Ithanalin's Restoration

In my more relaxed moments, I prefer a book that is lighter, more relaxed itself: a read that leaves you smiling, with a bit of adventure, of course. One book perfect for this mood is Lawrence Watt-Evan’s Ithanalin’s Restoration, a fun book that is also fast paced and spiced with humor.
The story is set in Ethshar of the Rocks, one of the three cities in the Ethshar series. Ithanalin, a wizard in the town, specializes in animation magic, creating helpful homuculuses to keep house, animated serving dishes or even a pet miniature dragon for a noble. When a magic spell goes wrong, Ithanalin is caught in it and becomes immobilized while his parlor furniture, from the rug to the chair to the latch on the door, are animated by his life show more force. It is up to his apprentice, Kilisha, to round up the wayward pieces, including a dish that ran away with a spoon, so she can try to restore her master. Although she has been apprenticed for several years, Kilisha lacks the experience with more advanced spells, causing her to doubt her ability to complete this task. But there is no one else to turn to because all the other wizards in town are dealing with a rebellion at Ethshar of the Sands. A mad magician who has attacked wizards in that town now claims to be the Empress of all three Ethshars. (To find out more about that story, see the early book, The Spell of the Black Dagger). With no wizard guild support, Kilisha turns to Ithanalin’s family and neighbors for help in finding the missing furniture and gather the things she needs to free her master. There are also a few distractions, such as the unknown spell Ithanalin has left on a burner in his lab, but Kilisha forges on bravely.
Watt-Evan’s has brought a number of pieces together in Ithanalin’s Restoration. Kilisha considers herself as ordinary and run-of-the-mill. While she is no beauty, her intelligence and resourcefulness shine through and even she begins to realize she might be underrating herself. As she gains confidence in her abilities, she moves from a timid apprentice to a self-reliant journeyman. The search for the missing furniture, dealing with the Wizards’ Guild and deciding how to disenchant Ithanalin prove that Kilisha has what it takes to become a wizard. And she learns that Ithanalin maybe the master, but he is not all-knowing or perfect. Besides turning himself into a statue, he fumbled in the past by accidently turned his previous apprentice into a platypus and his children into squids.
Ithanalin’s Restoration is a great book for adventure, humor and warm characters. Any Harry Potter fans who need a fix should try this work, and if you enjoy Diane Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle, you will find a similar spirit in this work. Next time you are in a light-hearted mood, check out this whimsical book. show less

OK, I must just be in a mood to tolerate silly. I've started and put down this book at least twice because I couldn't handle it - but this time I didn't find it unbearably silly. It's a silly _situation_, yes, but the story is quite rich. It's a coming-of-age story with several happy endings and some hints at happy beginnings...I don't know if he intends to continue this storyline (probably not, looking at previous ones) but it's very nicely not all-loose-ends-wrapped-up - just most of them. The spriggan and Kelder may have more to say in her story...