What do you think?
Rate this book
Flame Seas #2
Demons of the Flame Sea
The second thrilling Flame Sea novel from the national bestselling author known as “a must-read for those who enjoy fantasy and romance” (The Best Reviews).
Raised to understand and control advanced magics, the Fae Rii know they must be careful with the wild, abundant energies of their new desert homeland. They must also downplay the awe they inspire in the Bronze Age humans around them. Still, they have managed to create some equilibrium between the two factions, primitive versus advanced—at least, until new outworlders arrive, tipping the scales out of balance.
Strict and power-hungry, the ruthless Efrijt take the phrase “deal with the devil” to a new level. A treaty may be possible; however, the solution proposed will in turn give birth to a new problem: A chaos that will dance its way through all three races trying to survive in the burning heat of the Flame Sea…
Includes an exclusive preview of the next Flame Sea novel, Gods of the Flame Sea
Raised to understand and control advanced magics, the Fae Rii know they must be careful with the wild, abundant energies of their new desert homeland. They must also downplay the awe they inspire in the Bronze Age humans around them. Still, they have managed to create some equilibrium between the two factions, primitive versus advanced—at least, until new outworlders arrive, tipping the scales out of balance.
Strict and power-hungry, the ruthless Efrijt take the phrase “deal with the devil” to a new level. A treaty may be possible; however, the solution proposed will in turn give birth to a new problem: A chaos that will dance its way through all three races trying to survive in the burning heat of the Flame Sea…
Includes an exclusive preview of the next Flame Sea novel, Gods of the Flame Sea
189 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 15, 2016
5 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
About the author
Jean Johnson
51 books820 followersBerkley/Jove Authors Bio
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)romance author, science fiction author
Jean Johnson currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, has played in the SCA for 25 years, sings a lot, and argues with her cat about territorial rights to her office chair. She loves hearing from her readers, and has a distinct sense of humor. Right now she's living in a home with zone heating & decent plumbing, but hopes to some day put turrets and ramparts on it so that it looks like a castle.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)romance author, science fiction author
Jean Johnson currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, has played in the SCA for 25 years, sings a lot, and argues with her cat about territorial rights to her office chair. She loves hearing from her readers, and has a distinct sense of humor. Right now she's living in a home with zone heating & decent plumbing, but hopes to some day put turrets and ramparts on it so that it looks like a castle.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 12, 2018
My review originally published on my Blog, Musings of a Bookish Kitty: https://www.literaryfeline.com/2018/0...
December 2, 2016
Originally published at Reading Reality
This is the book that Dawn of the Flame Sea should have been. When my friend Lou and I reviewed Dawn of the Flame Sea over at The Book Pushers, we complained that the book was all set up and no delivery – meaning that although there was lots, plenty, positively oodles of worldbuilding – not a damn thing happened. We both like solid worldbuilding in our fantasy and SF romance, but there also needs to be some there, well, there. All that worldbuilding needs to lead to some world unbuilding, in one way or another.
In Demons of the Flame Sea, we finally get to experience what happens on that world that was so solidly (and occasionally stolidly) built. And now it all begins to make sense. And feel worthwhile.
The set up in Dawn of the Flame Sea showed us an advanced civilization from somewhere “out there”, the Fae Rii, literally Fair Traders, who come through an interplanetary gateway to start a settlement on the planet of the Flame Sea. Instead of having the chance to sit back and observe the local Bronze Age natives, they are witnessed the minute they come through the gate, and the cat is out of the bag.
The Fae Rii, led by the Healer Jintaya, settle in the Flame Sea. They bring peace and prosperity, as well as a certain amount of enhanced technology, to the local tribes and clans. They also interbreed with the locals – the Fae Rii find the local humans quite attractive, and very much vice versa. There are lots of children, all raised cooperatively. It seems like a little bit of paradise.
Demons of the Flame Sea takes place 40 years after the end of Dawn. The Fae Rii are very long-lived, so they have not changed much physically. Nor has the one outworlder they brought with them, the man called Ban, a word that means Death in the local languages. Ban’s name is both fitting and ironic. He is a warrior without peer, and very efficiently brings death to any enemies of the Fae Rii, especially anyone who thinks of attacking Jintaya. But Ban is also immortal, so while he deals death to others, he comes back from it himself, over and over and over.
At the beginning of Demons, Ban has been on walkabout for many years, surveying the lands around the Flame Sea. On his way back, he discovers that another group of outworlders has opened a gateway onto this planet. The Efrijit are the opposite of the Fae Rii. Where the Fae Rii trade fairly with their friends and neighbors, the Efrijit always observe the letter of any contracts strictly, and make sure those contracts are written in their favor. Where the Fae Rii are benevolent, the Efrijit are self-serving. They are not particularly warlike, but they are very exploitative. The difference in philosophy between the two cultures is extreme.
The conflict in Demons of the Flame Sea is about both the conflict between these opposing forces and the negotiating of contracts and the jockeying for position between them, with all of the local humans in both spheres of influence caught very much in the middle. Those negotiations are protracted, legalistic, and still fascinating, as the two philosophies battle not with force of arms, but with force of words. It will make readers remember the famous Shakespeare quote, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
Escape Rating B+: I liked this one SO MUCH better than Dawn, it’s almost impossible to believe it’s the same series from the same author. Demons reads like the Jean Johnson I know and love, where Dawn was completely and atypically meh.
So, while the worldbuilding is important in Dawn, there’s a rather large glossary at the beginning of Demons. Read the glossary and skip Dawn, unless you are a compulsive completist or a glutton for punishment. There was so little significant action in Dawn that what there is is easily recapped within the pages of Demons.
While there isn’t a whole lot of action in the action/adventure sense in Demons, there is plenty of conflict. The tension between the Fae Rii and the Efrijit is integral to the plot. Their philosophies are so opposed, it is kind of amazing that both sides try very hard not to come to actual blows.
The ways that the Fae Rii explain to their own adherents just how damaging the nature of the Efrijit can be make for a fascinating and still very readable philosophical discussion, and there aren’t many of those in SF and fantasy.
We also see the slow warming of what will eventually become a romance between Ban and Jintaya. Ban is immortal and Jintaya is extremely long-lived. They have all the time in the universe to work their way towards an emotional and physical partnership, and it looks like they plan to take it. It’s a very different way of writing a romance, but it works well in this instance.
The story ends on multiple cliffhangers. The Fae Rii and the Efrijit have worked out a means of coexisting, and are essentially kicking the can of who will control the planet down the road. I expect the continuation of that story and their conflict to be resolved in book 3 in this series, Gods of the Flame Sea.
This is the book that Dawn of the Flame Sea should have been. When my friend Lou and I reviewed Dawn of the Flame Sea over at The Book Pushers, we complained that the book was all set up and no delivery – meaning that although there was lots, plenty, positively oodles of worldbuilding – not a damn thing happened. We both like solid worldbuilding in our fantasy and SF romance, but there also needs to be some there, well, there. All that worldbuilding needs to lead to some world unbuilding, in one way or another.
In Demons of the Flame Sea, we finally get to experience what happens on that world that was so solidly (and occasionally stolidly) built. And now it all begins to make sense. And feel worthwhile.
The set up in Dawn of the Flame Sea showed us an advanced civilization from somewhere “out there”, the Fae Rii, literally Fair Traders, who come through an interplanetary gateway to start a settlement on the planet of the Flame Sea. Instead of having the chance to sit back and observe the local Bronze Age natives, they are witnessed the minute they come through the gate, and the cat is out of the bag.
The Fae Rii, led by the Healer Jintaya, settle in the Flame Sea. They bring peace and prosperity, as well as a certain amount of enhanced technology, to the local tribes and clans. They also interbreed with the locals – the Fae Rii find the local humans quite attractive, and very much vice versa. There are lots of children, all raised cooperatively. It seems like a little bit of paradise.
Demons of the Flame Sea takes place 40 years after the end of Dawn. The Fae Rii are very long-lived, so they have not changed much physically. Nor has the one outworlder they brought with them, the man called Ban, a word that means Death in the local languages. Ban’s name is both fitting and ironic. He is a warrior without peer, and very efficiently brings death to any enemies of the Fae Rii, especially anyone who thinks of attacking Jintaya. But Ban is also immortal, so while he deals death to others, he comes back from it himself, over and over and over.
At the beginning of Demons, Ban has been on walkabout for many years, surveying the lands around the Flame Sea. On his way back, he discovers that another group of outworlders has opened a gateway onto this planet. The Efrijit are the opposite of the Fae Rii. Where the Fae Rii trade fairly with their friends and neighbors, the Efrijit always observe the letter of any contracts strictly, and make sure those contracts are written in their favor. Where the Fae Rii are benevolent, the Efrijit are self-serving. They are not particularly warlike, but they are very exploitative. The difference in philosophy between the two cultures is extreme.
The conflict in Demons of the Flame Sea is about both the conflict between these opposing forces and the negotiating of contracts and the jockeying for position between them, with all of the local humans in both spheres of influence caught very much in the middle. Those negotiations are protracted, legalistic, and still fascinating, as the two philosophies battle not with force of arms, but with force of words. It will make readers remember the famous Shakespeare quote, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
Escape Rating B+: I liked this one SO MUCH better than Dawn, it’s almost impossible to believe it’s the same series from the same author. Demons reads like the Jean Johnson I know and love, where Dawn was completely and atypically meh.
So, while the worldbuilding is important in Dawn, there’s a rather large glossary at the beginning of Demons. Read the glossary and skip Dawn, unless you are a compulsive completist or a glutton for punishment. There was so little significant action in Dawn that what there is is easily recapped within the pages of Demons.
While there isn’t a whole lot of action in the action/adventure sense in Demons, there is plenty of conflict. The tension between the Fae Rii and the Efrijit is integral to the plot. Their philosophies are so opposed, it is kind of amazing that both sides try very hard not to come to actual blows.
The ways that the Fae Rii explain to their own adherents just how damaging the nature of the Efrijit can be make for a fascinating and still very readable philosophical discussion, and there aren’t many of those in SF and fantasy.
We also see the slow warming of what will eventually become a romance between Ban and Jintaya. Ban is immortal and Jintaya is extremely long-lived. They have all the time in the universe to work their way towards an emotional and physical partnership, and it looks like they plan to take it. It’s a very different way of writing a romance, but it works well in this instance.
The story ends on multiple cliffhangers. The Fae Rii and the Efrijit have worked out a means of coexisting, and are essentially kicking the can of who will control the planet down the road. I expect the continuation of that story and their conflict to be resolved in book 3 in this series, Gods of the Flame Sea.
October 12, 2025
Author: Jean Johnson
Title: Demons of the Flame Sea
Series: Flame Seas
Cover Rating:
Silver Star
Book Rating:
4 Stars
About the Book:
Raised to understand and control advanced magics, the Fae Rii know they must be careful with the wild, abundant energies of their new desert homeland. They must also downplay the awe they inspire in the Bronze Age humans around them.
Still, they have managed to create some equilibrium between the two factions, primitive versus advanced—at least, until new outworlders arrive, tipping the scales out of balance.
Strict and power-hungry, the ruthless Efrijt take the phrase “deal with the devil” to a new level. A treaty may be possible; however, the solution proposed will in turn give birth to a new problem: A chaos that will dance its way through all three races trying to survive in the burning heat of the Flame Sea.
My Thoughts:
The second book of the Flame Sea series is phenomenal. I love the balance of energies and the differences in the factions. Johnson is a brilliant creator. I love the world of the Flame Seas. I don't know she does it but its absolutely beautiful and its amazing. I can't get enough of the life and the detail on every page.
There's like this whole complicated mess of who controls what and how everyone looks at everything a certain way and how they get used to the way things are done until it gets turned upside down and changes it all for everyone.
Its interesting to see how the magic change effects everyone from the supernatural to the humans and how it expands how people have interpreted their world thus far. You can really sense as a reader what it would be like to have everything you once new not being the same anymore and how that would make you feel as a person and as a community and how as individuals they have to see things in a new light.
Its really emotional and rather beautiful. I enjoyed Demons of the Flame Sea from beginning to end.
Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
Note:
If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!
Title: Demons of the Flame Sea
Series: Flame Seas
Cover Rating:
Silver Star
Book Rating:
4 Stars
About the Book:
Raised to understand and control advanced magics, the Fae Rii know they must be careful with the wild, abundant energies of their new desert homeland. They must also downplay the awe they inspire in the Bronze Age humans around them.
Still, they have managed to create some equilibrium between the two factions, primitive versus advanced—at least, until new outworlders arrive, tipping the scales out of balance.
Strict and power-hungry, the ruthless Efrijt take the phrase “deal with the devil” to a new level. A treaty may be possible; however, the solution proposed will in turn give birth to a new problem: A chaos that will dance its way through all three races trying to survive in the burning heat of the Flame Sea.
My Thoughts:
The second book of the Flame Sea series is phenomenal. I love the balance of energies and the differences in the factions. Johnson is a brilliant creator. I love the world of the Flame Seas. I don't know she does it but its absolutely beautiful and its amazing. I can't get enough of the life and the detail on every page.
There's like this whole complicated mess of who controls what and how everyone looks at everything a certain way and how they get used to the way things are done until it gets turned upside down and changes it all for everyone.
Its interesting to see how the magic change effects everyone from the supernatural to the humans and how it expands how people have interpreted their world thus far. You can really sense as a reader what it would be like to have everything you once new not being the same anymore and how that would make you feel as a person and as a community and how as individuals they have to see things in a new light.
Its really emotional and rather beautiful. I enjoyed Demons of the Flame Sea from beginning to end.
Disclaimer:
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
Note:
If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!
May 26, 2018
Introducing a new race to the planet the Fae have staked a claim. This takes place 45 years fromo the first book and shows Ban's growth and healing. New Fae are brought in to deal with the Efrijt, support the settlement and to test and educate the half-breeds. Lots of detail and back up, kept my interest but the ending felt like a beginning. This is a spoiler but there is no clear resolution at the end of this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2016
2d in the series. Takes place 45 years after the first book.
On a trip home, Ban comes across another tribe that’s being ‘cared for’ by outsiders, the Efrijt. The same Efrijt that abandoned him to a netherhell in his early life. When he reports this to the Fae Rii a legal battle for control of the world begins.
I like having more Fae Rii arrive. It allows more ‘mixing’ and new story threads. And Jinji is very intelligent and clever. She makes a wonderful negotiator. I love how she handles the Efrijt.
Footnote: 1) This is a good example on how a little kindness goes a long way.
Fave scenes: the snake story, the new Fae’s arrival, Ban sifting sand and Efan’s ‘demonstration’ when meeting the Efrijt council.
On a trip home, Ban comes across another tribe that’s being ‘cared for’ by outsiders, the Efrijt. The same Efrijt that abandoned him to a netherhell in his early life. When he reports this to the Fae Rii a legal battle for control of the world begins.
I like having more Fae Rii arrive. It allows more ‘mixing’ and new story threads. And Jinji is very intelligent and clever. She makes a wonderful negotiator. I love how she handles the Efrijt.
Footnote: 1) This is a good example on how a little kindness goes a long way.
Fave scenes: the snake story, the new Fae’s arrival, Ban sifting sand and Efan’s ‘demonstration’ when meeting the Efrijt council.
June 13, 2021
This review is a long time coming and apologies to the author for taking essentially 5 years to get to this book. Ms. Johnson writes fantasy books that are more plot driven than romance driven. I like this about her books. Specifically, I like book where the characters are in a new world and trying to build alliances as well as creating a new settlement.
To read the rest of my review, click on the image below to see it on my website.
To read the rest of my review, click on the image below to see it on my website.
November 16, 2016
Demons of the Flame Sea by Jean Johnson is the 2nd book in her Flame Seas Fantasy series. Demons of the Flame Sea picks up years after the first book ended. Here is a brief refresher of this series: a group of Fae’s known as Fae Rii, who are Fair Traders, live in peace with a human tribe, making life habitual for them. Over the years the land now called Flame Sea has advanced into a wonderful community for all, including many fae/human inter species children.
Ban, the Fae Rii leader’s warrior, has been travelling around this world to gather information from various tribes, as well as bring back needed minerals for them. Near his last stop, he visits a small tribe and learns about another species that is living nearby. The Efrijt pay the tribe money to pull out mercury, which the Efrijt’s need to help them survive, but the mercury makes the humans sick.
Ban will bring this information home to Jintaya (the leader), and they will ask for help from the Fae council to send them more people. We get to meet some more characters in this story, some who will be instrumental to negotiate a deal with the Efrijts, who the humans now call Demons.
What follows is an interesting storyline giving us a look at three different species (Fae, Humans & Efrijts). Jean Johnson has written a very nice story that continues the flow of this world building, and has created some great characters.
This is fantasy and world building that is very well done. However, if you are looking for an exciting, action filled story, you will not find it in this book. It a slow build, but enjoyable story of meeting all the characters; learning how they survive together; and how they will handle a new species that could be dangerous. The negotiations between the Fae and Efrijt has just begun, with the Fae looking out for themselves and the local humans who are suffering; the Efrijt, are willing to agree to terms, as long as they get what they want and to stay in this world. I expect Jean Johnson will be pulling some surprises as we head toward the final book in this trilogy. I look forward to seeing how this ends.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
Ban, the Fae Rii leader’s warrior, has been travelling around this world to gather information from various tribes, as well as bring back needed minerals for them. Near his last stop, he visits a small tribe and learns about another species that is living nearby. The Efrijt pay the tribe money to pull out mercury, which the Efrijt’s need to help them survive, but the mercury makes the humans sick.
Ban will bring this information home to Jintaya (the leader), and they will ask for help from the Fae council to send them more people. We get to meet some more characters in this story, some who will be instrumental to negotiate a deal with the Efrijts, who the humans now call Demons.
What follows is an interesting storyline giving us a look at three different species (Fae, Humans & Efrijts). Jean Johnson has written a very nice story that continues the flow of this world building, and has created some great characters.
This is fantasy and world building that is very well done. However, if you are looking for an exciting, action filled story, you will not find it in this book. It a slow build, but enjoyable story of meeting all the characters; learning how they survive together; and how they will handle a new species that could be dangerous. The negotiations between the Fae and Efrijt has just begun, with the Fae looking out for themselves and the local humans who are suffering; the Efrijt, are willing to agree to terms, as long as they get what they want and to stay in this world. I expect Jean Johnson will be pulling some surprises as we head toward the final book in this trilogy. I look forward to seeing how this ends.
Barb
The Reading Cafe
December 11, 2016
I found this one to be interesting, mostly because of the Efrijt. They seem like a species of users and not nice, unlike the Fae group that we have met so far. The way the Fae reacted when they first learned about them was telling. I feel like the Fae expecting these people to play by the rules, when you can tell they are already looking for loopholes. That does not bode well for all involved.
Ban was an interesting player in this one. I loved how it seems like he has softened and gotten more of a personality.
Ban was an interesting player in this one. I loved how it seems like he has softened and gotten more of a personality.
December 31, 2016
3.25 stars
This installment felt sluggish. The plot was slow to develop, and the ending was not satisfying. I do enjoy the characters, though, and the world building, while at times painfully detailed, is fascinating. I'll read the next novella in the series, in hopes that the ending will feel more complete. Unlike the first book, I didn't feel that this was a standalone; the ending was too rushed and unfinished.
This installment felt sluggish. The plot was slow to develop, and the ending was not satisfying. I do enjoy the characters, though, and the world building, while at times painfully detailed, is fascinating. I'll read the next novella in the series, in hopes that the ending will feel more complete. Unlike the first book, I didn't feel that this was a standalone; the ending was too rushed and unfinished.
February 3, 2017
Didn't finish the book. Got to page 68 almost halfway thru and just wasn't feeling it.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews