Sebastien de Castell
Author of Traitor's Blade
About the Author
Series
Works by Sebastien de Castell
The Dowager Magus 11 copies
Firewood 6 copies
The Red Lily 4 copies
Greatcoats book traitor's blade, knight's shadow, saint's blood 3 books collection set (2018) 3 copies
the Chevor cat 1 copy
For You Are Sure To Die 1 copy
Deleted scenes 1 copy
Associated Works
Shapers of Worlds Volume III: Science fiction and fantasy by authors featured on The Worldshapers podcast (2022) — Contributor — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- de Castell, Sebastien
- Birthdate
- c. 1970
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- musician
ombudsman
fight choreographer
teacher
project manager
actor - Agent
- Adams, Heather (HMA Literary Agency)
- Short biography
- Sebastien de Castell had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist. His only defence against the charge of unbridled dilettantism is that he genuinely likes doing these things and that, in one way or another, each of these fields plays a role in his writing. He sternly resists the accusation of being a Renaissance Man in the hopes that more people will label him that way.
- Nationality
- Canada
- Birthplace
- Pointe Claire, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Places of residence
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Netherlands - Associated Place (for map)
- Canada
Members
Reviews
I gave every book in this series 5 Stars. I'm stingy with 5-star ratings. I'm old. I'm jaded. These books just did it for me EVERY TIME. I haven't been this emotionally affected by a book since Tigana. I got goosebumps at least once per book, probably more. I didn't actually cry, but I got pretty damn sad. Like Tigana I wanted to throw the book at some point, but I was listening to it on my phone so that might not have been great.
I've been writing on and off my whole life and I'm currently show more writing. This book is inspiring me to be a better writer. It's forced me to think, "What is Mr. Castell doing that I'm not?" and "How can I make my readers feel like his writing is making me feel right now?" So I gave all my characters trenchcoats and named my 3 main characters: Kalcio, Best, and Frasti. Totally kidding (maybe).
Definitely looking forward to the other books set in this world, even if they don't have the characters I've come to know and love in them (I'm not sure if they do, haven't looked into them yet). Also will be checking out the rest of Castell's catalog ASAP. show less
I've been writing on and off my whole life and I'm currently show more writing. This book is inspiring me to be a better writer. It's forced me to think, "What is Mr. Castell doing that I'm not?" and "How can I make my readers feel like his writing is making me feel right now?" So I gave all my characters trenchcoats and named my 3 main characters: Kalcio, Best, and Frasti. Totally kidding (maybe).
Definitely looking forward to the other books set in this world, even if they don't have the characters I've come to know and love in them (I'm not sure if they do, haven't looked into them yet). Also will be checking out the rest of Castell's catalog ASAP. show less
Spellslinger is the first in the YA series of the same name by Sebastien de Castell. The story opens by introducing us to Kellen, a magic student, about to start his mage trials by facing his first mage's duel. There's only one problem: Kellen's magic has faded. In a society that values magical ability above all, this is problematic and Kellen finds himself looking for alternatives to get through these trials before he is declared Sha'Tep, one without magical ability, and cast out from show more society.
This makes for an interesting start to a series. Kellen is a nice kid, stuck in a bad position that he should never have been in, who does a decent job of relying on his wits to survive. Who doesn't enjoy a plucky underdog? He's eventually joined by Ferius, a wandering Argosi who tends to end up where world changing events are starting, and Reichis, a squirrel cat. Reichis is surprisingly funny in a furious way. Ferius is interesting. I'm curious what it really means to be an Argosi.
The setting is supposed to be in another part of the Greatcoats univerise, which is interesting, and yet seems vastly different than what was presented in that series. Too bad the society Kellen is part of, the Jin'Tep, is pretty awful. Their relationship with the Sha'Tep is equally horrible the more you learn about it. Hell, even Kellen's family, especially his sister, are fairly awful. It made me sympathetic to Kellen's plight and also a little to that of the Sha'Tep, though I don't think their actions can be excused either. Fair warning - there is harm to animals in this book so if you're sensitive to this you may want to steer clear.
In the end Kellen's story show promise of better things to come and I'll likely seek out the second book in the future. show less
This makes for an interesting start to a series. Kellen is a nice kid, stuck in a bad position that he should never have been in, who does a decent job of relying on his wits to survive. Who doesn't enjoy a plucky underdog? He's eventually joined by Ferius, a wandering Argosi who tends to end up where world changing events are starting, and Reichis, a squirrel cat. Reichis is surprisingly funny in a furious way. Ferius is interesting. I'm curious what it really means to be an Argosi.
The setting is supposed to be in another part of the Greatcoats univerise, which is interesting, and yet seems vastly different than what was presented in that series. Too bad the society Kellen is part of, the Jin'Tep, is pretty awful. Their relationship with the Sha'Tep is equally horrible the more you learn about it. Hell, even Kellen's family, especially his sister, are fairly awful. It made me sympathetic to Kellen's plight and also a little to that of the Sha'Tep, though I don't think their actions can be excused either. Fair warning - there is harm to animals in this book so if you're sensitive to this you may want to steer clear.
In the end Kellen's story show promise of better things to come and I'll likely seek out the second book in the future. show less
I bought this because the title made me smile and the cover shouted: NOT YOUR STANDARD D&D DERIVED FANTASY. The publisher's summary was intriguing but not necessarily reassuring. They gave up on trying to precisely the novel and went with he's a successful fantasy author already and a longish paraphrasing of the start of the book. Here's their pitch:
From the bestselling author of THE GREATCOATS and SPELLSLINGER: seven war mages with dark pasts and special powers must come together to fight show more an unknown enemy—but the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine . . . and someone's setting them up for a fall.
'Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We're going to kill them first.'
Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he's wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn't protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic? Wouldn't want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).
Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you're probably not going to like it, because we're violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations.
At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way.
My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title—until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.
Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . .
My concern was that it might turn out to be an extended one-line joke, delivered as a 'see how cool we are?' pastiche of well-worn Sword and Sorcery tropes. I knew that that wouldn't hold my attention for 395 pages. Fortunately, Sebastien de Castell knew that too and delivered a novel with a lot more to offer than a bit of snark.
He devised a system of magic that sounded as feasible as any system of magic can to someone who doesn't believe in magic. Mages are born with an attunement to a nearby dimension that allows them to draw power from that dimension and weaponise it (I'm sure they could do other things with it but these guys LIKE weaponising their power). The type of power wielded depends on the dimension the mage is attuned to but most of them can be used to kill people in large numbers and blow stuff up like once-believed-to-be-impenetrable castle walls. Each mage is a walking Weapon Of Mass Destruction.
Weapons are only valuable to the people who wield them. In this case, the weapons are being deployed in a proxy war between the Celestials and the Diabolics. Don't judge them by their names. Both sides are happy to fight a proxy war, spreading death and destruction across a world that they can't even enter, because of some eternal feud.
The style of writing is unusual. Think Grimdark with a guilty conscience and a taste for ironic, self-deprecating humour. The novel abounds in violence, rape, abuse, cruelty and pointless but gleeful slaughter. What makes this not quite Grimdark is that our moody and soulful 'do NOT call me a hero' main character, Cade Ombra tortures himself with how bad he's become, how broken the world is and how betrayed he feels by all people and institutions he once committed his life to. It doesn't help that he can't get his power by drawing from another dimension. He has to get his spells by bartering with a demon and living with the price.
While I liked the style of the book, I was glad to find that there was more to it than that. There is an actual plot. Things are not (at all) what they seem. There's even some development for the characters (at least the ones that make it to the end without being killed in horrible ways.) with some people becoming easier to like, some impossible not to hate and some becoming even more themselves.
This was an entertaining read with some great action scenes, lots of good ideas, a few plot twists and a great deal of style. show less
From the bestselling author of THE GREATCOATS and SPELLSLINGER: seven war mages with dark pasts and special powers must come together to fight show more an unknown enemy—but the stakes are higher than anyone can imagine . . . and someone's setting them up for a fall.
'Seven powerful mages want to make the world a better place. We're going to kill them first.'
Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he's wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn't protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat's a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic? Wouldn't want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).
Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you're probably not going to like it, because we're violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations.
At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way.
My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title—until I discovered the people I worked for weren't quite as noble as I'd believed. Now I'm on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.
Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . .
My concern was that it might turn out to be an extended one-line joke, delivered as a 'see how cool we are?' pastiche of well-worn Sword and Sorcery tropes. I knew that that wouldn't hold my attention for 395 pages. Fortunately, Sebastien de Castell knew that too and delivered a novel with a lot more to offer than a bit of snark.
He devised a system of magic that sounded as feasible as any system of magic can to someone who doesn't believe in magic. Mages are born with an attunement to a nearby dimension that allows them to draw power from that dimension and weaponise it (I'm sure they could do other things with it but these guys LIKE weaponising their power). The type of power wielded depends on the dimension the mage is attuned to but most of them can be used to kill people in large numbers and blow stuff up like once-believed-to-be-impenetrable castle walls. Each mage is a walking Weapon Of Mass Destruction.
Weapons are only valuable to the people who wield them. In this case, the weapons are being deployed in a proxy war between the Celestials and the Diabolics. Don't judge them by their names. Both sides are happy to fight a proxy war, spreading death and destruction across a world that they can't even enter, because of some eternal feud.
The style of writing is unusual. Think Grimdark with a guilty conscience and a taste for ironic, self-deprecating humour. The novel abounds in violence, rape, abuse, cruelty and pointless but gleeful slaughter. What makes this not quite Grimdark is that our moody and soulful 'do NOT call me a hero' main character, Cade Ombra tortures himself with how bad he's become, how broken the world is and how betrayed he feels by all people and institutions he once committed his life to. It doesn't help that he can't get his power by drawing from another dimension. He has to get his spells by bartering with a demon and living with the price.
While I liked the style of the book, I was glad to find that there was more to it than that. There is an actual plot. Things are not (at all) what they seem. There's even some development for the characters (at least the ones that make it to the end without being killed in horrible ways.) with some people becoming easier to like, some impossible not to hate and some becoming even more themselves.
This was an entertaining read with some great action scenes, lots of good ideas, a few plot twists and a great deal of style. show less
Kellen, the son of two powerful mages, is facing his first mage's trial just days before his sixteenth birthday – the problem is that his magic has been fading for some time. If he wants to pass this test, he needs to come up with a different plan. Luckily, Kellen is clever, but that won't help him in a society where people without magical ability are seen as slaves. Fortunately for him, a cardplaying traveller appears just at the right time to help. Along with the aid of an obnoxious show more squirrel cat, Kellen discovers that he's meant to walk a different path.
Spellslinger is the intelligent, fun and surprisingly mature first volume in a young adult fantasy series. The plot is fast enough to be entertaining but also slow enough to appreciate the vivid characterisations and character developments. Kellen's narrative is engaging and laced with wry humour, but it is Reichis the squirrel cat, and Kellen's so-called business partner, who has the best lines. To watch their grudging friendship and respect for each other unfold is a highlight of the novel.
While the world-building as such falls somewhat short, it is the depiction of Jan'Tep society, and the moral and ethical choices of a civilisation built on magic, that makes this book worth reading. I'm already looking forward to reading the second volume, Shadowblack, to see how Kellen's story continues. show less
Spellslinger is the intelligent, fun and surprisingly mature first volume in a young adult fantasy series. The plot is fast enough to be entertaining but also slow enough to appreciate the vivid characterisations and character developments. Kellen's narrative is engaging and laced with wry humour, but it is Reichis the squirrel cat, and Kellen's so-called business partner, who has the best lines. To watch their grudging friendship and respect for each other unfold is a highlight of the novel.
While the world-building as such falls somewhat short, it is the depiction of Jan'Tep society, and the moral and ethical choices of a civilisation built on magic, that makes this book worth reading. I'm already looking forward to reading the second volume, Shadowblack, to see how Kellen's story continues. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 32
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 5,157
- Popularity
- #4,824
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 180
- ISBNs
- 228
- Languages
- 8
- Favorited
- 2