The Seraphim. Beings of power, created to guide the world in times of trouble. They live their lives of near immortality in servitude to a lesser creature, man. One rebelled. Amird, the Hand of the Creator, bridled at the sovereignty of his lord. In defiance he murdered a brother and was cast into the Mists of Chaos. Millennia passed as the Deceiver plotted his return. Backed by the might of a seemingly unstoppable army of Ulrog Stone Men and their fire-eyed Malveel Lords, Amird plans to wrest control of the world from the Creator and rain violence on the humans he once served. All that stands between Amird and his triumphant return are the remnants of battered human armies and the hope that Seraphim, loyal to the Creator, still roam this world. Kael knows little of this struggle. His quiet village lies deep in the Southlands, unchanged and unchallenged by the wars raging in the frozen North. In fact, the boy longs for a bit of adventure and freedom from the boring routine at his father’s inn. Freedom comes at a cost. Kael’s first journey outside his secluded village results in a tragedy so deep it destroys the boy’s sheltered world and immerses him in the struggle. Revelations surface. Kael uncovers a past linking him to legends, grapples with a present that resembles nothing he knows, and confronts a future that demands he tap long dormant power to stake a claim in the defense of the human races. Kael’s first step toward that future lies through the darkness of the Nagur Wood, and rumor has it something prowls the Nagur! 5 stars Next Great Fantasy Series "JohnHarvard" If you like David Eddings and Terry Brooks, then this is the book for you. McHugh has provided his readers with some fresh creations that fill the imagination with vivid pictures and scenes, reminding the reader why fantasy is such a beloved genre. This author is a ringer , By William Klein-pells Books 1 through 3 of the Seraphinium series ended much too soon. The characters are interesting and consistent. The plot twists are legion. In the Spring of 1987 I woke one morning from the most vivid dream I ever experienced. I lie in bed basking in the pleasure of it. The sense was very much like the feeling you experience after watching a particularly excellent movie. You sit in your theater seat as the credits roll, lost in the story, letting emotions continue to wash across your consciousness. That morning was the genesis of The Seraphinium . What I experienced was a full blown movie in my head. As I "watched" that movie, the story was complete. Characters were set. Background for those characters was known. When a scene played out, I never asked "Who is that guy?" It was as if I already knew. I had been briefed. The story wasn't simple. On the contrary, it was quite complex. A world acted as its canvas and an entire population as its cast of characters. The story encompassed years and dealt with the future of entire races. I sat up and went to my desk. I wrote. Hasty notes at first, scribbled all across a yellow legal pad. The notes turned into an outline and the outline was stapled to crude drawings of maps and creatures. For the next decade and a half I would periodically breakout the notebook. It grew. After a few years it turned into a box crammed with poems, prose, drawings, photos, maps and outlines. The box became a blessing. I truly enjoyed cracking it open and touching base with the ideas that had grown so familiar to me. I knew the story in both depth and detail within my head, but looking at it on paper was always a treat. However, the box also became my albatross. I took it with me when I moved, always stuffing it in some dark closet. It represented something undone. It made me feel as if I'd left a part of my life incomplete. The Book, as I began to call it, needed to be written. In 2004, my wife Jennifer gave me two gifts for Christmas. I unwrapped the first, a laptop computer. I was puzzled. I didn't need or ask for a laptop. The second was a colorfully wrapped, large box. I opened it and was even more confused. Before me lie The Box, retrieved from its dark recess. "Take all of this," said Jennifer as she pointed at The Box, "and put it in that." She pointed at the computer. So for 7 years I have been putting "this" into "that". The result is The Seraphinium Series. The story follows the life of Kael, a young man from the Southlands of the Nearing World. When Kael and his brother Aemmon decide to embark on a trade mission for their father's inn, tragedy and intrigue result. Aemmon is injured during a freak storm and camps within the edge of the Nagur Wood. Kael attempts to journey on, but a masked figure first stalks then pursues him through the dark wood. Kael nearly evades the pursuit but the Efer River acts as a snare and leads to his capture. The Grey Elves of the Nagur Wood accuse the young man of being part of a series of deaths in their kingdom. Kael tumbles head over heals into the fear swirling thro