Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell
Buy Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Olivia Tierney
Summary: A magical book full of adventure and revolving around a boy's quest to learn just where his place in the world is. A very entertaining read, with great characters and great tension.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 416	Date: May 2017
Publisher: Hot Key Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1785761317
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And when did I volunteer to die down there just so two lousy humans could live?

Enter the world of the Jan'Tep, powerful mages with the ability to draw on the seven magics. Then meet Kellen, who despite being the son of one of the most formidable mages in the clan, has no magical ability whatsoever.

In order to become one of the Jan'Tep, initiates must pass four magic trials to prove their ability to wield the highest magics, and claim their new magical name. If not, they are forced into domestic servitude becoming one of the Sha'Tep and disgracing their family as a result. Kellen's fate is set to follow the latter, but that won't stop him using all the tricks he possesses to try and alter his fate.

Kellen knows he needs all the help he can get to pass his trials and become a mage, so when a Daroman waunder, Ferius Parfax, saves his life Kellen is eager to learn more about her mysterious decks of cards. But Ferius' sudden arrival is no coincidence, her cards are not all they seem and in fact are maps to show people with the ability to change the world, either building up or destroying a civilisation.

With his trials looming and Ferius' surprise appearance, Kellen's life takes a turn and he begins to uncover long buried truths about both his clan and those closest to him. Kellen is about to learn just how cruel the world is, become the central part of a fight he never knew existed, and discover that he is more magical than he ever imagined…

Spellslinger is a great coming of age story, involving magic and finding where you belong in the world, which will no doubt continue in the next books of the series. With action and adventure, Sebastien de Castell has created a great tale of bravery and self-discovery, which is very entertaining and worth reading.

I really liked the protagonist Kellen. An outcast due to his lack of magical ability, it was hard not to empathise with him especially after certain cruel moments in the book, and the quickness with which he is forced to grow up is admirable. The side characters, namely Ferius and Richis, were equally intriguing with great personalities. They were unusual and mysterious with funny quirks – it'll definitely be interesting to learn more about their pasts later in the series!

Although quite predictable in parts, Spellslinger was still a very enjoyable read and the writing flows very nicely, making Castell's novel very easy to pick up and read. In particular, the moments of tension were superbly written and there were many quick and witty lines which added great humour to the story.

After reading Spellslinger, I'm excited to see how our protagonist Kellen develops in future books and explore the magic in Sebastien de Castell's world further. A light quick read which superbly kicks off Sebastien de Castell's new series.

Many thanks to the publishers for providing the Bookbag with a copy to review!

In terms of further reading, Half Bad by Sally Green is a fantastic thriller revolving around magic and adventure. Definitely worth a read!

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You can read more book reviews or buy Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell at Amazon.com.

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