Alisha Dempsey

Spellslinger? Spellbound. – ★★★★

I really, really need to stop saying ‘this isn’t my usual genre’, because it’s very quickly becoming a lie.
I was browsing my local library’s selections on BorrowBox and spotted this along with Shadowblack and Charmcaster and thought ‘oh nice, a trilogy to get stuck into!’
Boy, was I wrong. There’s six books and a spattering of spin-offs, and my library only has the first 3 books, but that’s a hurdle for another day.

Spellslinger was phenomenal, un-put-down-able, and just about every other positive ‘able’ under the sun. I did the audiobook, and although Ferius’ accent was a bit of a put-off in the beginning, I’m glad I got past it.

Spellslinger, for me, was the perfect balance of magic and (fantasy) history. The lore is rich and well-fleshed out. The history of Kellen’s people (Jan’Tep), is largely focused on, but as the other clans’ (the Sha’Tep, Mahdek, Argosi, Daruman) perspectives bleed into the story, we so quickly find out that what Kellen has been taught may not be the whole truth.

“History is written by the victors,’ she said, ‘but the truth has a way of revealing itself.”

After failing to spark his magic bands, Kellen befriends a frankly, adorable sarcastic and ferocious squirrel cat, previously believed to have been a demon to his people. Coupled with a mysterious, non-magical Argosi named Ferius Parfax, Kellen begins to unravel the real reason his powers are waning, why his people are so protective of their magic, and how he can possibly pass his Mage’s Trials without being able to cast a single spell.

Spellslinger is intriguing, well-written, well-paced, and leaves me wanting more. It’s quite possibly one of the only audiobooks I’ve done that’s been more than 10 hours and I haven’t questioned ‘why?’.

Find Sebastien de Castell here on Goodreads!