Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet! Today I’m bringing you my review of Spellslinger, the first book in a series the has a truly unique magic system and a wonderful set of characters. The first book in this series was kindly sent to me from publishers Hot Key as part of my Ambassador role, so a big thank you to them.
Synopsis
There are three things that earn you a man’s name among the Jan’Tep. The first is to demonstrate the strength to defend your family. The second is to prove you can perform the high magic that defines our people. The third is simply to reach the age of sixteen. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn’t be doing any of those things.
Magic is a con game.
Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage’s duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spellcaster. There’s just one problem: his magic is gone. As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen falls back on his cunning in a bid to avoid total disgrace. But when a daring stranger arrives in town, she challenges Kellen to take a different path. Ferius Parfax is one of the mysterious Argosi – a traveller who lives by her wits and the three decks of cards she carries. She’s difficult and unpredictable, but she may be Kellen’s only hope…
Review
As you might have seen over the last eighteen months, I’ve moved more into the worlds of fantasy, finding new magic systems that I’ve fallen in love with, and new characters to be captivated by. This book was absolutely no exception, and frankly I can’t believe I let myself wait this long to read it!
Kellen is a loveable character in so many ways, especially for the fact he isn’t perfect, makes mistakes, and is a realistic person. Throughout the book, he changes and develops, prehaphs considering certain things from a perspective he hadn’t before. This kind of character growth is something I love to see in books, especially in young characters, who really demonstrate it is possible to become a bigger, better person.
The book is constant action, and there was always something happening, not all pleasant, but always interesting, and always towards a bigger picture, one that was hinted at but I didn’t see coming, and certainly didn’t see the dynamics we’d see surrounding it.
Ferius Parfax is another memborable character who grabbed me immediately as someone I wanted to know more about, but remains secretive in the most interesting ways. I loved that she showed up on the scene and disrupted just about everything she could, and with my October TBR featuring the prequel book Way of the Argosi, I’m hoping to find out a bit more about the mysterious people she has claimed as her own.
I really enjoyed this book, and would really recommend this one if you’re looking for a book series that is several books long for you to really get your teeth stuck into.
Thanks for stopping by today, and please come back soon!
And On She Reads 