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Spellwright #1
Spellwright
The fresh, original first novel of a magical fantasy trilogy, about a dyslexic wizard who cannot spell his spells, yet is destined to contend with an ancient evil that threatens to destroy not only all the magic in the world, but all the people as well.
Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text . . . but he has always been dyslexic, and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation.
Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard. When a powerful, ancient evil begins a campaign of murder and disruption, Nicodemus starts to have disturbing dreams that lead him to believe that his misspelling could be the result of a curse. But before he can discover the truth about himself, he is attacked by an evil that has already claimed the lives of fellow wizards and has cast suspicion on his mentor. He must flee for his own life if he's to find the true villain.
But more is at stake than his abilities. For the evil that has awakened is a power so dread and vast that if unleashed it will destroy Nicodemus... and the world.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text . . . but he has always been dyslexic, and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation.
Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard. When a powerful, ancient evil begins a campaign of murder and disruption, Nicodemus starts to have disturbing dreams that lead him to believe that his misspelling could be the result of a curse. But before he can discover the truth about himself, he is attacked by an evil that has already claimed the lives of fellow wizards and has cast suspicion on his mentor. He must flee for his own life if he's to find the true villain.
But more is at stake than his abilities. For the evil that has awakened is a power so dread and vast that if unleashed it will destroy Nicodemus... and the world.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2010
133 people are currently reading
6,141 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 496 reviews
March 13, 2014
What if magic demands absolute accuracy in how your spell out the spells? What if the wizard is dyslexic? An absolutely brilliant debut novel!
July 1, 2022
Quite unusual and original as for fantasy. Rarely can you find a book that uses typical genre plot and characters and yet to be so unlike the others. And it's very good or the beginning of the series: likeable characters, unexpected plot-twists and fascinating world-building make you want to know how the story goes and ends. Three stars cos I didn't attach to the book emotionally, but it was worth reading.
August 31, 2011
5 Stars
I just finished this amazing book and need a bit of time to digest all that I took in. This was one of those rare gems that slowed me down to take my time and read each and every word.
Sure this book plays out a coming of age story that has been done so many times before, but it found a way to be fresh, to be literate. It is really funny that a book that is called Spellwright, is about a young man that misspells, yet it is written in a way that makes everything about the books' words seem grander. I loved the magic, I loved the characters, the plot is great, but best of all I love how Blake Charlton wrote this novel. A book filled with words describing a world of words...its truly magical.
I will write my full review later, but it safe to say that I really, really recommend this book. It will have a place among my favorite books read in 2011.
Why I loved this book�
First, our main protagonist Nico, although young in terms of being a spellwright, was a man in his mid 20’s. This is not a story about a youth growing into an adult, though it is about an adult that definitely comes of age. Our hero suffers from a disability; you see he is a cacographer�
Dictionary.com lists this noun as:
“c•cDz•r•p
� [kuh-kog-ruh-fee]
noun
1.bad handwriting; poor penmanship.
2.incorrect spelling.�
This impediment is really significant for one that strives to perform spells that are nothing more than words…spelling counts. Cacographers not only misspell, but when they touch words, books, spells, or other writings, they can cause them to become misspelled. Charlton treats this disability like any other and we get to see a world filled with prejudice, misconceptions, and bigotry. If not for our heroes mentor Shannon (He is a champion of cacographers), he and the other cacographers would be imprisoned, mentally destroyed, or even killed.
Nico� mentor Shannon believes him to be the Halycon, a linguistic champion that is prophesized by his people. As a result he has taken a special interest in his growth and development; he makes him into a “pet project�. They have a relationship that we can see has resulted in the two men becoming very fond of each other and they genuinely care about each other’s well being. Their relationship is the heart of the story.
Second, Charlton has created a beautiful world that is easily visualized through his wonderful prose. This is a place that I would wish to visit and to see. He dedicates time to worlbuilding and backstory to make this place seem real. Charlton’s prose is detailed, colorful, and often of a very high quality. I love the fact that in a book about words themselves that the author demonstrates what a grasp on vocabulary that he himself has. I was reminded of a China Mieville book at times when I would have to stop to look up an interesting new word to me…I love that. There is some great witty dialogue in this book as well. The scene with Nico and the Chimera is one great example. I love how through their dialogue together they were testing each other and saying wry remarks like: “Is that supposed to be profound or cynical?� The plot moves forward quickly and it builds up the tension to palpable levels. The book has a good ending point as this is the first book of this new series. There are not many plot twists, and some outcomes are apparent early on, but that is all ok, because you end up really caring about our heroes.
Third, the magic within this book is among the best I have ever read. It ranks up there now with the allomancy of the Mistborn trilogy, the source Saidin/Saidar, of WoT series, and of course “The Force� from Star Wars. Charlton has crafted a system of magic that to me works on so many levels. We all know about tomes, scrolls, and spells. He has found a way to take them and put them into a system where they really mean something. I loved it� Parts of the magic also reminded me of Peter Bretts the Warded Man series and could easily fit in to that world as well.
Finally, this is a story that had me vested in our characters outcome. Nico, Shannon, and Deidre are all memorable, and I look forward to reading more about them. Nico learns a lot, grows a great deal, bears witness to many atrocities, and comes to grip with his place in the world. Nico is a very different man by the end of this book and we the reader are better for it.
So, enough of my gushing for one day� This is a book that I will make my wife read tomorrow. I will tell my fantasy friends and family to buy it. I will preorder book 2 today…Great fun, Great read. Although there is a great deal for the YA crowd to like in this one, I actually think much of it would be lost on them, but overall it would still be an appropriate read.
I just finished this amazing book and need a bit of time to digest all that I took in. This was one of those rare gems that slowed me down to take my time and read each and every word.
Sure this book plays out a coming of age story that has been done so many times before, but it found a way to be fresh, to be literate. It is really funny that a book that is called Spellwright, is about a young man that misspells, yet it is written in a way that makes everything about the books' words seem grander. I loved the magic, I loved the characters, the plot is great, but best of all I love how Blake Charlton wrote this novel. A book filled with words describing a world of words...its truly magical.
I will write my full review later, but it safe to say that I really, really recommend this book. It will have a place among my favorite books read in 2011.
Why I loved this book�
First, our main protagonist Nico, although young in terms of being a spellwright, was a man in his mid 20’s. This is not a story about a youth growing into an adult, though it is about an adult that definitely comes of age. Our hero suffers from a disability; you see he is a cacographer�
Dictionary.com lists this noun as:
“c•cDz•r•p
� [kuh-kog-ruh-fee]
noun
1.bad handwriting; poor penmanship.
2.incorrect spelling.�
This impediment is really significant for one that strives to perform spells that are nothing more than words…spelling counts. Cacographers not only misspell, but when they touch words, books, spells, or other writings, they can cause them to become misspelled. Charlton treats this disability like any other and we get to see a world filled with prejudice, misconceptions, and bigotry. If not for our heroes mentor Shannon (He is a champion of cacographers), he and the other cacographers would be imprisoned, mentally destroyed, or even killed.
Nico� mentor Shannon believes him to be the Halycon, a linguistic champion that is prophesized by his people. As a result he has taken a special interest in his growth and development; he makes him into a “pet project�. They have a relationship that we can see has resulted in the two men becoming very fond of each other and they genuinely care about each other’s well being. Their relationship is the heart of the story.
Second, Charlton has created a beautiful world that is easily visualized through his wonderful prose. This is a place that I would wish to visit and to see. He dedicates time to worlbuilding and backstory to make this place seem real. Charlton’s prose is detailed, colorful, and often of a very high quality. I love the fact that in a book about words themselves that the author demonstrates what a grasp on vocabulary that he himself has. I was reminded of a China Mieville book at times when I would have to stop to look up an interesting new word to me…I love that. There is some great witty dialogue in this book as well. The scene with Nico and the Chimera is one great example. I love how through their dialogue together they were testing each other and saying wry remarks like: “Is that supposed to be profound or cynical?� The plot moves forward quickly and it builds up the tension to palpable levels. The book has a good ending point as this is the first book of this new series. There are not many plot twists, and some outcomes are apparent early on, but that is all ok, because you end up really caring about our heroes.
Third, the magic within this book is among the best I have ever read. It ranks up there now with the allomancy of the Mistborn trilogy, the source Saidin/Saidar, of WoT series, and of course “The Force� from Star Wars. Charlton has crafted a system of magic that to me works on so many levels. We all know about tomes, scrolls, and spells. He has found a way to take them and put them into a system where they really mean something. I loved it� Parts of the magic also reminded me of Peter Bretts the Warded Man series and could easily fit in to that world as well.
Finally, this is a story that had me vested in our characters outcome. Nico, Shannon, and Deidre are all memorable, and I look forward to reading more about them. Nico learns a lot, grows a great deal, bears witness to many atrocities, and comes to grip with his place in the world. Nico is a very different man by the end of this book and we the reader are better for it.
So, enough of my gushing for one day� This is a book that I will make my wife read tomorrow. I will tell my fantasy friends and family to buy it. I will preorder book 2 today…Great fun, Great read. Although there is a great deal for the YA crowd to like in this one, I actually think much of it would be lost on them, but overall it would still be an appropriate read.
March 6, 2018
This could be the poster-child for a book that needs more editing. Spellwright is equal parts complex yet confounding, intriguing yet boring. It simultaneously stokes that fire for fantasy that first launched me into writing my own stories waaay back when I was a wee pre-teen, reminding me of those halcyon days of lying crosswise in an armchair, reading the Belgariad or chunky 600-page Recluce hardbacks, not a care in the world because there was no school and I didn’t have a job. Ahhhh, youth. For that alone I’m indebted to Blake Charlton. But he really does create a cool world here; it’s just that the characters and the story, for the most part, fail to really live up to that potential.
Spells are literally spelled, using runes of various magical languages, composed by wizards within their bodies and sent forth. Spellwright’s protagonist, Nicodemus Weal, shares with Charlton dyslexia. This trait is particularly problematic for wizards, as you might imagine. Not only does Nicodemus struggle with composing more complex spells, but every complex spell that he touches has the potential of being misspelled by his cacography. As a result, Nicodemus is a marginalized, ostracized figure—oh, and if it weren’t for his condition, he was in the running to be this world’s version of the Chosen One. Them’s the breaks. Then a mysterious murder coincides with a political summit, and it seems like all hell is going to break loose. A monster pursues Nicodemus, though it is unaware of Nicodemus� exact identity. Nicodemus doesn’t know whom he can trust, and it’s all he can do to keep one step ahead of things.
Normally magic systems aren’t going to do it for me. Don’t get me wrong; I like a good magic system as much as the next person. But I’m here for the story. Still, Spellwright’s use of spelling as magic is really good. Charlton takes the standard trope of using magical runes and turns it into something much more creative and fun, and something that links into the story he wants to tell about navigating the world with dyslexia. I appreciate the little details, like how there is a magical language for affecting the physical world (Magnus) and one for thought and ideas (Numinous). Moreover, Charlton has clearly taken the time to figure out how the magical academy should function. Very little about the rest of this world’s political structure is ever explored (it’s implied that wizardry is a heritable trait, though wizards can’t reproduce with one another, and that Nicodemus is minor nobility, but we don’t hear much about society outside of Starhaven). Within Starhaven, however, we get a clear picture of how a magic school would function. Whereas Hogwarts was very focused, of course, on the intricacies of the teaching side, Starhaven showcases how wizardry research would function. I liked seeing the dynamic between Nicodemus and Shannon, Nico and Smallwood, etc.
We spend a lot of time throwing around the term worldbuilding when discussing fantasy. Worldbuilding is not really what I want to praise here. I don’t think Charlton has done a great job building a “world�, because we see or learn about a very small part of it. Yet Charlton has done a good job of building a tiny sliver of a world, and of making me want to see more of this world. He has that skill some writers have of implying a much bigger world without spending too much time talking about it, like if I could just dive into the pages of the book and walk out of the scene I could go off and follow characters who don’t even show up here, find different stories—visit, in other words, an entirely new place. That’s a great thing for a book to do.
Yet Spellwright didn’t quite keep me hooked. This is only a 350-page book, but it took me several days to read it. I could only read a chapter or two at a time, because the prose is just very dense. Whereas in other books a simple conversation would be short, sweet, and then we would move on, Charlton has this habit of wanting to spell out (no pun intended) every little thing. There is a lot of discussion and dithering and exposition in here. And despite both my summary, above, and the summary on the jacket, there is a significant amount of time between the murder at the start of the book and Nicodemus� direct involvement in the plot. There is a lot of set-up here, for very little payoff, and it’s disappointing.
When we finally do start to get somewhere, the book ends with the typical set-up for a sequel, our protagonist initiated into the mysteries but the final boss battle delayed in favour of existential angst and dread. I guess I should have been careful what I wished for when I started likening Spellwright to my favourite fantasy of days gone by!
I’m also not sure how I feel about Nicodemus as a protagonist. He is an interesting and complex character, I’ll give him that. Charlton does a good job exploring the toll that it must take to go through life with a disability like dyslexia. Not having experienced it myself, I won’t comment on the specifics of the portrayal. But I like that Nicodemus is flawed, quick to judge, and very intrigued by the idea that he can just “fix� himself, even while the support characters constantly point out that he’s fine the way he is and doesn’t need fixing. I’m less enamoured with the fact that we basically have to wait until the next book to see Nicodemus actually grow and change and maybe learn his lesson about that.
Spellwright is one of those books that I find are more fun to think about than actually read, if you know what I mean. I love pondering the magic here, the politics, the world and even the plot. Actually reading the story, though, and experiencing the events at the ponderous and overly-detailed pace set by Charlton, leaves more to be desired. I kind of want to read the sequel—it seems like there’s a new protagonist, or a second protagonist at least, so that could make things interesting—but I’m not sure I’ll make it a priority.
Spells are literally spelled, using runes of various magical languages, composed by wizards within their bodies and sent forth. Spellwright’s protagonist, Nicodemus Weal, shares with Charlton dyslexia. This trait is particularly problematic for wizards, as you might imagine. Not only does Nicodemus struggle with composing more complex spells, but every complex spell that he touches has the potential of being misspelled by his cacography. As a result, Nicodemus is a marginalized, ostracized figure—oh, and if it weren’t for his condition, he was in the running to be this world’s version of the Chosen One. Them’s the breaks. Then a mysterious murder coincides with a political summit, and it seems like all hell is going to break loose. A monster pursues Nicodemus, though it is unaware of Nicodemus� exact identity. Nicodemus doesn’t know whom he can trust, and it’s all he can do to keep one step ahead of things.
Normally magic systems aren’t going to do it for me. Don’t get me wrong; I like a good magic system as much as the next person. But I’m here for the story. Still, Spellwright’s use of spelling as magic is really good. Charlton takes the standard trope of using magical runes and turns it into something much more creative and fun, and something that links into the story he wants to tell about navigating the world with dyslexia. I appreciate the little details, like how there is a magical language for affecting the physical world (Magnus) and one for thought and ideas (Numinous). Moreover, Charlton has clearly taken the time to figure out how the magical academy should function. Very little about the rest of this world’s political structure is ever explored (it’s implied that wizardry is a heritable trait, though wizards can’t reproduce with one another, and that Nicodemus is minor nobility, but we don’t hear much about society outside of Starhaven). Within Starhaven, however, we get a clear picture of how a magic school would function. Whereas Hogwarts was very focused, of course, on the intricacies of the teaching side, Starhaven showcases how wizardry research would function. I liked seeing the dynamic between Nicodemus and Shannon, Nico and Smallwood, etc.
We spend a lot of time throwing around the term worldbuilding when discussing fantasy. Worldbuilding is not really what I want to praise here. I don’t think Charlton has done a great job building a “world�, because we see or learn about a very small part of it. Yet Charlton has done a good job of building a tiny sliver of a world, and of making me want to see more of this world. He has that skill some writers have of implying a much bigger world without spending too much time talking about it, like if I could just dive into the pages of the book and walk out of the scene I could go off and follow characters who don’t even show up here, find different stories—visit, in other words, an entirely new place. That’s a great thing for a book to do.
Yet Spellwright didn’t quite keep me hooked. This is only a 350-page book, but it took me several days to read it. I could only read a chapter or two at a time, because the prose is just very dense. Whereas in other books a simple conversation would be short, sweet, and then we would move on, Charlton has this habit of wanting to spell out (no pun intended) every little thing. There is a lot of discussion and dithering and exposition in here. And despite both my summary, above, and the summary on the jacket, there is a significant amount of time between the murder at the start of the book and Nicodemus� direct involvement in the plot. There is a lot of set-up here, for very little payoff, and it’s disappointing.
When we finally do start to get somewhere, the book ends with the typical set-up for a sequel, our protagonist initiated into the mysteries but the final boss battle delayed in favour of existential angst and dread. I guess I should have been careful what I wished for when I started likening Spellwright to my favourite fantasy of days gone by!
I’m also not sure how I feel about Nicodemus as a protagonist. He is an interesting and complex character, I’ll give him that. Charlton does a good job exploring the toll that it must take to go through life with a disability like dyslexia. Not having experienced it myself, I won’t comment on the specifics of the portrayal. But I like that Nicodemus is flawed, quick to judge, and very intrigued by the idea that he can just “fix� himself, even while the support characters constantly point out that he’s fine the way he is and doesn’t need fixing. I’m less enamoured with the fact that we basically have to wait until the next book to see Nicodemus actually grow and change and maybe learn his lesson about that.
Spellwright is one of those books that I find are more fun to think about than actually read, if you know what I mean. I love pondering the magic here, the politics, the world and even the plot. Actually reading the story, though, and experiencing the events at the ponderous and overly-detailed pace set by Charlton, leaves more to be desired. I kind of want to read the sequel—it seems like there’s a new protagonist, or a second protagonist at least, so that could make things interesting—but I’m not sure I’ll make it a priority.
February 9, 2013
Ok, Blake? Don't read this review. You're not supposed to be reading reviews on your stuff anyhow or something. I read that in a Book For People Who Want To Grow Up To Be Writers so...just don't do it.
Alrighty! Here's some backstory (this is going to be a long-ass review so if you're reading for any reason other than boredom, you'd be better off finding another 4-star review)
I had no idea who this Blake Charlton character was prior to June, 2012. He was at our big, ol' library conference, on a panel with and . Guess who I was there to see? Not Charlton; I'd never heard of him. (The correct answer is George R R Martin, just like 98% of the people in the audience)
So there we were, looking at this crew of fantasy writers. I've never read of Bujold's books but I've read excerpts and stories in at least a million compilations because she shows up a lot in collections; I knew who she was. I knew who Martin was. I didn't care who Charlton was because that's not why I was in that room. He was a nice-enough seeming guy, but, come on. We're here to see Martin, people. And then this Charlton fellow starts talking. He had an awesome .ppt presentation. In a word, he was charming. Absolutely delightful (those are two more words. For free. Three words for the price of one) He went from being that nice-enough seeming guy to being DREEEEAAAAMY I was completely captivated.
Bujold went on to speak afterward and she was elegant and eloquent. She's a wonderful speaker and if you are in the business of hiring authors to speak at your events, I recommend her.
Then it was Martin's turn and he had the longest time allottment (duh) and he was just like he is in interviews on YouTube. But the thing is, Charlton was listening to them, too, and afterward, during the Q&A session, would make commentary on what they had said or would quip with them about one thing or another and I'm pretty sure he earned himself a room full of new fans that day because the guy is just a charmer. I can't use the term "charm" enough. His picture should be the entry in Webster's for that word.
So then it was time to go get our books signed. I figured, because I'm cynical and I hate people, that Charlton would be all flirty to the cute girls (or guys...or both; I didn't know) and would just push the rest on through the line. It's happened before. It's how lots of signers-of-things work. Only, you know what? He totally wasn't! He was appropriately flirty with everyone (like that waitstaff person who turns on just enough flirt to get a nice tip but not so much that you want to throw up or punch him/her), Bujold included, and made sure to involve anyone standing within earshot in his tomfoolery. He made the signing really fun! I was impressed. In his pay-the-bills life, he's a doctor, so I made him promise (not really) to be MY doctor should I come down with pnuemonia (he picked the illness, not I) because I firmly believe funny doctors are going to have healthier patients and I don't want my pneumonia to kill me, soo...it makes sense to me, Ok?
Fast Forward a bit: I put his book aside because I had fear. This happened with one other author I met at ALA Annual that year, too, actually: I found that I liked the author's personality so much that I didn't want to read his book because then what if I didn't like the book and I'd have to give a bad review on ŷ and then the author would hate me and come stab my face off (though, Charlton totally can't do that because he took an oath to not intentionally kill people because I think you have to do that to be a doctor. Though, he could let me die of pneumonia and that would be almost as bad. Apparently, there is no one else in the world who deals in pneumonia patients? Sometimes it hurts to have my mind) Actually, I was just worried that my newfound love of the author would be tarnished by a book I didn't like.
Fast Forward to current life:
I was sick this past week - not with pneumonia though I wish it would have been so I could have had my lungs sucked out or something and then the damn coughing would stop - and it was contagious and I stayed home and read like a fiend. Oddly, I had no library books. That's like having no food in the cupboards. It was weird. There was a reason: I had vowed to finish my ŷ First Reads Givewaways before bringing home any more library books. But I finished both those in two days and needed something else because GABE WAS HOGGING "KINGDOMS OF AMALUR" (he's a jerk) so I resorted to the pile of books under my nightstand. On the top was the "Oh, I'll read this someday" Spellwright and suddenly, someday was here.
And now, I will give you my feelings on this book:
I am SO relieved that I have not outgrown fantasy, as I'd feared after reading 's books, the first two in his big, ol' superstar series. I did not enjoy those books and I was sad because I figured I'd just grown up and didn't like fantasy anymore. But no! The books were the problem, not the genre, as proven by this book that is getting the longest-ever review that hasn't even begun yet because it's all been blathering up til now!
Ok, admittedly, it started out sloooooowwwwly. And confusingly. Because how can words come out of muscles to make spells and why are they gold and silver and I don't get it, dammit. That made me smirk because, in my mind, Charlton was all, "Yeah, take THAT, bitches! THIS is what it's like to not understand what the hell this all means! MWAHAHAHA! FEEL THE PAIN!" when he wrote that. Though that's probably not really how it was. I dunno. All I know was I had to wade through a lot of "Huh?" before I just stopped trying to figure anything out. Once I did that, though, it all made sense. It's like faith, I guess.
Everything was normal fantasy story and I was at 3 stars up until maybe the middle. Then everything picked up, as these books tend to do, and THEN THERE WERE LITTLE BLUE MONSTERS!! and I was in love. LITTLE BLUE MONSTERS, people! I want those! I want little blue monsters and half-bat-winged ghosts and purple writing to swirl around me! I want that!
It also helped that everything was pretty. There were high pinnacley mountains. There were shiny glowing letters in metallic colors. There were spires and spans and majesticness and all that crap and it all formed a lovely mental image. I liked looking at it in my mind.
In the end, not only did I find myself satisfied (as in, Ahhh that was good) but also eager for the next installment. I don't think I've been this excited over magic and mayhem since
Was I biased because I had become smitten with Blake Charlton six months ago? Maybe. But probably not because I really expected not to like this...because I'm obviously insane. But yeah, maybe that had something to do with it. Who knows. Who cares. I liked it a lot and that's all that matters, right?
Alrighty! Here's some backstory (this is going to be a long-ass review so if you're reading for any reason other than boredom, you'd be better off finding another 4-star review)
I had no idea who this Blake Charlton character was prior to June, 2012. He was at our big, ol' library conference, on a panel with and . Guess who I was there to see? Not Charlton; I'd never heard of him. (The correct answer is George R R Martin, just like 98% of the people in the audience)
So there we were, looking at this crew of fantasy writers. I've never read of Bujold's books but I've read excerpts and stories in at least a million compilations because she shows up a lot in collections; I knew who she was. I knew who Martin was. I didn't care who Charlton was because that's not why I was in that room. He was a nice-enough seeming guy, but, come on. We're here to see Martin, people. And then this Charlton fellow starts talking. He had an awesome .ppt presentation. In a word, he was charming. Absolutely delightful (those are two more words. For free. Three words for the price of one) He went from being that nice-enough seeming guy to being DREEEEAAAAMY I was completely captivated.
Bujold went on to speak afterward and she was elegant and eloquent. She's a wonderful speaker and if you are in the business of hiring authors to speak at your events, I recommend her.
Then it was Martin's turn and he had the longest time allottment (duh) and he was just like he is in interviews on YouTube. But the thing is, Charlton was listening to them, too, and afterward, during the Q&A session, would make commentary on what they had said or would quip with them about one thing or another and I'm pretty sure he earned himself a room full of new fans that day because the guy is just a charmer. I can't use the term "charm" enough. His picture should be the entry in Webster's for that word.
So then it was time to go get our books signed. I figured, because I'm cynical and I hate people, that Charlton would be all flirty to the cute girls (or guys...or both; I didn't know) and would just push the rest on through the line. It's happened before. It's how lots of signers-of-things work. Only, you know what? He totally wasn't! He was appropriately flirty with everyone (like that waitstaff person who turns on just enough flirt to get a nice tip but not so much that you want to throw up or punch him/her), Bujold included, and made sure to involve anyone standing within earshot in his tomfoolery. He made the signing really fun! I was impressed. In his pay-the-bills life, he's a doctor, so I made him promise (not really) to be MY doctor should I come down with pnuemonia (he picked the illness, not I) because I firmly believe funny doctors are going to have healthier patients and I don't want my pneumonia to kill me, soo...it makes sense to me, Ok?
Fast Forward a bit: I put his book aside because I had fear. This happened with one other author I met at ALA Annual that year, too, actually: I found that I liked the author's personality so much that I didn't want to read his book because then what if I didn't like the book and I'd have to give a bad review on ŷ and then the author would hate me and come stab my face off (though, Charlton totally can't do that because he took an oath to not intentionally kill people because I think you have to do that to be a doctor. Though, he could let me die of pneumonia and that would be almost as bad. Apparently, there is no one else in the world who deals in pneumonia patients? Sometimes it hurts to have my mind) Actually, I was just worried that my newfound love of the author would be tarnished by a book I didn't like.
Fast Forward to current life:
I was sick this past week - not with pneumonia though I wish it would have been so I could have had my lungs sucked out or something and then the damn coughing would stop - and it was contagious and I stayed home and read like a fiend. Oddly, I had no library books. That's like having no food in the cupboards. It was weird. There was a reason: I had vowed to finish my ŷ First Reads Givewaways before bringing home any more library books. But I finished both those in two days and needed something else because GABE WAS HOGGING "KINGDOMS OF AMALUR" (he's a jerk) so I resorted to the pile of books under my nightstand. On the top was the "Oh, I'll read this someday" Spellwright and suddenly, someday was here.
And now, I will give you my feelings on this book:
I am SO relieved that I have not outgrown fantasy, as I'd feared after reading 's books, the first two in his big, ol' superstar series. I did not enjoy those books and I was sad because I figured I'd just grown up and didn't like fantasy anymore. But no! The books were the problem, not the genre, as proven by this book that is getting the longest-ever review that hasn't even begun yet because it's all been blathering up til now!
Ok, admittedly, it started out sloooooowwwwly. And confusingly. Because how can words come out of muscles to make spells and why are they gold and silver and I don't get it, dammit. That made me smirk because, in my mind, Charlton was all, "Yeah, take THAT, bitches! THIS is what it's like to not understand what the hell this all means! MWAHAHAHA! FEEL THE PAIN!" when he wrote that. Though that's probably not really how it was. I dunno. All I know was I had to wade through a lot of "Huh?" before I just stopped trying to figure anything out. Once I did that, though, it all made sense. It's like faith, I guess.
Everything was normal fantasy story and I was at 3 stars up until maybe the middle. Then everything picked up, as these books tend to do, and THEN THERE WERE LITTLE BLUE MONSTERS!! and I was in love. LITTLE BLUE MONSTERS, people! I want those! I want little blue monsters and half-bat-winged ghosts and purple writing to swirl around me! I want that!
It also helped that everything was pretty. There were high pinnacley mountains. There were shiny glowing letters in metallic colors. There were spires and spans and majesticness and all that crap and it all formed a lovely mental image. I liked looking at it in my mind.
In the end, not only did I find myself satisfied (as in, Ahhh that was good) but also eager for the next installment. I don't think I've been this excited over magic and mayhem since
Was I biased because I had become smitten with Blake Charlton six months ago? Maybe. But probably not because I really expected not to like this...because I'm obviously insane. But yeah, maybe that had something to do with it. Who knows. Who cares. I liked it a lot and that's all that matters, right?
May 15, 2015
A dyslexic student struggles with linguistic magic. Nice idea, huh? Main protagonist Nicodemus is haunted by nightmares, finds the source of his disability, wins the cure and looses it again - all of that in the area of his magic school.
It is very unusual for me to pick up a novel classified as Young Adult. It may sound a bit arrogant, but I'm not in the mood to endure the typical tropes around those novels any more - immaturity, predictable plots, and simple characters. Two reasons motivated me to pick up this book: I liked Charlton's short story "Heaven in Wild Flowers" in (my ) and I needed a simple fantasy page turner in between.
The novel's first part seems to be a boring coming-of-age story with a not-so-young student in a magic academy. I nearly abandoned the novel after some 50 pages because it followed those very YA tropes. I was lucky to endure it because it got better over time. Charlton rewarded me with a firework of creativity. He seems to have a checklist of Fantasy elements to be included, especially ín the last 100 pages: diverse schools of magic, demons, goddesses, faery folk like trolls and goblins, ghosts, or dragons against a rich setting which only waits to be explored in the following novels. The magic system is fine enough, diverse and elaborate but I don't understand how some people think that Charlton brought in a kind of PHD thesis in linguistics. It rides the word, yes, but doesn't care for syntax/semantics/pragmatics at all - it is elementary school linguistics.
I liked the novel: Problems don't solve themselves and recur, characters are not black-and-white, the plot is not too predictable but finds some interesting twists.
But there are also some problems: Several emotional situations were handled very weakly. One example is the death of a supporting protagonist, that I nearly missed because two sentences after the death the plot just carried on - somehow the characters didn't care. There were a couple of those incidents where I felt left and couldn't connect emotionally to the main protagonist. And the last part felt a bit pressed, or say uneven in comparison to the slower first part.
In summary, it was 2,5 stars rounded up, and I'm not certain if I'll go for the next book in the series. Definitely recommended for lovers of YA high fantasy.
It is very unusual for me to pick up a novel classified as Young Adult. It may sound a bit arrogant, but I'm not in the mood to endure the typical tropes around those novels any more - immaturity, predictable plots, and simple characters. Two reasons motivated me to pick up this book: I liked Charlton's short story "Heaven in Wild Flowers" in (my ) and I needed a simple fantasy page turner in between.
The novel's first part seems to be a boring coming-of-age story with a not-so-young student in a magic academy. I nearly abandoned the novel after some 50 pages because it followed those very YA tropes. I was lucky to endure it because it got better over time. Charlton rewarded me with a firework of creativity. He seems to have a checklist of Fantasy elements to be included, especially ín the last 100 pages: diverse schools of magic, demons, goddesses, faery folk like trolls and goblins, ghosts, or dragons against a rich setting which only waits to be explored in the following novels. The magic system is fine enough, diverse and elaborate but I don't understand how some people think that Charlton brought in a kind of PHD thesis in linguistics. It rides the word, yes, but doesn't care for syntax/semantics/pragmatics at all - it is elementary school linguistics.
I liked the novel: Problems don't solve themselves and recur, characters are not black-and-white, the plot is not too predictable but finds some interesting twists.
But there are also some problems: Several emotional situations were handled very weakly. One example is the death of a supporting protagonist, that I nearly missed because two sentences after the death the plot just carried on - somehow the characters didn't care. There were a couple of those incidents where I felt left and couldn't connect emotionally to the main protagonist. And the last part felt a bit pressed, or say uneven in comparison to the slower first part.
In summary, it was 2,5 stars rounded up, and I'm not certain if I'll go for the next book in the series. Definitely recommended for lovers of YA high fantasy.
December 14, 2017
Ahoy there me mateys! So this book is a bit of a conundrum. Ye see I normally write me reviews immediately after finishing a tome. I like to put me thoughts in me log right away as it helps me process what I read. And yet this novel was read months ago and I am still struggling with pinning this one down. Me rule be to review every book I read so I figured come hell or high water, today be the day.
The Good:
- extremely fun magic system. magic spells are written out in luminous text using parts of the body. it is an odd system but totally works.
- a main character, Nicodemus, who has failed to live up to his golden child destiny. they thought he was the chosen one and then gave up on him.
- Nicodemus has dyslexia, a major factor in why he has disastrous consequences when using his magic. woven into the story and magic in a beautiful way. the author has dyslexia too so #ownvoices.
- a spellcaster named Shannon who is the mentor of Nicodemus but is just plain awesome. easily me favourite character in the book.
- golems. very cool constructs. kinda want one.
- dragons. 'nuff said.
The Not So Good:
- the pacing. so very hard to get into the story. the world building is intriguing and kept me going but parts of the story were a slog. wanted to abandon ship multiple times.
- Nicodemus is annoying. very much sympathize with his situation. he is just so bitter and angry and not in the sarcastic clever witty way. he is a hot headed fool.
- Nicodemus cannot breathe without looking for his mentor, Shannon's, approval. totally get why this is part of the story but urg. in combination with the previous note, makes me want to wring his neck.
- evil beings for the sake of evil. perhaps there is a greater reason then the usual. but this book didn't explore it.
- dragons. well this trilogy claims to have dragons which be part of why it was begun. got a dream dragon. huh?
So there it be - me thoughts. I like the world building and magic quite a bit. The main character and pacing irk me. So do I want to read the next in the series. All these months later and I still be unconvinced. So has any of me crew read this series and want to tip the ballast one way or the other?
Check out me other reviews at
The Good:
- extremely fun magic system. magic spells are written out in luminous text using parts of the body. it is an odd system but totally works.
- a main character, Nicodemus, who has failed to live up to his golden child destiny. they thought he was the chosen one and then gave up on him.
- Nicodemus has dyslexia, a major factor in why he has disastrous consequences when using his magic. woven into the story and magic in a beautiful way. the author has dyslexia too so #ownvoices.
- a spellcaster named Shannon who is the mentor of Nicodemus but is just plain awesome. easily me favourite character in the book.
- golems. very cool constructs. kinda want one.
- dragons. 'nuff said.
The Not So Good:
- the pacing. so very hard to get into the story. the world building is intriguing and kept me going but parts of the story were a slog. wanted to abandon ship multiple times.
- Nicodemus is annoying. very much sympathize with his situation. he is just so bitter and angry and not in the sarcastic clever witty way. he is a hot headed fool.
- Nicodemus cannot breathe without looking for his mentor, Shannon's, approval. totally get why this is part of the story but urg. in combination with the previous note, makes me want to wring his neck.
- evil beings for the sake of evil. perhaps there is a greater reason then the usual. but this book didn't explore it.
- dragons. well this trilogy claims to have dragons which be part of why it was begun. got a dream dragon. huh?
So there it be - me thoughts. I like the world building and magic quite a bit. The main character and pacing irk me. So do I want to read the next in the series. All these months later and I still be unconvinced. So has any of me crew read this series and want to tip the ballast one way or the other?
Check out me other reviews at
October 15, 2011
I wrote a nice pithy review of this... in my head last night, right before I went to sleep. I might have had a dose (or two!) of Dayquil in me, and we all know how a little of the good stuff enhances creativity!
Sadly, the entire review stayed in Dreamland, so you're stuck with the usual not-entirely-relevant kind.
This book was good. I liked it.
Just kidding. That's not my real review. GOTCHA! {--- might still be the Dayquil. Apologies.
Spellwright got off to a bit of a slow start for me. The first several chapters were a bit immature and just a little bit too Young Adult Fantasy. (It's the classic "Am I Special? or Not Special?" protagonist.) I might have put the book down at that point, had it not been for an enthusiastic recommendation from a friend who actually reads, and having the opportunity to go see Charlton at his author event at Powell's bookstore. He talked about the construction of his magical system at some length, and I found it both interesting and entertaining.
The magic in Spellwright is indeed unique - the most succinct description I've seen is (moderately spoilery) It kind of taps my geeky buttons. Win one for fantasy fiction.
Not to say there aren't weak spots, such as the immature tone of the opening (which improves as the story continues,) as mentioned. Also, to borrow a bit of shop-talk from my writer friends, there's a LOT of info-dumping. It's done mostly in a storyteller's voice, kind of "Once upon a time" style (which I like, being a fan of fairy tales,) and lots of it is in that "I'm going to explain it to you" type of dialogue, so even that flowed fairly well. I did notice it though, and usually I don't because I don't consider myself to be that critical a reader as long as I can stay in the story.
That seems to be a basic problem with creating a new fantasy world, if it's significantly new or different, the author has to do a lot of, well... contructing... which can either be done by describing things quickly, (almost) directly to the reader, or by taking the long route and dribbling the world out over 1500 pages. I have to admit, I occasionally get tired of having to read a thousand pages of world-building just to get a hundred pages of story. Spellwright delivers mostly story amidst the explaining.
I'm not even sure why I'm writing down these complaints, because the bottom line is that I really liked the story, read it in every spare minute, ignored my poor husband and made the dogs wait for their walks, which is the best measure (for me) of great storytelling. And the sequel, Spellbound is definitely in the reading queue for very soon.
Sadly, the entire review stayed in Dreamland, so you're stuck with the usual not-entirely-relevant kind.
This book was good. I liked it.
Just kidding. That's not my real review. GOTCHA! {--- might still be the Dayquil. Apologies.
Spellwright got off to a bit of a slow start for me. The first several chapters were a bit immature and just a little bit too Young Adult Fantasy. (It's the classic "Am I Special? or Not Special?" protagonist.) I might have put the book down at that point, had it not been for an enthusiastic recommendation from a friend who actually reads, and having the opportunity to go see Charlton at his author event at Powell's bookstore. He talked about the construction of his magical system at some length, and I found it both interesting and entertaining.
The magic in Spellwright is indeed unique - the most succinct description I've seen is (moderately spoilery) It kind of taps my geeky buttons. Win one for fantasy fiction.
Not to say there aren't weak spots, such as the immature tone of the opening (which improves as the story continues,) as mentioned. Also, to borrow a bit of shop-talk from my writer friends, there's a LOT of info-dumping. It's done mostly in a storyteller's voice, kind of "Once upon a time" style (which I like, being a fan of fairy tales,) and lots of it is in that "I'm going to explain it to you" type of dialogue, so even that flowed fairly well. I did notice it though, and usually I don't because I don't consider myself to be that critical a reader as long as I can stay in the story.
That seems to be a basic problem with creating a new fantasy world, if it's significantly new or different, the author has to do a lot of, well... contructing... which can either be done by describing things quickly, (almost) directly to the reader, or by taking the long route and dribbling the world out over 1500 pages. I have to admit, I occasionally get tired of having to read a thousand pages of world-building just to get a hundred pages of story. Spellwright delivers mostly story amidst the explaining.
I'm not even sure why I'm writing down these complaints, because the bottom line is that I really liked the story, read it in every spare minute, ignored my poor husband and made the dogs wait for their walks, which is the best measure (for me) of great storytelling. And the sequel, Spellbound is definitely in the reading queue for very soon.
October 3, 2011
It's very rarely now that an original fantasy novel arrives and this is what Spellwright is. It's an incredibly original story focusing on a world where all magery is controlled by the casting of runes and language. Throughout the story the magical power of language is explored and the idea that various forms of magical languages exist proved fascinating. I hope the sequel proves as interesting as the debut in this series because if it does it will prove a worthwhile read. And while I lack the true ability to describe any of the story line in its greatness I will simply say that it centres around one young man called Nicodemus Weal who has prodigious ability in spellwrighting - the casting of runes - the only problem being that he misspells anything magical he touches. As a result a whole lot of prophecy following forces are after him as either the saviour of the world, or its destroyer. Sound interesting? Then read this book.
October 8, 2013
I tried so hard to like this one. Charlton has built a unique world on the back of novel magic system, and by the time I got to the end I was actually ready to dive into the next one. However, a host of mundane problems with the pacing made it a bit of a slog for me.
Spellwright introduces Nicodemus Weal, a student in a far-flung magical academy called Starhaven. The arcane runes studied at Starhaven are not just the means to casting spells; they are the spells, themselves. Magical words are painstakingly composed on the body itself, and then literally peeled off and flung into the air. Nico has a harder time than most at Starhaven, though, being that he is a cacographer. He's a dyslexic, in other words, who misspells any magical language he touches. Still, he gets by with the help of his mentor, the venerable spellwright Agwu Shannon. However, both of them live under a pall of distrust, and when people start getting killed by horrible, virulent language curses, both of them fall under suspicion. Nico is drawn into the workings of a prophecy that could see him as the savior of human language... or, possibly, the herald of its destruction.
The book's core concepts are fascinating. Charlton draws from his own experiences as both a medical student and a severe dyslexic, and he does so transparently. The result is a story that is littered with metaphor and analogy, sometimes in the form of fantastically clever puns. The magic system is the star of the book, and I have to admit, it took me a little bit to get acquainted with it. The idea of literal "magic language" was jarring at first and remains hard for me to visualize, but after a while I began to appreciate its complexities and story possibilities.
With all that said, however, I never really became immersed in the story. The pace is markedly uneven. Spellwright's cosmology is so complex and so lovingly detailed that it needs a lot of context to make sense, and unfortunately, most of this context comes in the form of truly epic information dumps. I read more than one scene that only exists in order to set up a few pages of explaining how the magic works, or who the relevant mythological deities and creatures are. I think this may be a byproduct of how much of himself Charlton has put into this story, which makes the setting and the motivations of the protagonist shine through. Unfortunately, the rest of the story suffers for it. The plot halts entirely for these soliloquies, at times. It will suddenly pick up with an action sequence and a character death (for example), which deeply affects Nico but doesn't make a mark on the reader. Worse, once I picked up the various analogies and puns Charlton was making, I started to get annoyed when they'd start showing up again, feeling like things were getting repetitive.
And yet, once I got the end, I was pretty excited about where the story was going. I definitely want to read the next one, even though I considered dropping this one multiple times in the two months it took me to finish.
I just don't know. I feel bad rating this one low, because I don't think it's a bad book. It's got a whole lot going for it, in fact. I just couldn't get excited about it. It's definitely worth a look, though, for the magic system and for the interesting mythology. It's also a pretty inspiring read for anyone who has battled dyslexia to nurture a love of the written word.
Spellwright introduces Nicodemus Weal, a student in a far-flung magical academy called Starhaven. The arcane runes studied at Starhaven are not just the means to casting spells; they are the spells, themselves. Magical words are painstakingly composed on the body itself, and then literally peeled off and flung into the air. Nico has a harder time than most at Starhaven, though, being that he is a cacographer. He's a dyslexic, in other words, who misspells any magical language he touches. Still, he gets by with the help of his mentor, the venerable spellwright Agwu Shannon. However, both of them live under a pall of distrust, and when people start getting killed by horrible, virulent language curses, both of them fall under suspicion. Nico is drawn into the workings of a prophecy that could see him as the savior of human language... or, possibly, the herald of its destruction.
The book's core concepts are fascinating. Charlton draws from his own experiences as both a medical student and a severe dyslexic, and he does so transparently. The result is a story that is littered with metaphor and analogy, sometimes in the form of fantastically clever puns. The magic system is the star of the book, and I have to admit, it took me a little bit to get acquainted with it. The idea of literal "magic language" was jarring at first and remains hard for me to visualize, but after a while I began to appreciate its complexities and story possibilities.
With all that said, however, I never really became immersed in the story. The pace is markedly uneven. Spellwright's cosmology is so complex and so lovingly detailed that it needs a lot of context to make sense, and unfortunately, most of this context comes in the form of truly epic information dumps. I read more than one scene that only exists in order to set up a few pages of explaining how the magic works, or who the relevant mythological deities and creatures are. I think this may be a byproduct of how much of himself Charlton has put into this story, which makes the setting and the motivations of the protagonist shine through. Unfortunately, the rest of the story suffers for it. The plot halts entirely for these soliloquies, at times. It will suddenly pick up with an action sequence and a character death (for example), which deeply affects Nico but doesn't make a mark on the reader. Worse, once I picked up the various analogies and puns Charlton was making, I started to get annoyed when they'd start showing up again, feeling like things were getting repetitive.
And yet, once I got the end, I was pretty excited about where the story was going. I definitely want to read the next one, even though I considered dropping this one multiple times in the two months it took me to finish.
I just don't know. I feel bad rating this one low, because I don't think it's a bad book. It's got a whole lot going for it, in fact. I just couldn't get excited about it. It's definitely worth a look, though, for the magic system and for the interesting mythology. It's also a pretty inspiring read for anyone who has battled dyslexia to nurture a love of the written word.
April 26, 2018
This one was moderately enjoyable but not enough to convince me to read the sequel.
It's an intriguing idea but it moved a little slow for me, and from what I recall it all came together kind of haphazardly at the end all at once.
Okay characters but no one particularly memorable.
An average kind of fantasy read. Not total rubbish, but not enough to hook me into the series, either.
It's an intriguing idea but it moved a little slow for me, and from what I recall it all came together kind of haphazardly at the end all at once.
Okay characters but no one particularly memorable.
An average kind of fantasy read. Not total rubbish, but not enough to hook me into the series, either.
December 9, 2010
Sometimes when I’m having a more daydreamy day than normal, I imagine that I can fling my magic at someone who frustrates me like water out of a squirt gun. In Charlton’s debut novel, you really can fling magic at your enemies.
In the fantasy-appropriately named academy of Starhaven, great wizards conduct magical research, and apprentice wizards train in the magical languages. Wizards trained in magical languages can forge spells in their arm muscles and propel them out into the world to serve their purpose, or peel already-written spells from the pages of magical texts. An ancient prophecy spoke of a boy who would become the Halcyon, “a powerful spellwright who would prevent the apocalypse known as the Disjunction.� Many thought Nicodemus Weal would be the Halcyon, until one thing became abundantly clear: Nicodemus is cacographic, meaning that when he touches spells, the letters switch around and the spells fail dangerously. At 25, Nicodemus is still an apprentice to Magister Shannon, not able to wield anything but the simplest spells without error, mistrusted by the rest of the academy and constantly confronted with the fact that he can never be a great wizard, much less the Halcyon he was prophesied to be. Instead, it is feared that he is the manifestation of a different prophesy, a bringer of great destruction who will usher in a crusade of evil. Nicodemus longs for a way to cure his cacography, and playing on this desire, an evil creature begins to send Nicodemus dreams, telling him that his cacography is the result of a curse and not an innate disability. Under threat from multiple sources, Nicodemus must defeat the evil creature and figure out what his cacography truly is.
Characterization was good, especially with Nicodemus. He’s terribly frustrated by his disability, always seeking a way to cure it and to be better than he is. He’s convinced that he’s meant for more, but not in a power hungry way. He needs to triumph over his disability to prove to himself that people can overcome anything. The evil creature uses this against him, and Magister Shannon butts heads with N. on more than one occasion, telling him that he needs to embrace his disability and learn to overcome it, rather than cure it. A win for the book is that Charlton is dyslexic, and by making Nicodemus cacographic, the reader feels like they’re seeing a fragment of the author’s own experience.
Pacing was fair. The book was a bit like a roller coaster: slow climb WOOSH slow climb WOOSH big hill WOOOOOOOOOOSH. There were several points where I felt that I had reached the Big Important Event, signalling the climax and the ending, but I hadn’t. Because there were so many of these events, I’ve had some trouble remembering exactly what happened and when, and determining which of these things is important to the story and what could’ve been left out. 7 or 8 times, the action and subsequent revelations were written in such a way that I thought it was signalling the end of the book, except I had 200 pages to go.
Someone mentioned this debut by Charlton as rendering Brandon Sanderson’s magic systems as “cute by comparison.� While I don’t agree that he’s trumped Sanderson’s extremely cool and original magical systems*, I do agree that Spellwright’s magical system holds its own. Charlton is an author and a med student, and he’s woven biological AWESOME into the magic of spellwriting. For example, Language Prime, which is the original language of the Creator, is made up of only 4 runes, spelled in inumerable different combinations. This didn’t register with me until I read this Amazon review, and then I felt stupid for not seeing it before. (DNA is composed of four unique animo acids which compose the entire human genetic code. See what I mean about the AWESOME?) It’s clear that Charlton has put an enormous amount of logic and thought into his magical system, based on his real life experience. It makes me feel like he’s mastered it, and he’s got control of it going into the next two books of the trilogy. It would be an incomplete review if I didn’t give the author a nod for writing such an awesome book AND being a full-time medical student. Doing either one of those things is a reason for kudos, but doing both at the same time is mind-boggling.
3.5 stars, because the pacing bothered me, but the detail of the magic system was phenomenal. I’m very excited to read the next book, and this is yet another good read that I’m adding to my Amazon cart.
*Frequent readers of this blog will remember that Sanderson and McKinley are my favorites, and anyone who suggests that they have been trumped will be immediately discredited. My loyalty is absolute as it relates to their literary accomplishments.
In the fantasy-appropriately named academy of Starhaven, great wizards conduct magical research, and apprentice wizards train in the magical languages. Wizards trained in magical languages can forge spells in their arm muscles and propel them out into the world to serve their purpose, or peel already-written spells from the pages of magical texts. An ancient prophecy spoke of a boy who would become the Halcyon, “a powerful spellwright who would prevent the apocalypse known as the Disjunction.� Many thought Nicodemus Weal would be the Halcyon, until one thing became abundantly clear: Nicodemus is cacographic, meaning that when he touches spells, the letters switch around and the spells fail dangerously. At 25, Nicodemus is still an apprentice to Magister Shannon, not able to wield anything but the simplest spells without error, mistrusted by the rest of the academy and constantly confronted with the fact that he can never be a great wizard, much less the Halcyon he was prophesied to be. Instead, it is feared that he is the manifestation of a different prophesy, a bringer of great destruction who will usher in a crusade of evil. Nicodemus longs for a way to cure his cacography, and playing on this desire, an evil creature begins to send Nicodemus dreams, telling him that his cacography is the result of a curse and not an innate disability. Under threat from multiple sources, Nicodemus must defeat the evil creature and figure out what his cacography truly is.
Characterization was good, especially with Nicodemus. He’s terribly frustrated by his disability, always seeking a way to cure it and to be better than he is. He’s convinced that he’s meant for more, but not in a power hungry way. He needs to triumph over his disability to prove to himself that people can overcome anything. The evil creature uses this against him, and Magister Shannon butts heads with N. on more than one occasion, telling him that he needs to embrace his disability and learn to overcome it, rather than cure it. A win for the book is that Charlton is dyslexic, and by making Nicodemus cacographic, the reader feels like they’re seeing a fragment of the author’s own experience.
Pacing was fair. The book was a bit like a roller coaster: slow climb WOOSH slow climb WOOSH big hill WOOOOOOOOOOSH. There were several points where I felt that I had reached the Big Important Event, signalling the climax and the ending, but I hadn’t. Because there were so many of these events, I’ve had some trouble remembering exactly what happened and when, and determining which of these things is important to the story and what could’ve been left out. 7 or 8 times, the action and subsequent revelations were written in such a way that I thought it was signalling the end of the book, except I had 200 pages to go.
Someone mentioned this debut by Charlton as rendering Brandon Sanderson’s magic systems as “cute by comparison.� While I don’t agree that he’s trumped Sanderson’s extremely cool and original magical systems*, I do agree that Spellwright’s magical system holds its own. Charlton is an author and a med student, and he’s woven biological AWESOME into the magic of spellwriting. For example, Language Prime, which is the original language of the Creator, is made up of only 4 runes, spelled in inumerable different combinations. This didn’t register with me until I read this Amazon review, and then I felt stupid for not seeing it before. (DNA is composed of four unique animo acids which compose the entire human genetic code. See what I mean about the AWESOME?) It’s clear that Charlton has put an enormous amount of logic and thought into his magical system, based on his real life experience. It makes me feel like he’s mastered it, and he’s got control of it going into the next two books of the trilogy. It would be an incomplete review if I didn’t give the author a nod for writing such an awesome book AND being a full-time medical student. Doing either one of those things is a reason for kudos, but doing both at the same time is mind-boggling.
3.5 stars, because the pacing bothered me, but the detail of the magic system was phenomenal. I’m very excited to read the next book, and this is yet another good read that I’m adding to my Amazon cart.
*Frequent readers of this blog will remember that Sanderson and McKinley are my favorites, and anyone who suggests that they have been trumped will be immediately discredited. My loyalty is absolute as it relates to their literary accomplishments.
September 16, 2012
Nicodemus is dyslexic, a real problem when wielding magic requires meticulous spelling (at least, in most of the spell traditions). Besides this one limitation, however, he's also quite capable and really pretty powerful.
Here's the thing: I had a hard time putting this book down. You really feel for Nico and his friends and the threat to their home. There's intrigue and betrayal and trying to chart a moral path amidst impossible choices. All good stuff. So the story was excellent and it would have easily been a five-star review except...
The problem is that by the end of the book Nico's "limitation" becomes the central focus of the story. So instead of a story about, say, overthrowing bad guys or saving the world, the story becomes about Nico's obsession with getting himself "fixed". Even worse, though, there are plenty of hints that Nico isn't really broken and that his obsession is an Ahab-like chimera leading him to self-destruction.
Which may be an interesting story to others, but isn't something I'm really that into. Which cost the book a star for my own personal preference.
Here's the thing: I had a hard time putting this book down. You really feel for Nico and his friends and the threat to their home. There's intrigue and betrayal and trying to chart a moral path amidst impossible choices. All good stuff. So the story was excellent and it would have easily been a five-star review except...
The problem is that by the end of the book Nico's "limitation" becomes the central focus of the story. So instead of a story about, say, overthrowing bad guys or saving the world, the story becomes about Nico's obsession with getting himself "fixed". Even worse, though, there are plenty of hints that Nico isn't really broken and that his obsession is an Ahab-like chimera leading him to self-destruction.
Which may be an interesting story to others, but isn't something I'm really that into. Which cost the book a star for my own personal preference.
February 27, 2016
Upon finding Spellbound in the university second-hand bookstore, I knew I needed in on the Spellwright series. Unfortunately, book one was not to be found meaning I could not pick up the series there and then. Never fear, however, I was pulled in enough by the notion of the series that it didn’t take long for books one and two to be sitting at my bedside.
A magical world based upon words. A dyslexic protagonist. What’s not to love? Of course, I was going to be pulled in.
As soon as I could, I started book one and quickly found myself pulled into the world. Don’t get me wrong, I found it a bit slow at first, but the storyline had me hooked. As you would expect with a complex magical system, there is quite a bit of the book dedicated to explanation of the magical world yet the story is constantly moving forward. It is not as action packed as I would have liked, for this very reason, but we never come to the standstill that some books come to through information sharing. There have been many books whereby I have found myself yawning due to the information overload spanning pages as the characters are pushed to the back of our minds � yet Spellwright cannot be accused of that. You want to know how the magic works � okay, you’re informed about it as a duelling match occurs. See, learning can be fun when done correctly!
Honestly, the magical system is wonderful � and it is at this point that I would like to go off at a slight tangent.
Remember how I said our protagonist is dyslexic, well our author is too. Do you know what this means? This means the representation is realistic. I have read plenty about dyslexia throughout my psychology degree. I have heard plenty from my dyslexic friend. I have read about dyslexic characters in the past. None of these things make me an expert. Our author, however, is. Thus, the telling of the story is more realistic than you could ever have imagined. So what if it is a fantasy world? What I said still applies � the author understands dyslexia therefore allowing a real experience for our main character.
I really cannot begin to explain how much respect I have for the author. He has achieved so much, not letting anything hold him back from what he wants to do. If you ever needed proof that you can achieve your dreams when you put your mind to it, simply look towards Blake Charlton.
I could rant on about this for a while, but I’ll stop before this goes too far.
Truthfully, this book wasn’t quite a full four stars � but it was so close that there was no reason for me to round down. I wanted more to happen. I wanted a lot more action. It progressed at a great pace and a lot happened� yet I had wanted more. Being the first in a trilogy, I knew I wouldn’t get an all-out war � yet I still found myself slightly disappointed. The ending ensures we have much more to look forward to in the next books� but still, I repeat myself, I wanted more.
Another slight issue I had is that I found myself slightly put out by the writing style at first. It was not badly written, there was just something that prevented me from being full engaged throughout. I’m not partway through book two and I have realised what my issue was. There seemed to be a lack of emotion at some points in this book. We were told how people were feeling rather than being able to truly understand them. It wasn’t enough to ruin the story, but it left me feeling a bit iffy about characters at times. It’s fixed in book two, though.
Overall, this was a wonderful read. It certainly deserves more recognition.
A magical world based upon words. A dyslexic protagonist. What’s not to love? Of course, I was going to be pulled in.
As soon as I could, I started book one and quickly found myself pulled into the world. Don’t get me wrong, I found it a bit slow at first, but the storyline had me hooked. As you would expect with a complex magical system, there is quite a bit of the book dedicated to explanation of the magical world yet the story is constantly moving forward. It is not as action packed as I would have liked, for this very reason, but we never come to the standstill that some books come to through information sharing. There have been many books whereby I have found myself yawning due to the information overload spanning pages as the characters are pushed to the back of our minds � yet Spellwright cannot be accused of that. You want to know how the magic works � okay, you’re informed about it as a duelling match occurs. See, learning can be fun when done correctly!
Honestly, the magical system is wonderful � and it is at this point that I would like to go off at a slight tangent.
Remember how I said our protagonist is dyslexic, well our author is too. Do you know what this means? This means the representation is realistic. I have read plenty about dyslexia throughout my psychology degree. I have heard plenty from my dyslexic friend. I have read about dyslexic characters in the past. None of these things make me an expert. Our author, however, is. Thus, the telling of the story is more realistic than you could ever have imagined. So what if it is a fantasy world? What I said still applies � the author understands dyslexia therefore allowing a real experience for our main character.
I really cannot begin to explain how much respect I have for the author. He has achieved so much, not letting anything hold him back from what he wants to do. If you ever needed proof that you can achieve your dreams when you put your mind to it, simply look towards Blake Charlton.
I could rant on about this for a while, but I’ll stop before this goes too far.
Truthfully, this book wasn’t quite a full four stars � but it was so close that there was no reason for me to round down. I wanted more to happen. I wanted a lot more action. It progressed at a great pace and a lot happened� yet I had wanted more. Being the first in a trilogy, I knew I wouldn’t get an all-out war � yet I still found myself slightly disappointed. The ending ensures we have much more to look forward to in the next books� but still, I repeat myself, I wanted more.
Another slight issue I had is that I found myself slightly put out by the writing style at first. It was not badly written, there was just something that prevented me from being full engaged throughout. I’m not partway through book two and I have realised what my issue was. There seemed to be a lack of emotion at some points in this book. We were told how people were feeling rather than being able to truly understand them. It wasn’t enough to ruin the story, but it left me feeling a bit iffy about characters at times. It’s fixed in book two, though.
Overall, this was a wonderful read. It certainly deserves more recognition.
February 4, 2021
My first impression of this book that it was really original and intriguing. The magic system itself, consisting of spells literally written in the air is something I have never read about before. Also, the fact that the writer addressed his own experiences with dyslexia by presenting to us a protagonist, Nicodemus, who fails in the Spellwright-world because he continuously misspells the more sophisticated spells is impressive.
There are, however, some aspects of the book that I liked less. The pacing, for example, was a bit off. Especially at the beginning of the book. There was a lot going on: a high-standing scholarly spellwright is dead - presumably murdered - the spellwright academy is therefore under surveillance, one of the main protagonists is considered a suspect, and a strange creature sneaks around on Starhaven's academy grounds. Yet, the two main protagonists continue their daily business like nothing is wrong. They teach classes, focus on scholarly research and overall just carry on, business as usual. I would expect that these events would faze them more.
The second part of the story was, according to my opinion, better. Part of it may have to do with the fact that the magic system became a bit more clear to me. (Cause yes, the magic system is complicated, sometimes even a bit too complicated with lots of explanations and conversations about it in the first half) But the second part also contained more excitement. Our protagonists are on the run, the danger is getting near and the antagonist's game plan is unfolding. I liked the form in which There was also a plot twist that I didn't see coming. This part was quite enjoyable.
But near the end, I felt like the story fell flat again. The main battle has been solved, yet there are another 20-or-so pages dealing with what the leftover characters are going to do now. Epilogues are fine. I like having at least most of the issues resolved or at least permanently at a hiatus when a novel ends, but this epilogue dealt with some things that could - or perhaps should - have been transferred to the start of the second installment. There, it might have made for a gripping start. As it is, it felt like the aftermath or afterthought it didn't deserve to be. But I'll stall my final judgment on this matter until I know how Spellbound starts. The way that book starts will decide if the actual approach might have been the best choice after all.
I am interested in the second installment of this series because I am curious where the rest of this story will go. But then again, I'm an easy reader and are almost always curious how a story really ends.
There are, however, some aspects of the book that I liked less. The pacing, for example, was a bit off. Especially at the beginning of the book. There was a lot going on: a high-standing scholarly spellwright is dead - presumably murdered - the spellwright academy is therefore under surveillance, one of the main protagonists is considered a suspect, and a strange creature sneaks around on Starhaven's academy grounds. Yet, the two main protagonists continue their daily business like nothing is wrong. They teach classes, focus on scholarly research and overall just carry on, business as usual. I would expect that these events would faze them more.
The second part of the story was, according to my opinion, better. Part of it may have to do with the fact that the magic system became a bit more clear to me. (Cause yes, the magic system is complicated, sometimes even a bit too complicated with lots of explanations and conversations about it in the first half) But the second part also contained more excitement. Our protagonists are on the run, the danger is getting near and the antagonist's game plan is unfolding. I liked the form in which There was also a plot twist that I didn't see coming. This part was quite enjoyable.
But near the end, I felt like the story fell flat again. The main battle has been solved, yet there are another 20-or-so pages dealing with what the leftover characters are going to do now. Epilogues are fine. I like having at least most of the issues resolved or at least permanently at a hiatus when a novel ends, but this epilogue dealt with some things that could - or perhaps should - have been transferred to the start of the second installment. There, it might have made for a gripping start. As it is, it felt like the aftermath or afterthought it didn't deserve to be. But I'll stall my final judgment on this matter until I know how Spellbound starts. The way that book starts will decide if the actual approach might have been the best choice after all.
I am interested in the second installment of this series because I am curious where the rest of this story will go. But then again, I'm an easy reader and are almost always curious how a story really ends.
July 18, 2011
I really liked this book. Lame, Fourth-Grade-Book-Report opening, I know, but I really DID like it. I think I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did because a lot of it was derivative (as most fantasy tends to be in some way, like I have said in the past). This whole Magical Institution of Higher Learning thing is getting kind of old to me. And Nicodemus? Really? COME ON, that is an old rat from NIMH and sounds like a name the guy from Gentlemen Broncos would've made up. Plus, the plot suffers from First Time Novel syndrome: loopholes, deus ex machina galore, a pre-fabbed feeling.
But, I said! I LIKED it:
- The magic system is brilliant and believable. I LOVED this part of the book and it made me go back and rethink my own system in the piece I am working on. Magic should be like a science: explainable, understandable, and possibly able to be made real.
- The protagonist and the world is based off of what Charlton KNOWS. Charlton is dyslexic, so Nicodemus is too. Charlton is a medical school student, so his magic is centered on "Language Prime" . Charlton is a writer, so to manifest spells in his magic system, you write (or code) them. I LOVED this aspect of the book, and made it completely believable to me.
- It is fantastic that his protagonist is "handicapped" by his disability. Fantasy often strays away from social issues, and I like how Charlton confronts how we think of disabled people in our society. He can, after all, because he knows what it's like. He injects his sense of frustration, of failure, of societal perception, and, ultimately, of self-acceptance, into every character, every action, and every plot device (awkward though they sometimes may be).
- As writers or fans of the English language, this book is all about what we get our jollies off on.
I admire Charlton's pride as a writer and a student, as a guy who makes the most out of the hand he's been dealt, accepting himself fully for who he is, but only after intense personal struggles. This comes through in his writing, and I am excited to see how the other two novels in the trilogy grow.
But, I said! I LIKED it:
- The magic system is brilliant and believable. I LOVED this part of the book and it made me go back and rethink my own system in the piece I am working on. Magic should be like a science: explainable, understandable, and possibly able to be made real.
- The protagonist and the world is based off of what Charlton KNOWS. Charlton is dyslexic, so Nicodemus is too. Charlton is a medical school student, so his magic is centered on "Language Prime" . Charlton is a writer, so to manifest spells in his magic system, you write (or code) them. I LOVED this aspect of the book, and made it completely believable to me.
- It is fantastic that his protagonist is "handicapped" by his disability. Fantasy often strays away from social issues, and I like how Charlton confronts how we think of disabled people in our society. He can, after all, because he knows what it's like. He injects his sense of frustration, of failure, of societal perception, and, ultimately, of self-acceptance, into every character, every action, and every plot device (awkward though they sometimes may be).
- As writers or fans of the English language, this book is all about what we get our jollies off on.
I admire Charlton's pride as a writer and a student, as a guy who makes the most out of the hand he's been dealt, accepting himself fully for who he is, but only after intense personal struggles. This comes through in his writing, and I am excited to see how the other two novels in the trilogy grow.
December 29, 2010
I was very disappointed with this book. The premise had great potential - I always look forward to books that branch out to new ways of handling magic. However, it seemed to me like the author did not fully consider how his magic system would work. It alternated between being just another version of old role-playing style spell casting and being almost an analog to coding (ala Wizard's Bane).
The plot line was interesting, and the world intriguing, but the characters were never fully fleshed out. I found this very strange, since the book was long enough to allow for it, and the author spent time in each of the main character's point of view. Unfortunately, this lead to a very cold and distant story, as the character's motivations never made sense, and when they would change their mind on something it was without any real thought and, most often, was conveyed by the character actually speaking the change.
Overall, it was an interesting and fast paced story, and the faults didn't annoy so much as disappoint. This was definitely what I would call a light read.
The plot line was interesting, and the world intriguing, but the characters were never fully fleshed out. I found this very strange, since the book was long enough to allow for it, and the author spent time in each of the main character's point of view. Unfortunately, this lead to a very cold and distant story, as the character's motivations never made sense, and when they would change their mind on something it was without any real thought and, most often, was conveyed by the character actually speaking the change.
Overall, it was an interesting and fast paced story, and the faults didn't annoy so much as disappoint. This was definitely what I would call a light read.
August 18, 2011
1) Rating - 4 out of 5 stars. I was going to give it a 3 and 1/2 but then the author actually twittered me when I said I was reading his book. That’s worth a half of star right?
2) Genre - Fantasy
3) Synopsis - Spells are cast using words. What happens if you can't spell? There is no way you can be the child of prophesy right?
4) Feelings - I heard about this book and it sounded interesting. The author suffered from severe dyslexia and this book seems to be a fantasy version of that scenario. My problem was I just couldn't picture the magic system. Maybe it is because I am a horrible speller or because I hate grammar. I liked the characters and the story. Just wished I liked the magic system better.
5) Final recommendation - I liked it. If you like, complicated magic systems go for it. If you aren't a big fantasy fan probably not the best choice but still enjoyable.
2) Genre - Fantasy
3) Synopsis - Spells are cast using words. What happens if you can't spell? There is no way you can be the child of prophesy right?
4) Feelings - I heard about this book and it sounded interesting. The author suffered from severe dyslexia and this book seems to be a fantasy version of that scenario. My problem was I just couldn't picture the magic system. Maybe it is because I am a horrible speller or because I hate grammar. I liked the characters and the story. Just wished I liked the magic system better.
5) Final recommendation - I liked it. If you like, complicated magic systems go for it. If you aren't a big fantasy fan probably not the best choice but still enjoyable.
March 1, 2010
People talking talking talking about their magic involving words words words that are cast by talking talking talking which requires more talking talking talking and explaining As You Know Bob-style every exhaustive aspect of wordified magic ever to the people who don't know, a surprisingly high number of people among this supposedly wizardly bunch. This requires more talking talking talking. By the time the Big Bad gets around to gloating about the evil plan by explaining it in detail, I was already beyond SHUT UP HANNIBAL to SHUT UP UNIVERSE. (P.S. "Learning disabilities are like magical lobotomies!" NICE.)
May 3, 2010
This is a strong opening to a new fantasy series which takes the power of language literally. One of the things I most enjoyed was how complete the worldbuilding is and the many different cultures that populate the novel. Nicodemus is a deeply sympathetic character whose cacography (think of dyslexia but with magical ramifications) not only keeps him from being able to cast spells but also makes it difficult for him to even handle magical artifacts. Too often a character is given a disability which is unrelated to the larger quest, but in Spellwright it is deeply connected to the larger quest.
If you are looking for a new voice in fantasy, give this a try.
If you are looking for a new voice in fantasy, give this a try.
September 11, 2014
Finally a book written a dyslexic person for dyslexic people with a dyslexic hero.
Spellwright is an amazing book about overcoming the hero's disability and struggling to accept and fight against a world that thinks he is destined for only one thing.
Yet Nicodemus Weal stands above the rest and fights convention just like the author of Spellwright...
Spellwright is an amazing book about overcoming the hero's disability and struggling to accept and fight against a world that thinks he is destined for only one thing.
Yet Nicodemus Weal stands above the rest and fights convention just like the author of Spellwright...
December 15, 2009
This is an excerpt, for the full review please visit my blog, :
It’s obvious from the very early pages of Spellwright that Blake Charlton is a child of late-eighties and early-ninties Fantasy. It’s full of dastardly villains, righteous youths and hidden destinies. Like contemporaries Brandon Sanderson and Peter V. Brett, Charlton is doing his damnedest to bring back the type of fantasy where the good guys are good, and the bad guys are bad (barring a few genuinely surprising twists in the final pages) and the fate of the world’s at risk of being overrun by demon hordes.
And that’s not where the comparisons to Brett and Sanderson end. Both of those novelists are known for their intricate, imaginative magic systems, which are not only cool spectacles and a catalyst for visceral battle scenes, but also intimately woven into the plot and world of their stories, and Charlton’s work is no different. Spellwriting, which gives the caster the ability to ‘write� complex magical formulas–much like a computer programming language–and manifest nearly anything they can think of (including cognizant, living spells called constructs and golems), is at the centre of Charlton’s story, with the main hook being that the protagonist, Nicodemus Weal (who was once thought to be a hero from prophecy) is a cacographer, a dyslexic Spellwright who can neither write his own spells nor come in contact with another’s spell without causing disastrous results.
The history of this character’s disability can be traced directly back to Charlton’s own struggles growing up with severe dyslexia, and this gives a real weight to Weal’s struggles, as one might consider the novel to have a semi-autobiographical nature, though surely Charlton never had to face the idea that only his disability was standing in the way of saving the world from certain doom. Spellwriting and Weal’s struggle to come to terms with his disability are certainly the meat of the story, given the generic overall plot of the novel (demons are bad, want to take over the world, et al.), and for the most part gives the reader a compelling reason to stick with the novel.
[...:]
Speaking of which, world-building and setting are light in Spellwright, with most of the novel taking place in the confines of Starhaven a magical academy for Spellwrights, but with a more grown-up, academical air than Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and a shadowy, ancient history not unlike that established for Green Angel Tower in Tad Williams� Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. Though ostensibly an Epic Fantasy from the outside, Spellwright’s narrow setting, intimate plot and tight cast of characters reminds one of classic Sword & Sorcery novels, including James Enge’s recent novel, Blood of Ambrose (minus the foreskin jokes, of course).
[...:]
Charlton might not win over the Abercrombie/Martin/Lynch crowd, but there’s certainly something there for fans of you-know-who-to-root-for Fantasy, and those who grew up on Brooks, Williams and Feist will certainly find a lot to like about Spellwright. Though not perfect, Charlton’s inventive debut is comfortable in its tropes, but also willing to turn convention on its head and remind us of that sense of wonder than drew us to Fantasy in the first place.
It’s obvious from the very early pages of Spellwright that Blake Charlton is a child of late-eighties and early-ninties Fantasy. It’s full of dastardly villains, righteous youths and hidden destinies. Like contemporaries Brandon Sanderson and Peter V. Brett, Charlton is doing his damnedest to bring back the type of fantasy where the good guys are good, and the bad guys are bad (barring a few genuinely surprising twists in the final pages) and the fate of the world’s at risk of being overrun by demon hordes.
And that’s not where the comparisons to Brett and Sanderson end. Both of those novelists are known for their intricate, imaginative magic systems, which are not only cool spectacles and a catalyst for visceral battle scenes, but also intimately woven into the plot and world of their stories, and Charlton’s work is no different. Spellwriting, which gives the caster the ability to ‘write� complex magical formulas–much like a computer programming language–and manifest nearly anything they can think of (including cognizant, living spells called constructs and golems), is at the centre of Charlton’s story, with the main hook being that the protagonist, Nicodemus Weal (who was once thought to be a hero from prophecy) is a cacographer, a dyslexic Spellwright who can neither write his own spells nor come in contact with another’s spell without causing disastrous results.
The history of this character’s disability can be traced directly back to Charlton’s own struggles growing up with severe dyslexia, and this gives a real weight to Weal’s struggles, as one might consider the novel to have a semi-autobiographical nature, though surely Charlton never had to face the idea that only his disability was standing in the way of saving the world from certain doom. Spellwriting and Weal’s struggle to come to terms with his disability are certainly the meat of the story, given the generic overall plot of the novel (demons are bad, want to take over the world, et al.), and for the most part gives the reader a compelling reason to stick with the novel.
[...:]
Speaking of which, world-building and setting are light in Spellwright, with most of the novel taking place in the confines of Starhaven a magical academy for Spellwrights, but with a more grown-up, academical air than Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, and a shadowy, ancient history not unlike that established for Green Angel Tower in Tad Williams� Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. Though ostensibly an Epic Fantasy from the outside, Spellwright’s narrow setting, intimate plot and tight cast of characters reminds one of classic Sword & Sorcery novels, including James Enge’s recent novel, Blood of Ambrose (minus the foreskin jokes, of course).
[...:]
Charlton might not win over the Abercrombie/Martin/Lynch crowd, but there’s certainly something there for fans of you-know-who-to-root-for Fantasy, and those who grew up on Brooks, Williams and Feist will certainly find a lot to like about Spellwright. Though not perfect, Charlton’s inventive debut is comfortable in its tropes, but also willing to turn convention on its head and remind us of that sense of wonder than drew us to Fantasy in the first place.
July 29, 2011
You remember those books you read as a kid that truly excited you, made your imagination fly and made you believe that anything, no matter how unlikely was possible? This book is like that. I got this on a loan from a friend... AKA my library lol. Not only is this an astoundingly good first novel, it's the first one in a long time that makes me feel better about the human race in general. The imagery of this book is absolutely beautiful. Imagine taking words OFF the page as glowing glyphs and using them as a spell. I loved and identified with the main character... in fact, I think I'm going to try and get my dyslectic brother-in-law to read this one.
It is pretty clear that Mr. Charlton's disability gave him a unique and lovely way of looking at the world. I am just so glad he decided to share that vision with us.
It is pretty clear that Mr. Charlton's disability gave him a unique and lovely way of looking at the world. I am just so glad he decided to share that vision with us.
June 1, 2011
I liked the idea built around this debut, where the system of magic marks it different from your average fantasy novel. It is set in a world where magic - or "text", as they call it - takes form in exactly that - woven words, paragraphs, thrown into the air.
The story follows Nicodemus Weal, an apprentice wizard, who suffers from cacography. His condition is similar to that of which we know as dyslexia; anything but simple texts are corrupted, or "mispelled" by his touch. Due to his mysterious parentage and a mark on his body, there are factions that mark him as either the Halcyon; the saviour against an impending apocalypse, or the very instigator of destruction itself.
And so Spellwright recounts Nic's self-discovery: the true nature of his birth and disability, his friends and foes, and his part in the setting-in-motion prophecy.
The premise itself was enchanting in its ways, and albeit being a nice, different read, Spellwright -- as I daresay every other book known to mankind -- does have its weaknesses.
I think my greatest complaint would be Charlton's constant dumping of information. Here is the mildest form I could find, written somewhere in the forty-fifth chapter:
Yes. Thank you for that rather soap-opera-ish exchange. As I said though, that was one of the mildest examples of infodumping I found throughout Spellwright. Most of the others were relayed through pages and pages of exposition, and of course, we also have the classroom explanations.
There is also this nasty habit that some books have of undermining their readers; at some points in this one, the writer is so afraid the reader missed or forgot something (or is downright too stupid to put two and two together), that he literally gives a recap to us via the characters, or have them force feed the conclusion to us.
One such example you can read for yourself in the forty-fourth chapter where, after a fight scene, the main protagonist has the following conversation with his tutor:
Cue repetition/recap of all the important points that we've gathered from all previous forty-three chapters. Plus a bonus conclusion from the protag because hey, we're too dumb to put it together ourselves. --keep in mind this exchange was occurring whilst their main enemy was, at the moment, in the same room with them, battling their potential saviours.
And in the next - if not exact same - page, this intellectually undermining recap was interrupted only by the wizard literally asking (again) "But how do you know that?" and moments later "But why (...)?"
And once again, we're given a rundown of all the things we failed to catch with our own puny minds.
My third nitpicking would be the overall conclusion to the story. Oh don't get me wrong, it had its shock moments, it had its unexpected (?) twists (although it was largely predictable for me personally, as it takes quite a lot to surprise me); but I found the book could have finished two or three chapters shorter.
Upon reaching the climax, I find myself exhausted and at that point I just wanted the book to end - but was instead forced to trudge along a few more chapters (AND an epilogue! Hurray!), obviously setting itself up for a sequel.
The story follows Nicodemus Weal, an apprentice wizard, who suffers from cacography. His condition is similar to that of which we know as dyslexia; anything but simple texts are corrupted, or "mispelled" by his touch. Due to his mysterious parentage and a mark on his body, there are factions that mark him as either the Halcyon; the saviour against an impending apocalypse, or the very instigator of destruction itself.
And so Spellwright recounts Nic's self-discovery: the true nature of his birth and disability, his friends and foes, and his part in the setting-in-motion prophecy.
The premise itself was enchanting in its ways, and albeit being a nice, different read, Spellwright -- as I daresay every other book known to mankind -- does have its weaknesses.
I think my greatest complaint would be Charlton's constant dumping of information. Here is the mildest form I could find, written somewhere in the forty-fifth chapter:
"I would swear on the Creator's name to protect and help you in your struggle against the demons. Do you know what that means? For a deity to swear on the Creator's name?"
"It means you would be bound to your oath, that you could never break it."
Yes. Thank you for that rather soap-opera-ish exchange. As I said though, that was one of the mildest examples of infodumping I found throughout Spellwright. Most of the others were relayed through pages and pages of exposition, and of course, we also have the classroom explanations.
There is also this nasty habit that some books have of undermining their readers; at some points in this one, the writer is so afraid the reader missed or forgot something (or is downright too stupid to put two and two together), that he literally gives a recap to us via the characters, or have them force feed the conclusion to us.
One such example you can read for yourself in the forty-fourth chapter where, after a fight scene, the main protagonist has the following conversation with his tutor:
"And Deirdre is ... Typhon's avatar?"
"She didn't know." Nicodemus shoved his arm under the wizard's back.
"But how did you figure it out?" Shannon gasped as Nicodemus tried to lift him.
"Magister, now is not -"
"No ..." the old man said between rapid breaths. "You have to tell me."
Cue repetition/recap of all the important points that we've gathered from all previous forty-three chapters. Plus a bonus conclusion from the protag because hey, we're too dumb to put it together ourselves. --keep in mind this exchange was occurring whilst their main enemy was, at the moment, in the same room with them, battling their potential saviours.
And in the next - if not exact same - page, this intellectually undermining recap was interrupted only by the wizard literally asking (again) "But how do you know that?" and moments later "But why (...)?"
And once again, we're given a rundown of all the things we failed to catch with our own puny minds.
My third nitpicking would be the overall conclusion to the story. Oh don't get me wrong, it had its shock moments, it had its unexpected (?) twists (although it was largely predictable for me personally, as it takes quite a lot to surprise me); but I found the book could have finished two or three chapters shorter.
Upon reaching the climax, I find myself exhausted and at that point I just wanted the book to end - but was instead forced to trudge along a few more chapters (AND an epilogue! Hurray!), obviously setting itself up for a sequel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2011
I completely enjoyed this book! usually, when the author is setting up the new universe and getting things rolling, the momentum takes a while to pick up... To say this was untrue for this work would be a euphemism. I got completely bowled over by the premise... and the nouns are completely fantastic - as is the language and vocabulary. Maybe I found the sudden dynamism of Nicodemus' character toward the end a bit abrupt - but that would be asking for perfection :) I totally loved this book and am waiting for the next one! Thank you Blake Charlton for transporting me to a hilarious, yet completely viable and solid fantasy world!
September 20, 2011
Sometimes a book's title says it all. Spellwright. Spell means to write in order the letters constituting a word. It also means a verbal formula considered as having magical force. Spell in these two cases is considered a homonym because they share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings. Wright or write or right or rite all mean something different but sound the same. They're called homophones. A wright is a person that constructs or repairs something. Write means to form (letters, words, or symbols) on a surface. Right means to be correct. And a rite is a religious ceremony. What am I driving at? I'll come back to that.
Blake Charlton's novel is about a young man named Nicodemus. He's an apprentice to the Grand Wizard Agwu Shannon, an aged and blind, but still powerful member of Starhaven's faculty. At this out of the way haven young men and women are tutored in the language of magic. They learn how to compose elegant prose and cast it into the world to effect change. Unfortunately, Nicodemus is a cacographer - any magical prose he touches immediately misspells. There was a time when Shannon, and others, thought Nicodemus was to be the halycon - the savior of magic - who was prophesied to defeat the Pandemonium. But such a powerful being could not be cacographic for the prophecy also speaks of another who will bring chaos and destroy the halycon.
So back to my opening paragraph, what was that all about? I'm sure it's obvious that cacogaphy in Charlton's world is a parallel to what we call dyslexia. To a dyslexic Charlton's title is something of a mean joke. What the hell does he mean? One who creates spells? One who spells correctly? One who writes down spells? Or is it about spelling as a rite which I think adequately describes the burden the written language can be to someone suffering from dyslexia. In this regard the novel's title is nothing short of genius. To a fantasy fan reading through the shelves the first definition is perfect. Oh, this book is about someone who puts spells together (read: Wizard). Cool. It is, but not really. It's about a lot more than that and after reading the book I realized the title says it all.
See, Nicodemus speaks every magical language he's ever been taught fluently. He should be, for all intents and purposes, one of the most powerful wizards in Starhaven except for the little fact that he has a hard time spelling things correctly. He's ridiculed by his peers and looked on as someone who should never be allowed near magic. Were it not for Shannon and his desire to help cacographers, Nicodemus and his fellow misspellers would have magical language censored from their minds and be sent on their way. In the eyes of the wizarding community at large, they are defective and beyond recovery. To a more radical sect, they are a threat to stability and shouldn't even be allowed to live.
Is it a perfect novel? No, although it is very good. There are some first time author hiccups here and there. The magic system is a bit esoteric and the ending is both overly simplified and a bit confusing. Still, reading Spellwright, I couldn't help but be touched. My wife is dyslexic. She was diagnosed when she was 13. This is late in life so far as these things go. When she was in 8th grade she told her teacher that she wanted to attend Ursuline Academy for high school, one of the more prestigious private schools in Dallas, Texas. Her teacher told her, "you'll never get in there, and even if you did, you'd never be able to keep up."
She got in and worked her ass off. She did well and went to college where she listened to text books on tape, following along with the written words (to give you an idea how much dedication that takes a 350 page novel takes around 12 hours to listen to). It was never easy. She graduated on time with a degree in International Relations. My wife is very smart, but reading and writing will always be, to some degree, difficult for her. She's very aware of the fact and a little bit self conscious about it. I find it all rather inspiring and it makes me proud to be her husband.
Not surprisingly, given the treatment he gives it, Spellwright's author Blake Charlton is also dyslexic. His bio on his website reads:
"I was saved from a severe disability by two things: an early clinical diagnosis of dyslexia, and fantasy and science fiction novels. It took most of my twenties to discover it, but my life’s goal is to give back to the two art forms that saved me."
My wife didn't have that same luck. She still made it. A lot of kids don't. Dyslexia, as a disability isn't something we can cure. There's no pill that makes the connection between eye and brain work better. But, by identifying it early and providing specialized education to young people we can make sure that kids don't have to suffer thinking they're stupid.
George R. R. Martin wrote in his most recent novel A Dance with Dragons:
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one.�
Reading is the greatest gift I've ever been given. I believe that Charlton's novel is helping spread that gift. From me, from my wife, from my daughter, and from every child and parent out there struggling to make sense of dyslexia - thank you Blake. You should be proud to have written Spellwright. I know I was proud to read it.
The sequel to Spellwright was released two weeks ago from Tor Books. Titled Spellbound, it continues the story of Nicodemus as he comes to grips with his disability and how it will or will not define him. I look forward to reading and reviewing it soon.
Sidenote:
I would strongly suggest that anyone who has read this review or Charlton's novels visit . Formerly Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, Learning Ally serves more than 300,000 learners � all of whom cannot read standard print due to visual impairment, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities. More than 6,000 volunteers across the U.S. help to record and process the 65,000 digitally recorded textbooks and literature titles in their collection. I can't thank them enough for the work they do.
November 16, 2018
This was a fascinating but difficult book to read. The magic in this world is generated by words and spells that are generated in the muscles of humans and exist in the world much as computer programs do in ours. It is a difficult concept to grasp, at least for me. The idea is that words change the world around them. If you are up for a venture into a very different world, this is the book for you.
June 23, 2019
It's amazing. The magic system, the metaphors.
It's such a unique story with a wonderful journey.
Especially considering the parallels between the authors life and the protagonists it makes it even better in my eyes.
It's such a unique story with a wonderful journey.
Especially considering the parallels between the authors life and the protagonists it makes it even better in my eyes.
September 22, 2019
Velmi zajímavý svět knih, kouzel a mágů, kteří jsou tak trochu dyslektici. Stojí za přečtení.
July 12, 2011
Probably I should not be so frank, but the first thing that caught my attention in the description of “Spellwright� (besides the cover art � majestic!) prior to actually reading it was, quite unexpectedly, the author’s biography. It is a rare feat to successfully combine writing fantasy fiction with the demanding life of a medical student (seriously, how does Blake Charlton manage?), and even more so to overcome dyslexia.
In fact, it should not be surprising that the main character himself suffers from the impediments of such a disorder, called cacography. The author has imprinted the protagonist with a great woe and has thus given depth to the character of mature and disillusioned Nicodemus Weal, who once was believed to be the savior of mankind, the guardian of human languages and the scourge of demons. All changed, though, when his inability to spell magical texts correctly was uncovered, resulting in his being virtually ostracized from the all-powerful magical community and sent to the tower where other dangerous cacographers reside. His greatest power � magic � becomes a perilous, disobeying and likely catastrophic force of nature when Nicodemus spells even the most elementary of magical prose.
However, wicked things start occurring around the main character, while the future of mankind is decided upon by representatives of all magical academies. A respected and influential master has been murdered; a white-clad figure lurks in the shadows; unspeakable horrors haunt the dreams of all� Some even go as far as accusing Nicodemus of being the Storm Petrel, the man to unleash the destructive power of demons by corrupting the magical languages. A close friend is accused of a number of atrocious acts, while strangers claiming to be druids strive to entangle Nicodemus in their own disputable prophecies. Vicious deaths follow the protagonist in every step he takes, while he tries to uncover the truth about himself.
“Spellwright� is an action-packed fantasy following the growth of Nicodemus and his reconciliation with himself and his talents. Although the book can hardly be classified as a coming-of-age novel (as the main character is beyond the age limit) I definitely got that unmistakable feel of self-doubt and low-esteem, so cherished in literature. Do not draw the wrong conclusions, though, as Blake Charlton’s debut is certainly a must-read for everyone who cannot breathe without a healthy dose of magic, wizards and� lots of magic.
To my astonishment, Charlton’s magical system is even more thrilling than Brandon Sanderson’s bizarre (and cute by comparison) experiments *my opinion, guys*. The world of “Spellwright� is heavily suffused with magic that is written in the form of prose in a variety of languages. There are those that influence material objects and those that shape the metaphysical. The possibilities are endless and the author has fully and successfully exploited the concepts of written magic. Gargoyles that are equivalents of magically-rendered robots, clay and metal golems carrying their creator’s spirit, voracious magical dragons, creatures infesting the imagination of a child, disembodied gods � all are here and wander the streets of Starhaven. It is impossible to fully explain without giving away too much, but I believe that Blake Charlton has created one of the most unique magical systems in fantasy fiction.
Besides, “Spellwright� features a cast of some mature-acting and convincingly shrewd heroes whose adventures are thoroughly enjoyable. The characterization of the author is excellent and his main protagonist, Nicodemus, is extremely amiable. Moreover, I found the compact and intelligent prose of Charlton very satisfying. All in all, the first installment in Blake Charlton’s trilogy is well-worth the time.
There are, of course, flaws with the stereotyped plot and the infodumps that practically litter the pages of the book. These I can easily let pass as insubstantial, but the biggest disappointment in the novel was the ending. After the climatic and epic battle that can be anticipated from the very beginning, Charlton has decided to add a dozen or so totally redundant (in my humble opinion) pages that hardly contribute to the story. Nevertheless, “Spellwright� is one of the best fantasy books I have read this year. An intriguing main character, a badass villain with more power than it is healthy, a totally original magical system that allows for epic power struggles and a couple of unexpected plot twists � this book will sweep you away.
In fact, it should not be surprising that the main character himself suffers from the impediments of such a disorder, called cacography. The author has imprinted the protagonist with a great woe and has thus given depth to the character of mature and disillusioned Nicodemus Weal, who once was believed to be the savior of mankind, the guardian of human languages and the scourge of demons. All changed, though, when his inability to spell magical texts correctly was uncovered, resulting in his being virtually ostracized from the all-powerful magical community and sent to the tower where other dangerous cacographers reside. His greatest power � magic � becomes a perilous, disobeying and likely catastrophic force of nature when Nicodemus spells even the most elementary of magical prose.
However, wicked things start occurring around the main character, while the future of mankind is decided upon by representatives of all magical academies. A respected and influential master has been murdered; a white-clad figure lurks in the shadows; unspeakable horrors haunt the dreams of all� Some even go as far as accusing Nicodemus of being the Storm Petrel, the man to unleash the destructive power of demons by corrupting the magical languages. A close friend is accused of a number of atrocious acts, while strangers claiming to be druids strive to entangle Nicodemus in their own disputable prophecies. Vicious deaths follow the protagonist in every step he takes, while he tries to uncover the truth about himself.
“Spellwright� is an action-packed fantasy following the growth of Nicodemus and his reconciliation with himself and his talents. Although the book can hardly be classified as a coming-of-age novel (as the main character is beyond the age limit) I definitely got that unmistakable feel of self-doubt and low-esteem, so cherished in literature. Do not draw the wrong conclusions, though, as Blake Charlton’s debut is certainly a must-read for everyone who cannot breathe without a healthy dose of magic, wizards and� lots of magic.
To my astonishment, Charlton’s magical system is even more thrilling than Brandon Sanderson’s bizarre (and cute by comparison) experiments *my opinion, guys*. The world of “Spellwright� is heavily suffused with magic that is written in the form of prose in a variety of languages. There are those that influence material objects and those that shape the metaphysical. The possibilities are endless and the author has fully and successfully exploited the concepts of written magic. Gargoyles that are equivalents of magically-rendered robots, clay and metal golems carrying their creator’s spirit, voracious magical dragons, creatures infesting the imagination of a child, disembodied gods � all are here and wander the streets of Starhaven. It is impossible to fully explain without giving away too much, but I believe that Blake Charlton has created one of the most unique magical systems in fantasy fiction.
Besides, “Spellwright� features a cast of some mature-acting and convincingly shrewd heroes whose adventures are thoroughly enjoyable. The characterization of the author is excellent and his main protagonist, Nicodemus, is extremely amiable. Moreover, I found the compact and intelligent prose of Charlton very satisfying. All in all, the first installment in Blake Charlton’s trilogy is well-worth the time.
There are, of course, flaws with the stereotyped plot and the infodumps that practically litter the pages of the book. These I can easily let pass as insubstantial, but the biggest disappointment in the novel was the ending. After the climatic and epic battle that can be anticipated from the very beginning, Charlton has decided to add a dozen or so totally redundant (in my humble opinion) pages that hardly contribute to the story. Nevertheless, “Spellwright� is one of the best fantasy books I have read this year. An intriguing main character, a badass villain with more power than it is healthy, a totally original magical system that allows for epic power struggles and a couple of unexpected plot twists � this book will sweep you away.
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