Did like this one as much as the previous one. Seemed far to long and in parts it was tedious. That said, the concept of the magicians and characters using words and runes to create spells is a good one, just felt that it needing editing better. ( )

I continue to find this series original in many ways, layered, surprising, interesting, and, at times, confusing. I liked the new characters, especially Francesca - she's awesome and I love the strong and skilled female character. I also really appreciate how the books deal with disability - this is unusual for SFF, I think.

I had trouble keeping all the factions and characters straight. The story can be slow at times (or maybe that's me mostly reading on the bus these days), but the magic is new and different, and there were a few curve balls I just didn't see coming. I've got number three lined up and ready to go. ( )

SPOILER WARNING:
I've tried to keep spoilers out of this blurb, but it turned out to be a bit more difficult than I thought. So, in case you haven't read Spellbound yet, I would encourage you not to read my ranting ;-p


I finally finished reading Spellbound! I loved it! I hope this doesn't come across either rude or fanboy-ish, but I was truly surprised :)
The beginning had me all kinds of confused and uncertain, but once THOSE two met, it completely and utterly got me hooked. I don't claim any vast and intimate knowledge of fantasy as a literary genre, but I've read enough to draw my own semi-informed conclusions. I can't wait to read what the author has in store for the third novel. As for his latest novel, there's two elements that have forever spellbound me to his current and future works :p

First of all, I'd like to tell you that I have never encountered such a heart-warming and well-executed romance (sub?)plot in any of even my favorite fantasy and scifi novels. I'm a sucker for romance, but they rarely or never satisfy me to the extend that Charlton has. The long conversations between Nicodemus and Francesca were an absolute delight to read, and sometimes I would wish for them to continue endlessly, ignoring any semblance of other main and subplots.

Lastly, I wanted to mention the aerial battles between the hierophant fleets. Although I hardly understood most of what was going on, and how exactly the "ships" looked like or reacted, it didn't stop me from building on what the author wrote and expanding on it within my mind. All in all, it is a scene that I would love to see acted out on the big screen. I bet it would be breathtaking and nothing short of epic. (Though, I don't think any film budget would be large enough to ensure such a scene would be handled well, heh.)

Worried about sounding too much like a fanboy (I've always been quite moderate in my passions, however contrary that may sound. I like works, not authors.), I was going to mention that not all of it was as much to my liking. But f*** that. The good elements wipe out any trace of complaints off my mind. Thank you for a great novel, Mr. Charlton! ( )

I absolutely loved Blake Charlton's first installment in this series, Spellwright. It wasn't without flaws, but overall it is one of my favorite books. The sequel, while good, didn't live up to the promise of the first book.

I found myself kind of drifting through the second book. The writing was dense when it came to talking about the magic, and then the dialogue took on a flippant quality that was almost too far in a high fantasy world.

Also, the author has terrible repeat-shit-itis, though not in the same way I normally comment on. He tended to overuse certain phrases. I lost count of how many times I saw "...still wet from the last rain." in the book. We get it. It rains a lot.

I think some of the downfall of this book is having SO much time pass between book one and book two. Why does ten years pass? What is the point? There isn't really any point to that time gap.

A lot of the "twists" I saw coming a mile away. The second dragon, and the tidbit revealed at the end. It lacked the surprise that would have had me clamoring for the next book.

I am interested to see how the series ends, and I still really like the world Charlton has built, but the second book just wasn't what I expected after having read the first. ( )

The second book in the planned trilogy begins ten years after the events of Spellwright. Nicodemus Weal has been living with the kobolds and plotting how to get the emerald back from the demon, Typhon, who is holed up in the city of Avel trying to begin the Disjunction. Meanwhile, Dierdre has been fighting the demon's influence and finds a healer, Francesca DeVega, whom she believes will help Nico defeat "the second dragon," whatever that might mean.

I really enjoyed the inventiveness of Spellwright, in particular, the way magic works as languages and the inherent wordplay Charlton develops as a result. I had high hopes for this second book, hoping that it would have the pros of the first book with perhaps less of the wordiness and explication that just seemed to take away from the pacing (in the first book, for example, Typhon explains his master plan at length in the middle of the climactic scene). Spellbound has the same inventiveness, the same difficult-to-guess plot, the same wordiness. I had trouble picking it up when I was not reading it, but enjoyed it well enough when I had it in hand. Though a little disappointed, I'm still interested enough in learning what happens to the characters to read the next book when it comes out. ( )