ORDER OF THE SEERS #1 by Cerece Rennie Murphy-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Released September 2012

What would you do if you held infinite power in the palm of your hand? Order of the Seers poses this question within a story that fuses action, mystery, romance, and adventure in a science fiction novel that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Order of the Seers begins with the journey of Liam and Lilith Knight, a brother and sister who are hunted by The Guild, a ruthless world organization that seeks to capture and exploit Lilith s unique ability as a Seer to envision the future. Soon after they are forced to leave their home, Lilith and Liam discover that she is not alone. Other Seers like Lilith are routinely kidnapped and enslaved by the Guild for the purpose of consolidating wealth and power around the world. But from within the organization, Marcus Akida, a captured Seer with powerful visioning capabilities, quietly plots his daring escape with the help of a beautiful and tortured Seer named Alessandra. When the escaped Seers are drawn to the same remote commune in Iowa as Liam and Lilith, they each find a place where they can rebuild their lives and rediscover their passion for life and love. As the Guild’s efforts to find them intensifies, the Seers ban together with outlaws from the commune to fight back against the organization that threatens their lives setting off a chain of events that will unleash the full power of the Seers and change everything we know about the true potential that lies dormant in each of us.

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REVIEW: ORDER OF THE SEERS is the first storyline in Cerece Rennie Murphy’s new series of the same name. Written in a mixture of several different genres including sci-fi and urban fantasy, Order of the Seers follows the life and struggle of Liam and Lilli Knight-a brother and sister duo who have seen too much pain and sorrow in their lifetimes.

With Lilli’s Seer abilities, Liam and his sister are on the run for years following the murder of their father and the sacrificial death of their mother. Finding a commune who was willing to take them in, Lilli and Liam learn what it is to belong to a group but still managing to keep their secrets to themselves until the day another group of Seers, with the tell-tale signs of torture and drug induced control side-effects walk into the commune and announce to everyone the hell they have had to endure at the hands of Guild.

The reader is taken on a journey of self-discovery as Liam and his sister Lilli learn to love-more than just each other. With their powers and abilities, the new Seers integrate the others in their efforts to rescue those in direct conflict with the Guild, and along the way their will learn to combine their collective Seer abilities for power beyond what anyone had ever suspected.

There will be losses of friends and family, as well as the realization that one can never go home again. We watch as a young teen grows into a man who believes his heart had been hardened by too many deaths and yet is capable of loving the woman who has seen their future many times in her dreams. And we will mourn with a compound when three of their own sacrifice their lives to save the others.

Order of the Seer is an interesting tale of discrimination, love, retribution and the madness of power and greed. As the introductory storyline there is plenty of detail and background information, but I did not feel overwhelmed-there was just the right amount of detail. The storyline is definitely not written for young adults, but perhaps under the latest ‘new adult’ or ‘mature YA’ category. The reason I hesitate is that a good portion of the storyline centres on Lilli and Liam as teens and their struggle to survive. There are sexual encounters we are witness to that cannot be considered YA suitable as well as the mindset of an adult male wanting the younger girls and boys for himself. Although there is no erotic or graphic description, there is definitely sex to be had and a love story that will break your heart.

I had a few issues of clarity or continuity. Perhaps it was the text version I was reading, but in several spots there were no scene breaks-we would read about the happenings in the compound and in the next paragraph we were watching as the Guild members considered their next options. It was confusing at times as I had to go back to ensure that I hadn’t missed anything.

If you are a fan of Susan Kaye Quinn’s MINDJACK Trilogy, Order of the Seer is very familiar. Many of the storyline premises is reminiscent of Susan’s series, but with an adult content.

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Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Sandy