Spellslinger

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 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 show more 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

My husband, daughter and I listened to this audiobook in fits and starts every night before bed and I am extatic to report that we enjoyed every single moment in this world, with these characters... listening to the vocal minstrations, intonations, articulations and other vocal mastery exhibited by the narrator, Joe Jameson!!

This book revolves around a young boy named Kellen. Kellen is in the midst of taking his mage exams and is not really mage material. There are many other things he is not but one thing is for sure... he sure is Clever and Clever can (almost always) beat Gifted if you know how & when to use it.

Sébastien de Castell gifted us with a witty, charming, well written YA Magically Realistic Fantasy with robust and show more relateable characters and a detailed and lush background. The Magical/societal tiers were a little tropey with the alphas being powerful magic wielders and those without magical ability considered powerless and made to serve the mages as their plebs... that is until an Argosi woman moseys on in and turns Kellen's (and his whole clan's) Life topsy-turvy. When Ferius Parfax comes to town she offers Kellen a chance at a new future, one that can possibly change, not only his Life but the whole World.

It was unanimous... nearly all of the characters were evocative and elicited extreme emotional responses from we 3... that almost never happens. Finding a story that my finicky 38 year old Husband as well as my precocious 11 year old daughter can agree on is nearly a herculean feat YET each family member not only loved/loathed these characters but each eagerly relinquished some much needed zzzzzz(s) as we headed straight on over to book #2, Shadowblack.

Overall:

Hubby (38 years old): "I loved how how realistic it was... things didn't always work out easily and the MC (Kellen) was quick witted and clever. This was a solid 4.5 Stars."
- FYI, that's a HUGE endorsement coming from my, mainly middle of the road, "everything's MEH", 3 Star rater.

Miss A (my 11 yo daughter): " This book was slow to start but got better and better the longer we listened. The characters were great. I especially liked the squirrel-cat Rikus who was really Badass and extremely sassy."

Yes she really said Badass and NO, she's not supposed to say that word but alas... the girl has a point so I left it in the review.
Anyway... she continued...

"I also liked Ferius Parfax because she was a butt kicker and didn't apologize for being that way like some other female characters do in other books. The narrator was excellent. I give this 3.5 stars."

Myself (cough, cough, mumble mumble years old): This book has been on my teetering TBR pile for a while now and I'm glad we got around to it as a family because it was a crowd (if you also think 3 can be a crowd) pleaser. The writing was witty, non verbose yet not boring or too succinct. The deep, well fleshed out characters stole the show. The background building was decent if not a bit tropey. I reccomend enjoying this as an audiobook because the narrator was excellent and truly made this good read, great! A definite 4.5 Stars.

~ Enjoy show less

This first book in a new fantasy builds an interesting world and has an intriguing main character. Kellen is almost sixteen, the son of a very powerful mage, and feeling his magic fade away. He lives in a society where only those with magic are powerful and respected. Those without magic are essentially made slaves who may end up working in the mines or serving in their own family homes.

Kellen may lack magic but he is clever and tricky. Faced with having to win a magical duel, he wins by using his wits to convince his opponent to bespell himself. However, he's called out by his own sister for cheating. And he is willing to cheat if it gives him the magic that he needs to take his proper place in his society.

It isn't until he meets show more Ferius Parfax that he even begins questioning his future. Ferius is accused of being a spy for a rival country but is actually a member of the Argosi - travelers who are watching all the different countries. She is irreverent, fearless, and fascinating as she challenges Kellen to really think about what he wants for his future.

As events happen in this story, Kellen learns things about his people that changes his view of them. His parents aren't who he thought they were. What he wants for his life changes through the course of the story.

I liked Kellen's character. I liked his resilience and creativity. I liked his new "business partner" Reichis who makes a great adventure buddy. They each balance the other's weaknesses and enhance their strengths. I liked the role Ferius plays as she acts as a goad to the changes Kellen needs to make.

I am eager to read more in this six book series. show less

Good lord. Sebastien de Castell is kinda a god among writers. I have not read a single one of his novels that I haven't loved.

It's really hard to say what I love the most. The characters have such bright and vivid voices, the magic is both interesting and well fleshed-out with wonderful rules and consequences, and the plots are snappy.

This may be a YA novel but that hardly matters to me at all. The reckoning is coming, the buildup and reveals perfect, and the humor sharp and delightful and dark.

What do you do when you gradually learn that all your folk is bad? Maybe not currently bad, but there's a lot of that, too, but bad ethically and morally? That their culture propagates prejudice and nastiness and what could become general show more slavery for anyone not in on the inside?

We ask this question all through the tale as our MC slides from promise and becomes all the things that his world hates while remaining true to truth and honor as he sees it.

Great theme, right? But this gets better. The entire novel is just plain FUN. Great fantasy, quick delight, and solid end. :)

I don't think there's anything this writer can't do right. :) show less

Been feeling a bit of YA recently. And how could I resist such a beautiful cover?

There's a lot to love about this book. Despite it's simplicity, it really shines. In fact, it worked with it's own simplicity to create a plot, setting, and magic system that are so elegantly done. It's intriguing enough to really keep you reading, but not in a way that makes it feel convoluted.

The only place where this perhaps did not hold up was a couple of the characters. To be fair this may be a small complaint as I didn't feel this way with most of the relevant cast. I liked a good lot of the characters. I mainly found issue with Shella and Nephenia, who felt a bit 2D and had what felt like out of character moments as the book wrapped up.

Still show more focusing on characters but moving away from negativity, I love Kellen so much. That is all.

But I did really like this and I'm glad to be able to access book two immediately so I can carry on next reading session. 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 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 show more 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

Recommended to me by 10yr old niece, so a very different reading profile! I enjoyed this quite a lot, despite it's obvious targeting at a younger age group. It's a well developed world with some interesting ideas, not quite explored in as much detail as I would like, but cleverly done.

Kellen is the elder son of a famous magic-using clan. However he has almost no magic at all and has been surviving on his wits with a little help from his friends and youngest (but prodigal) sister. Now on the eve of his 16th birthday the time has come to put pretense aside and face the four trials all magicians are required to complete or face being relegated to the menial classes like his uncle. The Prince Regent has finally died after 300 years of rule, show more so the trials are especially important as the Family are key supporters behind every mage, and Kellen's father is widely tipped to become the new ruler. The first Trial goes well, Kellen picks an overconfident opponent and manages to trick his way through - however his own sister see's what happened, and in the resulting confrontation Kellen is injured and only the care of a passing stranger manages to recover. The stranger is an older woman quick-tongued, irreverent and totally without any magic, as many neighbouring lands are. However she still manages to make her way in the world catographing major events - she claims she's here to witness the transfer of the Regent's power. But Kellen's own quick wits intrigue her, and the pair strike up and unlikely bond.

It is fun, the balance between the Kellen's youthful seriousness and Ferius's disrespect work well. The plot as with all YA is very fast moving, which brings the usual YA downsides - there's very little room for introspection, character growth or explanation of events. Everything is fine from Kellen's point of view, but the world is not centered around him, and in the wider context doesn't always make sense. There's some hope that a few events might be explained in later books, but some key events already seem to just be passed over. Kellen doesn't seem at all effected by the deaths of some of his extended family; the Regent's wife despite having equal experience and power doesn't even get considered; a big deal is made about companion animals, but when his sisters dies no-ones seems particularly concerned, and Kellen's own behaves very strangely despite not being actually summoned, etc etc. The inventiveness is always well done, I'm a great fan of characters using their wits to overcome challenges instead of raw force, and Kellen does this very well. The slightly sarcastic humour isn't too badly overdone, although probably funnier to the YA readers.

Enjoyable, I'll read the rest of the series in due course. show less