What do you think?
Rate this book
Sylph #4
The Sylph Hunter
The fourth novel set in L. J. McDonald’s richly imagined world of the elemental sylphs returns readers to the kingdom of Meridal, where an invisible, deadly force has descended…
Former concubine Eapha now sits on the throne as the carefree—if negligent—queen of a corrupt desert empire. As the ambassador from Sylph Valley, Devon Chole travels to Meridal, aided by an air sylph named Airi—and saddled with a crippling fear of battle sylphs. Upon his arrival, Devon quickly falls for Zalia, a young virgin waitress who has recently become the object of a supremely handsome battle sylph’s unyielding lust. But there are worse dangers than battle sylphs…
Unseen and insatiable, it threatens to consume all life in its path. And should it reach the heart of Meridal, even an army of battle sylphs will be helpless in the face of a creature known only as The Hunter.
Former concubine Eapha now sits on the throne as the carefree—if negligent—queen of a corrupt desert empire. As the ambassador from Sylph Valley, Devon Chole travels to Meridal, aided by an air sylph named Airi—and saddled with a crippling fear of battle sylphs. Upon his arrival, Devon quickly falls for Zalia, a young virgin waitress who has recently become the object of a supremely handsome battle sylph’s unyielding lust. But there are worse dangers than battle sylphs…
Unseen and insatiable, it threatens to consume all life in its path. And should it reach the heart of Meridal, even an army of battle sylphs will be helpless in the face of a creature known only as The Hunter.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2014
22 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
L.J. McDonald
13 books190 followers I first started writing in 1986, when my grade ten English teacher read some of my poetry and said that I had talent. I was so floored at the concept that I started writing short stories. My parents weren't quite so thrilled that I was doing something that took my away from my schoolwork, so I arranged to write a novel for two school credits, thereby turning writing into homework. Those two credits resulted in the creation of the novel Cure for the Phoenix, which I haven't read in over twenty years and which will likely not see the light of day. Even now I remember it as being quite clichéd, though my husband likes it.
I did make some attempts to get published over the years, and almost made it at one point, but other things were on my mind. To me, not submitting was easier than dealing with rejection slips, so I stopped trying. I did still keep on writing though. It's true that for writers, it's a compulsion. I just never considered the idea that anyone other than my husband would want to read any of it.
That changed when I picked up a book titled Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi. It had an ad in it for the Shomi Romantic Fantasy Novel Writing Contest, where the winner would get a guaranteed publishing contract in Canada and the United States. I mentioned it to my husband and he nagged me until I entered the first three chapters of The Battle Sylph in March of 2008. Sometime after that, I was wandering the Shomi site and found a link to a page detailing what features the judges were looking for. Other than my book being fantasy, I hadn't done a single thing on the list and figured I must have lost. My husband said, okay, wait for them to confirm that, then ship it out to the next company. You're not hiding for the next twenty years this time.
So, time passed, and the contest closed. The day after the winner was chosen, I was emailed by someone at Shomi who did confirm that, yes, I'd lost the contest, but the head Editor liked my three chapters so much he wanted to see the rest of the book. So I had a minor heart attack and sent it in. I then heard nothing until November 2008, when I was contacted by Chris Keeslar, Senior Editor for Dorchester Publishing, asking if the book was still available. I said yes, as were the four sequels. A week later, he bought the first three books in the series and I had another near heart attack. I also decided I needed an agent.
It's a lot easier to find an agent when you submit emails with subject lines that read "I have a guaranteed publishing contract for three novels - need an agent". Within a month, I'd signed with Michelle Grajkowski with the Three Seas Literary Agency, and the rest, hopefully, will be happy history for everyone.
I did make some attempts to get published over the years, and almost made it at one point, but other things were on my mind. To me, not submitting was easier than dealing with rejection slips, so I stopped trying. I did still keep on writing though. It's true that for writers, it's a compulsion. I just never considered the idea that anyone other than my husband would want to read any of it.
That changed when I picked up a book titled Moongazer by Marianne Mancusi. It had an ad in it for the Shomi Romantic Fantasy Novel Writing Contest, where the winner would get a guaranteed publishing contract in Canada and the United States. I mentioned it to my husband and he nagged me until I entered the first three chapters of The Battle Sylph in March of 2008. Sometime after that, I was wandering the Shomi site and found a link to a page detailing what features the judges were looking for. Other than my book being fantasy, I hadn't done a single thing on the list and figured I must have lost. My husband said, okay, wait for them to confirm that, then ship it out to the next company. You're not hiding for the next twenty years this time.
So, time passed, and the contest closed. The day after the winner was chosen, I was emailed by someone at Shomi who did confirm that, yes, I'd lost the contest, but the head Editor liked my three chapters so much he wanted to see the rest of the book. So I had a minor heart attack and sent it in. I then heard nothing until November 2008, when I was contacted by Chris Keeslar, Senior Editor for Dorchester Publishing, asking if the book was still available. I said yes, as were the four sequels. A week later, he bought the first three books in the series and I had another near heart attack. I also decided I needed an agent.
It's a lot easier to find an agent when you submit emails with subject lines that read "I have a guaranteed publishing contract for three novels - need an agent". Within a month, I'd signed with Michelle Grajkowski with the Three Seas Literary Agency, and the rest, hopefully, will be happy history for everyone.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 15, 2014
It was a long wait for a new Sylph book. Was it worth it? Yeah.
I have issues though. *I* have the issues; not necessarily the book. This series is, well, it is a romance,sort of, but…one of the books wasn't. It was more straight up fantasy. So…the issue I have is the love triangle, such as it is, goes to fruition and well, the only reason the h ended up with the H is because the Queen of this mismanaged hive finally "woke up" and made decisions, one of which was to assist the H in taking out the Hunter. The battler that had designs on the h essentially sacrificed himself so the H could do what he needed to do (being human, he could sort of see the thing, unlike the battlers who couldn't) That…well, the conflict there soured my impression as far as a romance goes - who wants a romance where the reason the h ends up with the H is because her other choice dies? That her interest in the battler was largely the result of coercion doesn't make me feel any better.
And now that I've aired my gripe… I like the H, and we get a really good understanding why he's afraid of battlers, and how much courage he does have just to face one (even though they think of him as a coward because he's afraid). I feel kinda bad for him because he was more or less banished from the other hive. I get that Heyou was protective but don't think there was any risk to his happiness.
I do have questions, questions without answers (otherwise they wouldn't still be questions now, would they?) What happens to the hive when the queen dies? She's human, eventually she will. Masters can be replaced. What about a queen? Or is it the next woman who gets boinked by a battler fills the void. Hmmm...
I have issues though. *I* have the issues; not necessarily the book. This series is, well, it is a romance,sort of, but…one of the books wasn't. It was more straight up fantasy. So…the issue I have is the love triangle, such as it is, goes to fruition and well, the only reason the h ended up with the H is because the Queen of this mismanaged hive finally "woke up" and made decisions, one of which was to assist the H in taking out the Hunter. The battler that had designs on the h essentially sacrificed himself so the H could do what he needed to do (being human, he could sort of see the thing, unlike the battlers who couldn't) That…well, the conflict there soured my impression as far as a romance goes - who wants a romance where the reason the h ends up with the H is because her other choice dies? That her interest in the battler was largely the result of coercion doesn't make me feel any better.
And now that I've aired my gripe… I like the H, and we get a really good understanding why he's afraid of battlers, and how much courage he does have just to face one (even though they think of him as a coward because he's afraid). I feel kinda bad for him because he was more or less banished from the other hive. I get that Heyou was protective but don't think there was any risk to his happiness.
I do have questions, questions without answers (otherwise they wouldn't still be questions now, would they?) What happens to the hive when the queen dies? She's human, eventually she will. Masters can be replaced. What about a queen? Or is it the next woman who gets boinked by a battler fills the void. Hmmm...
June 28, 2015
Another great Sylph book! I'll admit that I never much liked Devon. He wasn't the sort of hero we've all come to love in the Sylph books, and in fact was a bit of a dweeb. Compared to the other guys. But LJ worked her magic in Sylph Hunter and Devon's story is just a part of our trip out of the Valley.
I loved this book. It's a great adventure, lots of ups and downs, and a continuing examination of the alien mindset of the sylphs.
I do wish she's stop making me cry, though! It seems in every book there's always some part where I'm peeling onions in a smokey room. Especially in the previous one where that poor sylph... and ended up... Well. Nevermind. Let's not dwell.
In this book it was some totally innocuous phrase like "I know". And there came the onions.
Great book, great series, a unique blend of fantasy and romance. 100% "Planetary Romance" even.
I'd say any fan of Zimmer Bradley's Darkover, or of Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione, or Ilona Andrews would like these books. Even some fans of Heinlein, Vance and Asimov. Alternate worlds, love, lust, politics, power, war, battles and aliens. Brilliant!
I loved this book. It's a great adventure, lots of ups and downs, and a continuing examination of the alien mindset of the sylphs.
I do wish she's stop making me cry, though! It seems in every book there's always some part where I'm peeling onions in a smokey room. Especially in the previous one where that poor sylph... and ended up... Well. Nevermind. Let's not dwell.
In this book it was some totally innocuous phrase like "I know". And there came the onions.
Great book, great series, a unique blend of fantasy and romance. 100% "Planetary Romance" even.
I'd say any fan of Zimmer Bradley's Darkover, or of Kresley Cole, Larissa Ione, or Ilona Andrews would like these books. Even some fans of Heinlein, Vance and Asimov. Alternate worlds, love, lust, politics, power, war, battles and aliens. Brilliant!
March 26, 2015
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first 3. I don't know if it was the wait between reading the last book (Queen of the Sylphs) and this one. Maybe it was the characters. Devon, Zalia, and One-Eleven just weren't favorites for me. I had some trouble getting started, but this did get better the further I got into it.
March 4, 2018
Devon and Zalia
This is an incredible world build. It is inventive and imaginative, a world that is different than any other. Ms. McDonald had my attention from the first book through this one. I hope there are more.
This is an incredible world build. It is inventive and imaginative, a world that is different than any other. Ms. McDonald had my attention from the first book through this one. I hope there are more.
May 21, 2019
Read it in one day!
Please please self publish the last2 books In the series! These books are so amazing n enthralling I have no idea why your publishers don't think so. A few times I broke out in curses because the characters were being so inept n I yelled out in joy when someone got slapped n told to stop being dumb. It ends wonderfully,but i know there are 2 more books n I WANT TO READ THEM!!!!!
Please please self publish the last2 books In the series! These books are so amazing n enthralling I have no idea why your publishers don't think so. A few times I broke out in curses because the characters were being so inept n I yelled out in joy when someone got slapped n told to stop being dumb. It ends wonderfully,but i know there are 2 more books n I WANT TO READ THEM!!!!!
November 19, 2019
Good ending to a great series !
If you've read this book and haven't read the first 2 books...oh...you need to read them . The first , Battle Sylph , in my opinion is the best , followed by the other 2 in that order . Ms. McDonald has quite an imagination . She gives us a fantasy with fright , sadness , delight , horror , romance and hope . I would really like to see more of the series . After all the humans and sylphs have a future to look forward to , don't they ?
If you've read this book and haven't read the first 2 books...oh...you need to read them . The first , Battle Sylph , in my opinion is the best , followed by the other 2 in that order . Ms. McDonald has quite an imagination . She gives us a fantasy with fright , sadness , delight , horror , romance and hope . I would really like to see more of the series . After all the humans and sylphs have a future to look forward to , don't they ?
January 14, 2022
the worst set of characters ever
yes, there was character growth but oh my god, it was so PAINFUL. surrounded by idiots at every corner. just pretend this book was never part of the series.
yes, there was character growth but oh my god, it was so PAINFUL. surrounded by idiots at every corner. just pretend this book was never part of the series.
March 12, 2014
I've waited for years for the next Sylph installment. McDonald doesn't disappoint with building additional depth to her series. My four star has more to do with always having a rather lukewarm impression of Devon and disappointment that Eapha turned out as such an ineffective Queen. That being said, it's a well written, exciting installment in the Sylph series!
August 7, 2014
Mi è piaciuto, online ho visto diverse recensioni un poco critiche, ma a me è piaciuto. Avendo già conosciuto Devon nei libri precedenti non mi aspettavo di più da lui, anzi di meno semmai, perciò il fatto che qui, pur rimanendo coerente a se stesso riesca a salvare il regno, nonostante le sue paure, è fantastico.
September 12, 2014
3.75 stars. These just didn't feel like the same characters we met when we were originally introduced to them in THE SHATTERED SYLPH. Instead of being invested in the main characters, I found that I was more interested in the few scenes focusing on battle sylph Haru and his devotion to his lady.
February 28, 2015
I really love the Battle sylph books! Even though not this one as much, but still the writing was good as always. I just prefer Solie and Heyou much more! Hope the next book is about them. The first and third book is my absolute favourite!
March 8, 2014
Worth the wait! One of my favorite series, I hope beyond hope we don't have to wait too long for the next one to be released :)
April 25, 2014
So badly written. Formulaic. Boring. Cookie-cutter characters. Don't wait the hours of your life reading this book
March 28, 2014
Great Book. I absolutely love the series and I can't wait for the next one.
March 8, 2014
I really liked the other books in the series. This one not so much. More of a 2 1/2 star for me. It wasn't awful but I had a very hard time getting into the story. It just dragged on and on.
December 27, 2014
Great series.
I have re-read all the books multiple times. They are really unique and I hope there will be more soon.
I have re-read all the books multiple times. They are really unique and I hope there will be more soon.
Read
July 22, 2018DNF @ 30%
I wasn't enjoying the "love triangle" which was really just the battle sylph forcing himself on her and making her feel lust for her. Unfortunate because I was enjoying part of the story, but reading what I consider to be an explicit sexual assault wasn't something I was into.
I wasn't enjoying the "love triangle" which was really just the battle sylph forcing himself on her and making her feel lust for her. Unfortunate because I was enjoying part of the story, but reading what I consider to be an explicit sexual assault wasn't something I was into.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews