Crystalborne Sigils (The Deliberia Chronicles, #1) in GR Won't Let Us Delete This Group But It Ended July 1, 2022.

May 18, 2022 Rik Ty rated it it was amazing

Beautiful Magic (very mild spoilers ahead)

Somewhere there is a ship that is sailing. Quietly, in the timbers of the ship, there is magic, or perhaps the magic is in the gaps between the timbers, or solely within the wills of the people who stride the decks or dare to command. Our author, S. Lynn Helton, doesn’t push the issue in this early novel. The magic is there, for those who know how to draw it out. The ship is the Deliberia, an exotic vessel that can open spaces on the high seas, and use t Beautiful Magic (very mild spoilers ahead)

Somewhere there is a ship that is sailing. Quietly, in the timbers of the ship, there is magic, or perhaps the magic is in the gaps between the timbers, or solely within the wills of the people who stride the decks or dare to command. Our author, S. Lynn Helton, doesn’t push the issue in this early novel. The magic is there, for those who know how to draw it out. The ship is the Deliberia, an exotic vessel that can open spaces on the high seas, and use them to travel . . . well, maybe I shouldn’t say.

The Deliberia stays behind the scenes throughout most of Helton’s opening novel. But as it pulls into the harbor town of Hawei in the first pages of Helton’s book: Crystalborne Sigils, it brings with it a beautiful atmosphere of mystery and foreboding.

Hawei is a town in the Atturei Empire, an empire that claims to have outlawed magic, but has merely sought to monopolize its use. Citizens who have magical talents are oppressed, referred to as “the Blighted” and made to face greater and greater restrictions to their lives and livelihoods as the empire begins to completely remove them from the general populace.

Gyasi K’rond, the tallymaster of Hawei’s harbor, is a blighted person himself, though not overtly, and when he meets Alorsha, the stunning spokesperson for the ship, he is intrigued. Something is up. Things are no longer ordinary.

Helton gives us a book where we find out more about the crew of the ship and its aims, the life of Gyasi and its deterioration due to the empire’s mounting oppressions, and the common ground that builds between Gyasi and the crew of the Deliberia. They are friendly with each other right from the start, and as the story develops, it seems that their desires can be realized best by teaming up.

There are many nicely drawn characters in this mid-sized novel. Standouts for me are Gyasi, Alorsha, the minor villain Usrai, and my favorite, Gyasi ‘s younger brother Toa, who teases Gyasi in refreshing ways, and whose directness is always a welcome change of pace when compared to Gyasi’s more guarded, and contemplative approach to things.

Alorsha is not the mysterious ship’s captain, but she is its driving force. She is trying to retrieve her life partner Jarthan, from a magic-stealing villain named Devrand. Using her own magic, Alorsha has been able to track the general direction of Devrand’s movements, but so far, she has not succeeded in catching him.

Helton writes well, and calmly. This is a book that stays away from hysterics, and doesn’t rely on fantasy tropes to get by. Helton tells a straight story that is effortless to read. The book borrows a few tropes from World War two in its persecution of the Blighted, but not every reader will notice, and few are likely to mind.

For a few years now, much has been made of Brandon Sanderson’s logical approach to magic systems. Many authors have picked up the baton and have made devising fictional magic systems a specific new art form – something akin to music, or dance, or poetry. S. Lynn Helton is a full-hearted practitioner of this new art form. She gives us two separate magic systems in this novel, and their conceptualizations are often very pretty. Helton also creates good moments where the magics are discussed, and compared, and even slightly combined (at least used side by side). These scenes also provide moments of trust building, admiration, and character growth -- as well as giving the characters the ability to try and plan, to believe they have specific answers for problems they might face as events drive them to greater conflict with the forces of the empire.

I think S. Lynn Helton has done a great job, The book is an easy read. The pace is brisk but not rushed. The stakes are high but not gory. I loved the characters of Alorsha and Toa, and as Gyasi undergoes the growth the book seems to imply for him (he starts out, guarded, pensive, unsure, and under-confident -traits caused more by his specific circumstances than by innate characteristics). His situation is changing. He will change along with it, and as he does, I’m sure readers will love him too. Helton should also get credit for inventing so many character names, and for ensuring that they all LOOK different on the page. It is always easy to tell who is doing what in this book.

The ship is sailing. For a few books it will be about Alorsha’s quest to rescue Jarthan from Devrand. Its crew will likely shed and gain members along the way, and when the quest is over, the ship itself may still be sailing. Who knows? whatever S. Lynn Helton has in mind, the possibilities are wide open.

Fantasy fans with room for another series should definitely get on board. Stow away if you have to! ...more

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Jun 09, 2022 Susanne Leist rated it it was amazing

Gyasi K'rond, the Harbor Tallymaster of the Docks, is also a storehouse merchant and a man determined to keep his true identity hidden. He and his brother Toabi descend from a family of Magickas, people who practice the Empire's forbidden magic. The Emperor is determined to wipe out every last trace of the Blighted, even family members who show no signs of magic. As additional laws are enacted against the descendants of the Blighted, Gyasi grows angry and restless to break free. He wants to marr ...more

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Jun 04, 2022 E.K. Frances rated it really liked it

Well written fantasy novel

Crystalborne Sigils tells the story of a world where magic is forbidden. The arrival of a ship, the Deliberia, changes everything for those with magical birth lines, ‘the Blighted’. The story follows Gya on a quest to find his brother and friends and Alorsha in her journey to find her life partner.

Gya as the protagonist is likeable - he is guarded, loyal and lacks confidence; his abilities grow as the story progresses, but that lack of belief in himself remains. Alorsha ...more

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Mar 26, 2024 Gene Kendall rated it really liked it

Crystalborne Sigils opens with a strange ship named The Deliberia docking in the land of the Atturei Empire. "Strange" means "magical" most likely, creating an issue for the Atturei. The rulers of this land have outlawed the use of magic, creating a life of secrecy and paranoia for our lead character, a mage named Gya. The novel's co-lead is Alorsha, the ship's envoy. She has her own interpretation of magic, and a personality that contrasts with the more reserved Gya. The author clearly enjoys m ...more

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