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Spellbound (Spellwright #2)

by Blake Charlton (Goodreads Author)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 570 ratings · 80 reviews

The exciting sequel to the acclaimed epic fantasy debut Spellwright by Blake Charlton

Francesca DeVega is a healer in the city of Avel, composing magical sentences that close wounds and disspell curses. But when a newly dead patient sits up and tells her that she must flee the infirmary or face a fate worse than death, Francesca finds herself in the middle of a game she doe...more

Mass Market Paperback, 486 pages

Published September 1st 2012 by Tor (first published August 1st 2011)

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A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

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Oct 21, 2011 joy *the clean-reader extraordinaire* rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dragons, high-fantasy, magic, pg13-yellow

*4.5 stars*

first 100 pages, i wasn't sure about this one. technical -- and rather geeky -- descriptions of exactly how the wind magic works had me wondering if #2 was not going to live up to the spectacular promise of #1,
but by 200 pages, the humor and the plot had both caught hold and sailed aloft. (sorry, couldn't resist.) seriously, though, there were entire passages of dialogue that had me clutching my sides and snorting. if i had the time to transcribe a bunch more favorite quotes from this...more

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Mar 20, 2013 HiddenHero rated it 4 of 5 stars

This incredibly sarcastic, incredibly witty, and just plain incredible heroine made this story 100% worthwhile. Her wordplays had me cracking up; her strange and awkward way of coping with situations struck me as very original and believable. The settings were very interesting, especially aboard the jargon-enhanced flying rigs of the heirophants, but I did feel that some descriptions were recycled a number of times throughout the book (concerning the city and the kites). A number of superb plot...more This incredibly sarcastic, incredibly witty, and just plain incredible heroine made this story 100% worthwhile. Her wordplays had me cracking up; her strange and awkward way of coping with situations struck me as very original and believable. The settings were very interesting, especially aboard the jargon-enhanced flying rigs of the heirophants, but I did feel that some descriptions were recycled a number of times throughout the book (concerning the city and the kites). A number of superb plot twists make the plot very involving and interesting.

Something I distinctly did not enjoy was merely hearing about Nicodemus' adventures in the 10 years between Spellwright and Spellbound, never learning about them in sufficient detail. They are covered, so you know what happened, but I don't feel the events/emotions in Nico's past would logically result in his present character. Therefore, I felt that Nico's character was poorly developed for this installment of the trilogy (a shame, really - he was well characterized in Spellwright and I wanted to follow him and understand his story). There was also a large change in the character Shannon; he went from a caring, wise, insightful person, and, though he was eaten by disease and worry, his transformation into a bitter, lonely, sour old man with few insights seemed off . . . illogical perhaps.

One more thing I disliked was the development Nico and Fran's relationship. (view spoiler) Some development seems to be lacking.

A great read; main character Francesca is off-the-charts witty and engaging!
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Dec 21, 2012 Tal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-book, sf-fantasy

Francesca DeVega is a healer in the city of Avel, composing magical sentences that close wounds and disspell curses. But when a newly dead patient sits up and tells her that she must flee the infirmary or face a fate worse than death, Francesca finds herself in the middle of a game she doesn't understand--one that ties her to the notorious rogue wizard Nicodemus Weal and brings her face-to-face with demons, demigods, and a man she hoped never to see again.
Ten years ago, Nico escaped Starhaven A...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Seregil of Rhiminee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Last year I read and reviewed Blake Charlton's fantastic Spellwright and now I'll write a review about the fantastic sequel, Spellbound, which is even better and more fascinating than Spellwright. In other words, it's a perfect sequel and readers, who have read Spellwright, will love it.

Before I begin to write my review, I'll mention that this review is based on a PDF review version of Spellbound. The PDF version didn't contain any maps or cover art. It took me only a couple of days to read this...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Candice Trebus rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. FIXED! This book fixed (almost) all of the issues I had in Spellwright. I complained about the depth of the characters, the lack of “adventure,” predictable plot, thickly laid foreshadowing and annoying repetition/ wrap-up of where we are in the story.

Enter new, more likable characters: Protagonist #1: Francesca, a character with a hot wit and the mouth to fire it off with. Aside from knowing what her character looks like, we know what type of person she is, her aspirations and her failures, as...more FIXED! This book fixed (almost) all of the issues I had in Spellwright. I complained about the depth of the characters, the lack of “adventure,” predictable plot, thickly laid foreshadowing and annoying repetition/ wrap-up of where we are in the story.

Enter new, more likable characters: Protagonist #1: Francesca, a character with a hot wit and the mouth to fire it off with. Aside from knowing what her character looks like, we know what type of person she is, her aspirations and her failures, as well as her frustrations and motivations. We know her past and how it shaped her and a little later in the book, we see how thoroughly we were all mislead. This book wasn’t as predictable was Spellwright was. In fact, I suspected that Francesca was actually Nicodemus’ sister.
Protagonist #2: Cyrus, short but cute and very talented in the air. His main purpose was to move characters in and out of a war zone, as well as provide a little sexual tension and some drama. Well done, for a throw-away character. Again, not predictable, since I completely miscalculated this characters role in the story.
Protagonist #3: Shannon’s ghost was an interesting addition of lore to this story. I liked how he linked two separate parallel stories together to build a great back-story. So now there are dragons, half dragons, avatars, ghosts, lycanthropes, a Savanna Walker, forest sprites and kobolds (in the wrong color, according to D & D lore).
Protagonist/ Antagonist #4: Dierdre, a tall character with an empty soul but strong morals who longs to be filled again by her goddess. This complex character was sorely missed, but still well constructed as far as moving the story goes. I had completely forgotten what she looked like, so she was a shell of a character in my mind, not quite vividly drawn as the rest of them. I’m adding her to the “new” characters since her role is so complex, she’s only half bad guy and half good guy.
Protagonist/ Antagonist #5: Vivian & Lotannu are inseparable but ancient-looking. Again, a serious twist when this turned out to be the “Halcyon-in-waiting,” as Nicodemus so aptly put it. I’m still not sure if I can consider her a good guy or a bad guy, and I think she was as equally shocked when Nico ended up killing the demon. But I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a powerful spellwright and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders, even though she was raised on the “chosen one” lore. Let’s hope she can continue that line of thinking in Misspell. Or will the absolute power of the gem corrupt her absolutely?

What I didn’t complain about in my first review that became a bit of annoyance in Spellbound was the lack of world-building. Fantasy is a genre that you fall into because the world is vivid and it’s created to put characters into the cinema of your imagination. But in discussions with Blake Charlton, his lack of lush scenery is intentional. The characters and the story and the politics are what he intends for you to focus on, so he doesn’t spend chapter upon chapter describing the cobblestone of the streets or the weathered walls of an ancient city. Where I can respect that, I have to admit that it was a difficult to story for me to imagine in “film” format.

Keep in mind, if you were to tell me about how your cat gives you a concerned meow after you step out of the shower every morning, the harm is already done. You’re telling me a story and I’m imagining it as a movie in progress and so therefore, I’ve unintentionally imagined you naked, stepping out of a shower. See? Story-building is that easy.

As a result of poor world-building, I didn’t fall into the story, parts were confusing to imagine and in some places, even dialogue was hard to follow. Throughout the book, whatever Francesca spelled out was correct in punctuation, spelling and format, with Nicodemus’ replies being a jumble of dyslexic sentences. When we start reading through his eyes, everything is misspelled. As a result, I lost track of which character is talking and had to reread portions again. Overall, though, this story was a vast improvement over the first book and promising set-up for Book #3.
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Sep 14, 2011 Ranting Dragon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: james

http://www.rantingdragon.com/spellbou...

Set ten years after the events in Spellwright, Nicodemus has left the Heaven Tree Valley and is now in the city of Avel, still pursuing the demon Typhon in an attempt to recover the Emerald of Aarahest, which contains the other part of his soul and the cure to his cacography. With it, he will be able to become the Halycon—a prophesied savior of magical language—instead of what he is now, the Storm Petrel—a prophesied destroyer of magical language. He’s det...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Zurlo Enrico rated it 2 of 5 stars

Spellwright didn't impress me much, but it was still an enjoyable reading that promised a thickening of the plot in the sequel . Well...even thought the author tried to enlarge a little the scope of the story in this book, i found myself mostly uninterested of all the new additions he made. The new characters weren't appealing (i actually skipped almost every Cyrus POV and i don't think i've lost anything important), and the misteries didn't catch my attention at all. The magic system, that i fo...more

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May 01, 2012 Aimee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had been eagerly awaiting this book, after reading the first in the series 'Spellwright' last year, and I am definitely not disappointed.
When I first started it, I was initially dubious about whether it was going to be as good as the first one, as I struggled to get into the story as quickly as I had first time around. This may have partially been my own impatience with wanting to know what had happened since the end of the last book, coupled with the jump forward in time which I had not been...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Ashley Schroeder rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I just love Blake's work. His imagination runs wild in a way that is non-derivative, clever, and purposive. Kite-wars and twisted biological nightmares will set your mind ablaze as you actively try to envision his world with your mind's eye. While his first novel suffered a bit from burdensome "info dumping," Spellbound shucks that in favor of a multi-character, suck-you-in-and-stay-up-late plotline that is a pure joy to read. Knowing him a bit better this go 'round, his life story is printed al...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Vivienne rated it 4 of 5 stars

It took me three months to the day to read this book. Do not take that as an indicator of the quality, but rather as an indicator of the agonies of my job. I finished the book at just before 3AM, sitting on my kitchen floor. That should be an indicator.

Spellbound is definitely a level up from Spellwright. Everything Spellwright did well--fun characters, unique plot, witty humor--Spellbound does better.

At times, I got confused by the politics, but that's pretty standard for me.

At times, the wit g...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Whitfield rated it 5 of 5 stars

DISCLAIMER: Blake is awesome, and I hope he's wildly successful with this trilogy.

As for the book...
I really liked his first book, Spellwright, and re-read it in preparation for this one. It was totally worth it!

This book was so enjoyable, I found myself sleep deprived at the end of last week because for several nights in a row, when I picked the story up before going to bed, I couldn't put it down.

The main characters drew me in. The magic is fantastical in a refreshing and unique way (as far as...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Nori rated it 5 of 5 stars

(I imagine I'm at least partially conflating my fondness for this book with my fondness for its author, but a little star inflation never hurt anyone.)

I read Blake's first book because he's a friend, an was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying it on its own merits. The sequel is even better: he's clearly grown as a writer during the interval, which made this one even more legitimately pleasurable to read than the first. He's grown as a student of medicine, too -- his choice of a physicia...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Kai Mundwiler rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been lax on writing this review. I don't know if it's because I wanted to take time to let the book settle before I talked about it or if I was just lazy. (probably a bit of both)

The book was good. On many different levels, good. It was immediately visible that Charlton had taken his game to the next level and it helped the story out from beginning to end. Charlton's profession as a medical doctor also contributed positively to the story, giving a fantastical story a real life anchor that p...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Nicola Higgins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't realise that this book was the second in a series until I got it home from the library. However, it didn't matter, because anything important from the previous book was mentioned when it was relevant to the storyline.

The parallels between spelling (as in using the correct letters in a word) and spelling (as in magic) are so obvious in retrospect that it surprises me that I've never seen it done before. The use of what is essentially a dyslexic wizard fit right into the feel of the book...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Mieneke rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fantasy

Blake Charlton's debut novel Spellwright (review) made my top five books read in 2010 list last year, so me buying Spellbound was a given. Unfortunately I had to wait until I got to go Sinterklaas shopping to get it, so I didn't get to read it immediately on publication, to my great chagrin. But, I made up for that by reading it in two sittings and wow, was it great to return to the world Charlton has created! Spellbound is set ten years after the events of Spellwright and as such, life in the S...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Sasha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Wonderful book to read, I really loved this one. It is the continuation of "Spellwrigth" and features, besides the main characters from the first book, some new characters.

Let me start with the fact that this book will show you probably one of the most interesting and innovative magical systems ever written about. I have never ever seen language so intricately portrayed as magic, and as a lover of many quite worldly languages (and some quite otherworldly), it is one I appreciate a lot. As someo...more Wonderful book to read, I really loved this one. It is the continuation of "Spellwrigth" and features, besides the main characters from the first book, some new characters.

Let me start with the fact that this book will show you probably one of the most interesting and innovative magical systems ever written about. I have never ever seen language so intricately portrayed as magic, and as a lover of many quite worldly languages (and some quite otherworldly), it is one I appreciate a lot. As someone who studies many languages, the possibilities and limitations of language have always been fascinating to me. So you're in for a magical treat in this one~

Next, to the characters. These events take place ten years after the other book and you are thrown in rather abruptly to this world - despite having read the previous book - with the new character, Frencesca. For a while many things don't make sense to you, emphasizing Francescas confusion as well, something I quite liked. For a long time though I couldn't make up my mind whether or not I liked her. In many things I liked her a lot, she has wit, curses a lot in a very cute old-fashioned way and has her flaws as well. When it comes to her feelings towards her former lover (newly introduced character Cyrus whom I for the most part liked, even though he lacked depth) or Nicodemus, I was getting annoyed with her. I never hate it more than when you get a female character and she isn't sure about her feelings towards guy no. 1 and guy no. 2. As I do not like how female main characters are portrayed in most books, I tend to avoid books that have a prominent female main character. Francesca, after all, was quite ok to read about, though.
I wish there had been more chapters about Nicodemus though. I really liked his POV, and I would've loved to read more about the time inbetween. You get glimpses here and there, but that's it. He kinda grows to be a stranger, especially because you do not experience with him what happened during those years, and you have to reacquaint yourself with him. I did however really like his encounter with the Savanna Walker.
And that progresses to this: (view spoiler)
As for Shannon, I really liked his ghost. The one where his author was still alive was peculiar in that it is an interesting way of thinking about body, as in all is made out of text and how to react to it. For the one when (view spoiler) I really loved the last words to Nico. Shannon himself has become rather depressed and confused at times, I frowned more about his reactions than at the introduction of his ghost.
I really felt bad for Deirdre and Boann. They have suffered quite a lot~.
As for Vivian and Lotannu, I liked them as a pair, I think they are interesting characters, but much like Cyrus they lack depth and it would've been better to know more about their past, what they thought about everything. You still understand the story, but it would've been nice to get some deeper explanation on motives and ambitions. Because while you do know how the book will most likely continue, you never quite see Vivians part of the story.

As for the plot, besides having these wonderful magical systems, I at first was a bit annoyed about the appearance of lycanthropes (werewolves, seriously?), but after reading more it became clear why there were there and their background story was quite intersting after all. Still I didn't care too much about them.
There were some obvious turns and twists in the story that made it somewhat predictable (view spoiler) but I was ok with it.

The flow of the text was nice and fluid. My English might have improved somewhat since reading the first book since I had way less trouble with difficult words appearing - then again many tend to be based on Roman languages, so it's not that hard. There were lotsa medical words, too, but after watching enough Bones and House I suppose it wasn't that much of a challenge anymore. What I did not like though, and I'm perfectly aware that while writing this I am doing the same thing that I'm going to critisize, is that some words repeated themselves in short succession. Shannon-the-ghost says agonizingly blablabla and two sentences later the same agonizingly appears. It happened at least three times, sometimes more strikingly than other times. It just halts you in the flow of the text, but this is just something minor that I notice quickly on whatever text I read. Also, you would think that a wonderful world like that, so keen on obeying the rules of science and language, would at least adopt the metric system. But that's just me, I hate it when I have to be counting around how many meters that many feet are.

All in all, if I give it a solid 4. It's a nice read, and has a nice ending. It leaves it open for more but not too open as to force you to read more should there, in fact, come another book. I just hope there won't be a sudden change to say...100 years in the future. We'll see~ (less)

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Oct 17, 2011 Alan Warenski rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was enthralling. I was enthralled. Just like the cover said I would be.
Well, I loved the first book. So I was very excited for this one. When I heard that Nicodemus wasn't going to be the center of this story, and that Francesca would be a new protagonist, I was slightly nervous (but not really). But within five pages of chapter one I loved her. She is a complex, very interesting character.
I loved how it started right in the middle of all this stuff happening. There was the mystery o...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Bob Folker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

"Francesca did not realize she had used an indefinite pronoun until it began to kill her patient."
This first sentence of Spellbound so intrigued me that I dropped it to find the first book in the series - Spellwright. Now that I've read it, I can come back to see if this opening line lives up to its promise...

The answer is yes and no.
I liked it better than Spellbound, perhaps because my hopes were not so inflated. Not a great novel, but still a serviceable adventure novel in a universe with an u...more "Francesca did not realize she had used an indefinite pronoun until it began to kill her patient."
This first sentence of Spellbound so intrigued me that I dropped it to find the first book in the series - Spellwright. Now that I've read it, I can come back to see if this opening line lives up to its promise...

The answer is yes and no.
I liked it better than Spellbound, perhaps because my hopes were not so inflated. Not a great novel, but still a serviceable adventure novel in a universe with an unusual religious concept and unique magic system. The characters are interesting and grow through the book. I saw some of the plot turns coming, but most I did not. The method used by some mages to fly in this novel is interesting.

I was disappointed that the opening wasn't followed by a "House"-like doctor detective figuring out how to save her patient. Instead, the patient dies. Bummer.

Spoilers ahead!

This failure to save her patient haunts Francesca throughout much of the novel, even though the patient pops back to life. (!)
The patient is Deirdre, who was inhabited Typhus, a demon, at the end of the last book. Now she is merely influenced by Typhus. Enough so she has to kill herself to get some free time. The demon influence causes her to resurrect, after which she must be caught by the demon or an agent to be re-influenced.
This is quite a change from the last book, where it was stated that gods/demons who invest a portion of their power in an avatar risk losing that power permanently if that avatar dies.
I think this change was a flaw, though it may be that the reports of power-loss through avatar death in the first book were exaggerated.

Another question that occurs to me: Which came first, the necropolis or the ghost?
Which is to say that the whole mechanism of ghosts doesn't seem to work very well.

Other than that, however, I mostly liked this book, and it actually has a decent ending, even though it is apparent that the action is only in abeyance, and another novel will be forth-coming to pick up where this leaves off.
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Mar 20, 2013 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cults, evil-creatures, fantasy, men-and-boys, mysterious-disease, survival, suspense, war-stories, women-and-girls

Egads, I had to do math to figure out the rating for this and I resent that. Because, like Malibu Barbie, I think math is hard.
Anyhow, Blake, please don't read this one either. It's just not a good idea.

Sooo...here's why math was involved. I kept having to break the book down into pieces. There was the first third, then the second half of the second third, then the first three eighths of the final third and the next eighth and then the following two eighths...it was really hard, ok? Fractions pa...more Egads, I had to do math to figure out the rating for this and I resent that. Because, like Malibu Barbie, I think math is hard.
Anyhow, Blake, please don't read this one either. It's just not a good idea.

Sooo...here's why math was involved. I kept having to break the book down into pieces. There was the first third, then the second half of the second third, then the first three eighths of the final third and the next eighth and then the following two eighths...it was really hard, ok? Fractions pain me enough and then I had to average all the ratings from each fraction. And now I would like to share the misery with you.

It started out like this (this is all for the first 1/3): "Oh! WTH? Where am I? What's going on? Another magic I don't understand? How did this all happen? WHO CARES! Let's just go! Wheee! This is fun!"
That got 4 stars

The next 1/3 dropped down to maybe 3.5 stars for the first half not for any reason other than it was a lot of stuff just to get to where we were going. And that's fine. You know. Whatever. But then the second half of the second 1/3 was all...WHAT? That SO would not happen? Why did that happen? Who is even talking? What the hell is going on? Can someone explain this to me? Someone? Because I've just totally been kicked off this train and I can't even see it anymore as I bump my way down the rocky gorge to the frothing water below. No, make that lava. Frothing lava below.
That second half of the second 1/3 barely got 2 stars and that was because I was feeling guilty for becoming suddenly stupid and not understanding the story. Had I been angry, the star would have numbered: 1.

But then I came out of that and we were back up to 3.5 stars, rising nicely at the beginning of the third 1/3. After about 2/8 of the third 1/3, though, it got all weird again. It was like squishy logic which I like to think is akin to fuzzy logic only without numbers because, dude, that doesn't even make any sense in the first place. So we're having squishy logic and I'm not feeling so good about it for a bit and then we suddenly fall out of the dark and into a clearing of clarity and joy. For several eighths everything is going swimmingly and we're back up to 4 stars but then, direly, around the sixth 1/8 and all the way to the end, it went all roller coaster. Ups and downs. Clarity and confusion. I got it and then I was stupid again. And it wasn't aphasia so don't even try to tell me that's what was happening.

I liked Francesca a whole lot...except for when I didn't. And there were plenty of times I didn't.
And who is Cyrus? (I know who Cyrus is, I just didn't see the point of him and, by the end, I didn't even know which side anyone was on or that sides had officially been declared)
I'm not sure why the old man was still hanging about, running around without his ghost, on death's doorstep every time we saw him.
I'm not sure why there were kobolds in diminishing numbers but then they fell out of the story.
I was shocked that Nicodemus had his big revelation in the course of two days or something? He seemed to suddenly grasp what everyone else had been telling him all along extremely suddenly - that's more than just sudden. It's extremely sudden. And his grasp of the big truth was extremely sudden.

So I got confused a lot and I felt dumb. It made me angry that a fantasy novel was making me feel dumb because, historically, those are the books that used to make me feel (and sound) smart. But I'm not 14 anymore and maybe I just need to stop being a dork and learn to live like a real boy. Girl. Grownup.

I dunno.

I'm still excited about the third book because maybe I will have grown enlightenment by then and the sense of it all will come crashing into my mind.(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 FantasyWereld rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: volwassenen

Tien jaar geleden stond de jonge spreukschrijver Nicodemus Kras in De Taal der Spreuken tegenover een demon die hem vervloekt had. In de afgelopen tien jaar heeft Nicodemus zich verdiept in de enige taal die hij nog foutloos kan spellen: die van de kobolden, een paarse, magische taal die enkel in het donker werkt. Al die tijd kan hij niet meer in de talen van de magiërs schrijven en de Oertaal is ook niet meer veilig voor zijn kakografie. Zelfs het vriendschappelijk vastpakken van een hand leidt...more Tien jaar geleden stond de jonge spreukschrijver Nicodemus Kras in De Taal der Spreuken tegenover een demon die hem vervloekt had. In de afgelopen tien jaar heeft Nicodemus zich verdiept in de enige taal die hij nog foutloos kan spellen: die van de kobolden, een paarse, magische taal die enkel in het donker werkt. Al die tijd kan hij niet meer in de talen van de magiërs schrijven en de Oertaal is ook niet meer veilig voor zijn kakografie. Zelfs het vriendschappelijk vastpakken van een hand leidt voor de ander tot de dood. Terwijl Nicodemus met zichzelf worstelt, krijgt de demon steeds meer macht in de stad Avel. Het wezen is vastbesloten om alle magische talen – ook de Oertaal – voorgoed te veranderen en zo het leven ingrijpend te veranderen.
Nicodemus wil alles doen om de demon tegen te houden, maar er zijn meer gevaren in Avel dan hij kan overzien, terwijl sommige vijanden soms ook bondgenoten zijn. Nicodemus begeeft zich in een web zonder te weten wat aan welke draad hangt. Het doorsnijden of juist laten hangen van de verkeerde draad kan zijn einde betekenen, en misschien wel dat van al het gewone leven…

Vertrouwde wereld, veel spanning
In De Taal der Spreuken is de wereld waar Nicodemus in leeft, uitgebreid besproken. Het lezen van De Macht der Spreuken voelt dan ook als thuiskomen. Zelfs nieuwe zaken – zoals de taal van de priesters – en nieuwe personages lijken er altijd al te zijn geweest. Maar hoe vertrouwd de wereld ook is, hij blijft magisch.
De thuiskomst is echter niet rustig. Je valt direct in het verhaal en er is slechts één ding duidelijk: Avel is een wespennest. Diverse personages zitten al vanaf het begin tot aan hun – soms gouden – oren in de problemen. De een leest dat zijn schrijver is vermoord, de ander probeert – tevergeefs – een leven te redden, terwijl een derde haar leven op het spel zet door een magische taal te gebruiken die ze niet kent. En de problemen blijven maar komen… Ademhalen is op sommige plaatsen mogelijk voor de lezer, maar zorg dat je voor de start alvast een voorraadje zuurstof hebt, want de eerste bladzijde grijpt je bij je polsen en de tweede slaat zijn klauwen in je hoofd. Zelf een adempauze inlassen is vrij lastig, want de woorden blijven komen.

Wil je de gehele recensie lezen? Klik dan hier:
http://www.fantasywereld.nl/recensies...(less)

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Nov 08, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, library, favorites, read-2012

Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

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 repe...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 12, 2011 Jean Tatro rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

As a sequel should, Spellbound ramps up the story from Spellwright, and smooth over many of its faults. I still find the foreshadowing and pacing weak at times, though much improved. We get to see more of the rich and intriguing world and magic system, and the word play is top notch. I really liked the characters, though I wish there had been more from Nicodemus's point of view. Though it felt predictable, I really enjoyed how the ending played out as well.

The book is surprisingly stand alone, t...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favourites

Well what can I say.

Normally I'm reluctant to go the full five stars with a book (well, not that reluctant but I rarely give entire series all fives unless I absolutely love them). However when I finished this brilliant follow up to Spellwright I had to award another five stars.

Blake Charlton may not be receiving the accolades of Pat Rothfuss but I would encourage every true fantasy lover to engage in this series and read it. Both are equally deserving up and comers in the genre from what I've r...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Diana Thayer rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this, and thought that it was better than Spellwright (though I enjoyed that novel too.) I appreciated the numerous medical interpolations - they're clinically very interesting - and Words and ideas associated with communication, writing, linguistics and text are treated very uniquely and with both a medical and compassionate feel (from individual experience, it seems.) I also enjoyed the puns!

In some respects I thought that the interaction and character/relationship development...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-science-fiction

Spellbound, the second in an epic fantasy trilogy, is far better and more fascinating than Spellwright (the first book). I couldn't put it down. Thankfully, I had long layovers and a delay (I’ve never been thankful for a delay before, which gives you an idea of how much I loved this book) and I read all in one day!

It is one of the best fantasy books I've read the past two years. Charlton has improved as a writer and that blessing is evident throughout this book. His world building is better and...more
Spellbound, the second in an epic fantasy trilogy, is far better and more fascinating than Spellwright (the first book). I couldn't put it down. Thankfully, I had long layovers and a delay (I’ve never been thankful for a delay before, which gives you an idea of how much I loved this book) and I read all in one day!

It is one of the best fantasy books I've read the past two years. Charlton has improved as a writer and that blessing is evident throughout this book. His world building is better and he has created a richly detailed and charming fantasy world, without the infodumps that bugged me in the first book. One of the elements of the first book that I really liked, the truly unique and fascinating magic system (prose written magically in one’s muscles and flung out as spells), is expanded upon as we encounter at least four more variations of this prose based system used by different practitioners and we see how these differences affect the local society and fit into the world as a whole. Fascinating.

The events of Spellbound take place ten years after Spellwright, and the focus is not on that books protagonist, Nicodemous Weal, but on a doctor and cleric, Francesca DeVega. DeVega is a wonderful character, witty, stubborn, fierce and, at times, quite grumpy. I love that she thinks like a doctor even in her observation and appreciation of a fine specimen of manhood (“As he worked, Francesca could see in perfect detail the muscular anatomy of his back- his shoulder’s deltoid bunched up as he lifted one arm, the wing of his scapula bone moving smoothly under his olive skin, the broad latissimus muscle that gave him a triangle shape…”).

Nicodemous has matured quite a bit in this book and become a more complex and darker character. I didn’t like him much in the last book, but in this book he stole my heart. I ached for him in his inability to touch anyone without causing them harm (and found myself mentally begging the author to find a way to let someone touch him before the end of the trilogy). Most of the characters from the last book are in this one, with the introduction of several new ones. The character development in this book was very well done, as was the wit and banter in the dialogue between several of the characters. Humor is not always handled well in epic fantasy, but Charlton gets it just right.

Spellbound really has a bit of everything, interesting magic system, interesting and intriguing characters, good dialogue and banter, layers of politics and personal desires driving action, drama, romance, tragedy, horror and surprising plot twists, etc. And I was truly delighted by the ending, on multiple levels. I can’t wait for the next book!
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Sep 18, 2011 Eduardo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

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...more 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!(less)

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Dec 08, 2011 Leo Elijah Cristea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Blake Charlton’s Spellbound featured in my recent “Best of 2011” post, however, I’d not yet finished the book, and had I written that list when I had, it may well have been awarded a higher ranking than it was.

Spellbound returns to the cast of Spellwright—ten years after the events that took place. The cast from the first book return—Nicodemus Weal, Deidre, Magister Shannon—and continue their plight to prevent the Disjunction, whilst keeping Nicodemus safe, now exiled from Starhaven and his stud...more Blake Charlton’s Spellbound featured in my recent “Best of 2011” post, however, I’d not yet finished the book, and had I written that list when I had, it may well have been awarded a higher ranking than it was.

Spellbound returns to the cast of Spellwright—ten years after the events that took place. The cast from the first book return—Nicodemus Weal, Deidre, Magister Shannon—and continue their plight to prevent the Disjunction, whilst keeping Nicodemus safe, now exiled from Starhaven and his studies, considered a murderer and a dangerous cacographer. In a new part of Charlton’s world we meet new characters—Francesca, Cyrus and a handful of supporting cast.

Essentially Spellbound is the middle book in the trilogy, but it’s so much more than that besides. Building on the excellent story told through the first book, this second instalment couldn’t do more to avoid “middle-book” syndrome: Spellbound feels like an epic adventure filled with intrigue, twists and everything a reader may have come to expect from Charlton’s work. There’s nothing “middle-y” about this book: in fact, however good Spellwright was, Spellbound swoops down and takes the crown. It is a superb book, and a unique book with its own ideas, themes and rules. It is an excellent and relevant book, not only in a sense of personal discovery, but also in regards to the forthcoming fantasy Renaissance, as termed by Charlton himself when I interviewed him for Fantasy Faction.

Spellbound delivers everything promised—and then some. From the first page Spellbound is a page-turner and the delivery of the story is expertly done, especially since more modern readers might be unfamiliar with the idea of a “ten years later” vein of approach. It works in this instance, and despite the fact that we rejoin events and a whole ten years of action is essentially missing from our knowledge, it doesn’t matter: we can infer that the whole time has been spent continuing on in the war against Typhon and his Disjunction, with Nicodemus training the Kobolds and seeking his lost emerald. The in-between bits do not matter expressly as we are able to grasp the whole.

The gap in time allows us to more easily accept the new protagonist, Francesca DeVega, who now shares the limelight with Nicodemus. There are no rushed or clumsy introductions of this new character, as so much time has gone by and we enter a new decade of the larger story. Francesca’s introduction is as natural as it should be with no effort made to merge her with the story: the new story is her story. Her story in this instance begins ten years after the beginning of Spellwright. She is an enjoyable addition to the cast and her rapport with Nicodemus is one of the elements that truly makes the book. Their banter and discussion on Nicodemus’ disability—from the perspective of a physician—is enjoyable, amusing and insightful.

Charlton’s style has improved from his début—it is now confident and seamless and he paints the world he imagines both vividly and effortlessly. Much of Charlton can be glimpsed through both protagonists and this makes the story all the stronger, because the reader knows it is authentic.

Spellbound is a fantastic, exhilarating read that kept me flicking the pages at lightspeed, just to finish it. The twists are well-plotted, exciting, and the kind that make you go “aha!” if you get it mere pages before, or “ohhhh” if you’re enlightened at the same time as the cast. A truly excellent book, Spellbound needs to be considered one of the best books of 2011.

One of the best elements of Charlton’s evolved style is his exposition: the reader sees the world as and when the characters see it, and his approach does not flood the story with his worldbuilding, but rather allows the reader to truly explore the setting as the story progresses from location to location. Charlton’s world is tight, vivid, and real.

Spellbound was a pleasure and an excitement to read and I can only hope that Spellbreaker (?) will deliver far past expectations, just as both its predecessors have. A fantastic addition to the series and full of absolutely everything any damn good fantasy novel should be. An extremely satisfying read.(less)

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Aug 03, 2011 Andrew Liptak rated it 4 of 5 stars

A disclaimer: a copy of this book was provided by Blake, who had consulted me at one point about the military elements of the story.

Blake Charlton’s second novel has remained one of my more anticipated books of the year, ever since I set aside his first, Spellwright. Set ten years after the events of his first novel, Spellbound picks up the action and world nicely, proving to be an entertaining and enthralling read, while avoiding the pitfalls of the dreaded sophomore slump.

When we last left Nic...more A disclaimer: a copy of this book was provided by Blake, who had consulted me at one point about the military elements of the story.

Blake Charlton’s second novel has remained one of my more anticipated books of the year, ever since I set aside his first, Spellwright. Set ten years after the events of his first novel, Spellbound picks up the action and world nicely, proving to be an entertaining and enthralling read, while avoiding the pitfalls of the dreaded sophomore slump.

When we last left Nicodemus Weal, he’d been through hell, discovering some of the reasons behind his disability and coming up with some stunning revelations about the world around him. Ten years on, we’re introduced to Francesca DeVega, a healer who stumbles into the middle of a grand conspiracy when a patient that she accidentally kills awakens, sending her into a world of trouble, colliding with Nicodemus as he prepares to meet agents of a larger agenda, working to change the world for the worse, bringing about the Disjunction, where the world’s language prime is re-written, eliminating life as they all know it.

Spellbound was a fun read: Charlton brings out a great tale, one that moves swiftly from point to point without letting up on the urgency. Like Spellwright, Spellbound is a great story within a story: like some of the great fantasy worlds, the focus is on the characters, operating within a much larger story. While there are points where I would have liked to have strayed and explored the story’s rich world a bit more, Charlton clamps down a bit and keeps the story moving forward. The result is a fairly focused narrative, with points that I had wished been fleshed out or explained a little more. Spellbound is going to be a bit of a harder book for an introductory reader (Spellwright should certainly be read first), but for readers aching for more after Spellwright, it’s a welcomed addition to the world. It fits perfectly, taking much of the same tone and pace, and it’s as if one never left.

Where Spellwright focused extensively on the disabilities and triumph on the part of Nicodemus, Spellbound takes a bit of a different turn by focusing almost extensively on Francesca, a healer. Charlton has drawn from his own life experiences when it comes to his dyslexia, and while that’s certainly an element of the story here, he’s moved past the problems and focused on things: medicine. One of the sheer joys of reading a new novel is seeing what the author does to a genre differently, and here, we see a neat blend of magic and medical science. Fantastic literature tends to gloss over some of the details of how the systems actually work: Charlton has taken a much different approach with his own magical system, and where it was a delight in Spellwright, it’s an absolute joy to see it fleshed out here. The world building is once again top notch, and where the first book had a bit of a narrow view of the world, the second rips it open, and we see quite a bit more: the politics, environment, lives of the people, and so forth, all in far more detail.

The medical element adds a nice touch too: presumably, people in any fantastic world have issues with their health, and rather than a bunch of vague understandings, we’re presented with a deep understanding of the human body, and how not only magic would affect someone, but how a person wielding magic would be able to treat and address wounds and illnesses. This element alone gives the book a good edge over other, similar reads out there, and it’s certainly one of my favorites for the year so far.

Spellbound isn’t a perfect read, however. Like the first book, there’s some pacing issues: where book one was strongest to begin with, this one feels like it’s spinning its wheels a bit in the beginning, explaining, connecting and setting the stage before carrying everything over into the conclusion. Coupled with an overly rich world, I kept feeling as if I’d missed something, going back a couple of pages to catch up. Given that it’s also been about a year since I picked up Spellwright, I’m looking forward to the day when I can pick up all three books and read them consecutively: I suspect that a lot of things will fall into place when that happens. There’s points where the dialogue, while pithy and appropriate at points, feels forced and out of place.

Spellbound is a fun, exciting read, one that deserves the attention and more of its predecessor. Rather than retread over old ground, Charlton has paved his way forward based on the lessons learned (presumably from his own experiences) in the prior book, building and expanding them aggressively in the second. The story is loaded with interesting characters, a story that works well and that comes unexpectedly at points, and a world that is worth returning to often. The result is a rich, textured read, one that shows what fantasy should be when it encounters a creative and curious mind, a second novel that doesn’t disappoint. I’m already waiting for Disjunction, the final book in the trilogy.
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Oct 12, 2011 Tyson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy

This book is so much fun. It starts with the rush of action and exhilaration with which most fantasy stories end. We've all read enough of them to know the formula - slow pace methodically building up to the fantastic finish, the finish the author wrote the book to get to, the beginning and middle just being that annoying necessity. Mr. (Dr.?) Charlton kicks that standard template in the ass and provides a 400 page rush. I enjoyed every second of it.

The story picks up 10 years after Spellwright...more

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About Blake Charlton

Blake Charlton overcame severe dyslexia at 13 years old when he began sneaking fantasy and science fiction books into special ed study hall. Somehow this inspired Blake to become a novelist and a physician, but he's feeling much better now. Thanks for asking.

Recently Blake graduated from the Stanford University School of Medicine and published SPELLWRIGHT and SPELLBOUND, the first two books in th...more

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Quotes from Spellbound

“[Francesca] 'You really are a few biscuits short of breakfast.'
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
'You're a few colors shy of a rainbow?' she offered. 'Not pulling a full wagon? Knitting with only one needle? All foam and no beer? Your cheese slid off the cracker? You couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel?'
[Nicodemus] 'All right. I get it.” — 7 people liked it

“[Nicodemus] 'Magistra DeVega, can I ask for your help?'

[DeVega] 'You can ask,' she said with her usual calmness, 'but the clerics haven't developed a cure for death by idiotic leadership.” — 4 people liked it

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