glass magician Opal Cowen's new found ability to steal a magician's powers makes her too powerful. Ordered to house arrest by the Council, Opal dares defy them, traveling to the Moon Clan's lands in search of Ulrich, the man she thinks she loves. Thinks because another man-now her prisoner-claims Ulrich's desire for blood magic has eclipsed his passion for her. In hostile territory, without proof or alies, Opal isn't sure whom to trust. She can't forget Kade, the handsome Stormdancer who doesn't want to let her get close. And now everyone is after Opal's special powers for their own deadly gain.


All I kept thinking about as I read this book was Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series...it kept flashing into my head. I know Opal isn't the prodigal magician come home, but their stories resonated together for me. Maybe it was all the traveling around or that, like Richard, Opal discovers who she really is and stands up for herself and whats right. I had to push myself through the beginning, Opal doesn't have the same spark that Yelena did with me but, once I got in a little ways I started to feel the pull of an expertly crafted plot line. I love the twists and turns Snyder throws into her work, you think that you are going one way and then, BAM, there is a brick wall and you are in total shock. It was amazingly done and fits perfectly with the rest of her work. I am glad Opal discovered her back bone, sad about her glass magic but, I know we will see more of her, I can't wait until the next book comes out.


For more information or for purchasing visit Maria V. Snyder's webpage.

Also posted: http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2009/10/book-review-sea-glass-by-maria-v-snyder.html

Share/Like this Review?

Opal Cowen has been summoned back to Sita's Magicians Keep by the high council. Never a good sign. After an unsuccessful trip to find her lost friend Ulrick who has switched souls with her long time enemy, Opal heeds the summons and returns only to be put under house arrest. Her new found power of siphoning the magic of others has the Keep on high alert and she must earn back their confidence.

At the same time, Opal is determined to prove that Ulrick is no longer himself, and becomes entangled in a plot to steal control over the glass messengers Opal creates for Sitia. Unless Opal can figure out who is behind the plot, all of Sitia may be in danger from something much worse than just some stolen magic...

You know the old saying that sequels are never as good as the original? Well Snyder has proved that saying wrong. I enjoyed "Sea Glass" much more than I liked its predecessor "Storm Glass." I found that Snyder developed her characters a lot more than in "Storm Glass" and therefore I found them to have more depth and were more enjoyable to read about.

While I found "Sea Glass" extremely entertaining and exciting, I couldn't give it a five-star rating for several small things. First, "Sea Glass" was an extremely slow starter. I was on page 252 before I really started to become interested in the plot and wanted to find out if Opal would succeed in the end. I'm not saying that the first 250 pages of the book were horrible or boring, I just found this part of "Sea Glass" to be very reminiscent of "Storm Glass." Opal gets either lured into a trap or abducted, and fairly easily finds her way out of it again. It definitely gave me a feeling of déjà vu.

Second, I really didn't understand the title. Only more than half way through the book do we understand why the title is "Sea Glass" at all, and just as quickly as the topic comes up, the sub-plot around the "Sea Glass" is dropped like a molten slug of glass. Perhaps there's some sort of metaphor Snyder was going for that I missed completely when titling her book, but if she's going to continue with the "Sea Glass" sub-plot in her next "Glass" book one would think she would have waited and named that book "Sea Glass," not this one. I would have called the book "Blood Glass" but without giving away any of the plot, I won't go into detail as to why.

"Sea Glass" also had a tendency to weave in several sub-plots into the main storyline that to me didn't make a whole lot of sense. I get that Snyder is setting us up for the next book in the series, but it seems like she could have been a little more subtle in her placement of these plots. Instead of finding them interesting and intriguing, I found them a little on the annoying side for two reasons: First, they distracted from the main storyline, and second, they were never resolved in any way so I found myself let down and a little confused.

Now, I can't bash Snyder too hard for the sub-plot thing as I understand this is a second in the series book, and therefore to make her final (I'm assuming it will be a trio) book more climatic she had to put in some "teasers." Thing "Empire Strikes Back" kind of disappointment. You know, you're all into the story and you are on the edge of your seat and then the credits start to roll and you're like: "WHAT? It's over?! No way!" For that I have to applaud her.

Overall, Snyder has crafted yet another magical book and has taken readers into a wonderful land of enchantment. Her characters are deep and stirring, and she has an uncanny ability to make the magic of the characters come to life. For those reasons I can overlook the small complaints I may have formed throughout "Sea Glass" and will be very excited to read the third installment. Too bad we have to wait until 2011. Sad.

Share/Like this Review?