Book Review: Spellbreaker by Charlie N Holmberg

Spellmaker by Charlie N. Holmberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is imaginative and creative writing. There is no doubt in my mind that the author is very clever. I kept asking myself how she came up with some of the storylines.

Usually, as any of my followers know, I get irritated if the pace is a bit slow. Although I thought that the pace of the first third of this book was a bit slow, I actually enjoyed having the story unfold at a leisurely pace. I think that it was necessary as a prelude for what was to come and I found it quite relaxing.

There were shades of Dennis Wheatley in the story, as the connections between magic and the government, and even the Queen, were revealed. There was certainly strict control over the magical powers of the spell makers and the spell breakers.

I loved that a spell breaker could unravel the threads of the runes that represented the spells. Only they could see and hear those spells.

There was plenty of conflict, intrigue, mystery and tension. There were divisions of class and it became apparent that it takes money to elevate a person with magical powers to become a master. There were lots of delicious twists and turns, especially in the final chapters.

The use of Latin in the definition of the spells was is a master stroke. Latin can be like a code and yet not a code. It provides yet another element of mystery.

I highly recommend Spellbreaker to anyone who enjoys a crime mystery with a heavy layer of magic.




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