What do you think?
Rate this book
Ethshar #8
Ithanalin's Restoration
When Magic Goes Awry . . .
What is an aspiring apprentice wizard to do when she finds her mentor and master frozen in his tracks by mysterious magics?
Kilisha of Eastgate, a promising young student of wizardry in the city of Ethshar of the Rocks, still has much to learn before she can assume the robes of a journeyman enchanter. But when her teacher, the venerable Ithanalin the Wise, is overcome by a peculiar spell that scatters his soul amongst a collection of runaway household furnishings, it is up to Kilisha to find the cause and restore him to his former self. Adventure and mayhem abound.
What is an aspiring apprentice wizard to do when she finds her mentor and master frozen in his tracks by mysterious magics?
Kilisha of Eastgate, a promising young student of wizardry in the city of Ethshar of the Rocks, still has much to learn before she can assume the robes of a journeyman enchanter. But when her teacher, the venerable Ithanalin the Wise, is overcome by a peculiar spell that scatters his soul amongst a collection of runaway household furnishings, it is up to Kilisha to find the cause and restore him to his former self. Adventure and mayhem abound.
264 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 2002
17 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 8, 2023
A return to lower, more personal stakes after the last couple of books in the series (one of which I skipped, because it didn't sound like something I would enjoy). A wizard's spell goes wrong and distributes his soul (or equivalent) between a number of household objects, most of which then flee the house and go missing. The wizard's young (late-teenage) apprentice must track them down and perform a restoration spell to get him back. The title kind of gives away that she succeeds, but how she succeeds is the enjoyable bit: she exhibits determination, cleverness, the smart use of her resources (including spells, friends, and a new potential love interest), courage, and a level of forethought that is, for her, a mark of personal growth.
The timeframe overlaps with The Spell of the Black Dagger, and the events of that book distract all the senior wizards enough that the apprentice has to be the one to take care of this book's problem, which is a neat trick on the part of the author.
Like a lot of these books, a coming-of-age novel - more so in fact than most of them - but none the worse for that. Still, it isn't the best of the series so far for me. It's perhaps a little bit too much of a linear problem-solving quest, with not much going on beyond that. Still enjoyable.
The timeframe overlaps with The Spell of the Black Dagger, and the events of that book distract all the senior wizards enough that the apprentice has to be the one to take care of this book's problem, which is a neat trick on the part of the author.
Like a lot of these books, a coming-of-age novel - more so in fact than most of them - but none the worse for that. Still, it isn't the best of the series so far for me. It's perhaps a little bit too much of a linear problem-solving quest, with not much going on beyond that. Still enjoyable.
June 16, 2020
Apprentice Wizard at work!
This novel chronologically takes place at the same time as the events in #6 The Spell Of The Black Dagger but in a different city. Because of the major political crisis going on when Master Wizard Ithanalin has a spell misfire the only wizard available to help is his apprentice. While the young lady has access to her Masters spell book she has never done the spell needed to set things right and must spend time learning and practicing the spell in addition to rounding up all the objects affected when Ithanalin's spell went wrong. The apprentice makes use of several different spells some of which are new to readers beyond mere mention of the name in earlier stories.
This novel chronologically takes place at the same time as the events in #6 The Spell Of The Black Dagger but in a different city. Because of the major political crisis going on when Master Wizard Ithanalin has a spell misfire the only wizard available to help is his apprentice. While the young lady has access to her Masters spell book she has never done the spell needed to set things right and must spend time learning and practicing the spell in addition to rounding up all the objects affected when Ithanalin's spell went wrong. The apprentice makes use of several different spells some of which are new to readers beyond mere mention of the name in earlier stories.
May 13, 2023
A teenage apprentice wizard returns home to find that her master has had a magical accident that has somehow sent his mind from his body and into a bunch of things in the room —a couch, a coat rack, a mirror, a spoon...— and most of them, the ones with legs, anyway, have run away. The apprentice must retrieve all these items and then attempt to cast a spell more powerful than any she has tried before in order to reintegrate her master.
This story follows the apprentice wizard Kilisha as she searches for the runaway animated objects, learning more about wizardry and her neighbors as she does so, with occasional misunderstandings and moments of slapstick. It's a light, easy read.
This story follows the apprentice wizard Kilisha as she searches for the runaway animated objects, learning more about wizardry and her neighbors as she does so, with occasional misunderstandings and moments of slapstick. It's a light, easy read.
January 6, 2024
Having only read one other book of Ishtar(the Misenchanted Sword), I was surprised at the rather juvenile tone of this book. It was a fun read still, I just tire easily of repetitive rehashing of the problem faced.
August 22, 2017
A light-weight read, but entertaining nonetheless.
July 26, 2018
I chuckled out loud a number of times.
July 15, 2019
This is the author at his best. If you love the absurd predicaments of the Ethshar books then this is a must read.
January 15, 2022
A fun Ethshar book! I laughed out loud several times at the furniture escapades.
December 30, 2024
DNF. Liked the premise but couldn't get into it.
December 10, 2025
*3.5 stars. Really fun concept. Execution could have been better.
May 14, 2008
This is one the Magic of Ethshar series of books. I recorded most of them, including this one, in 50-55 minute installments for my local Golden Hours radio service for blind or reading-impaired listeners. I also made CD copies for myself.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
My favorite book in the series is The Missenchanted Sword, closely followed by The Blood of a Dragon.
March 3, 2015
This is a very nice tale that further explains the wizardry in Ethshar. There is a lot of cross over to other books n the series but nothing that keeps this story from standing on its own. You will be delighted if this is your first venture into the world of Ethshar to find the other wonderful stories in the series.
March 19, 2009
As the terrible pun in the title indicates, this story follows a wizard's apprentice in the quest to put his soul back together after it is accidentally distributed amongst all the furniture in a room. The furniture, of course, becomes animate and makes a break for it. Clever and charming.
April 20, 2021
A fun, lighthearted read about a young apprentice magician that gets her act together. I enjoy most of the books written by Watt-Evans. The Ethshar stories are his happier stories that have different characters for each work, you can read them in any order.
Read
August 8, 2008WANTED,Ethshar #8
July 8, 2010
A nice light hearted fantasy. A good summertime read.
October 25, 2013
The kind of fantasy book I would have loved as a teenager, and clearly liked as an adult. Simplistic plot but some funny scenes, shallow but fun characters (with hideous fantasy names).
May 31, 2021
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
April 10, 2015
Good fun, one of the smaller ethshar stories but entertaining nonetheless.
February 23, 2016
One of the weakest of the Ethshar series in my opinion.
Suggest reading Misenchanted Sword, Spriggan Mirror instead.
Suggest reading Misenchanted Sword, Spriggan Mirror instead.
August 11, 2016
Fun light fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews