Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell (Allen and
Unwin) PB RRP $19.99
ISBN
9781471406119
Reviewed by
Daniela Andrews
Kellen is almost
sixteen years old and rapidly approaching his magical trials. Will he become a
mage of Jan’Tep, like his powerful father Ke’heops? Or will he instead be
declared an unmagical ‘Sha’Tep weakling’, destined only to serve a mage? The pressure is on. His younger sister, Shalla, has
already sparked magical bands in multiple disciplines, but Kellen has none.
Desperate to
avoid the shame of being declared Sha’Tep, Kellen passes his first trial by
tricking his opponent into believing he is performing a spell against him.
(‘Magic is a con game.’) Shalla pronounces him a cheat and then casts her own
spell against him, hoping he’ll find some magic within to shield it. He doesn’t
– and she nearly kills him. Fortunately, a mysterious stranger (Ferius Parfax)
saves his life.
Ferius, whom the
townspeople suspect to be a Daroman spy, empathises with Kellen and continues
to look out for him. When Kellen discovers the shameful truth about the Jan’Tep
people, and becomes a victim of their cruelty, he turns to Ferius – and a
smart-mouthed squirrel cat, Reichis – to help him escape and find his own
destiny instead. But who exactly is Ferius, and why is she so keen to help
Kellen?
Spellslinger is the first YA fantasy novel in a new
set of six books by Sebastien De Castell, author of the Greatcoats series. He describes the book as being set in the same
universe as his Greatcoats series,
but on a different continent – one ‘more akin to the American frontier’. The
dark, western feel makes it quite a unique, magical story! The novel is
fast-paced, told in first-person perspective, and broken up into four parts
representing Kellen’s magical trials.
Essentially,
it’s the story of a teenager trying to find himself. It’s about how he stands
up to those who shame him, and finds his own direction in life. Kellen stops
striving to become a Jan’Tep after he learns that ‘there’s no amount of magic
in the world that’s worth the price of a man’s conscience’. With the support of
Ferius and Reichis, he is ready to assume his place as the ‘Spellslinger’; a
role that Ferius predicts ‘might just change the world’. Kellen leaves behind a
trail of allies and enemies that will no doubt make the forthcoming books
rather action-packed!
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