This was a good start to a series. The magic system was good. The descriptions really made it feel like an old western. I didn't really feel a connection to the characters but I did feel like the setting itself needed more. There wasn't really much information about where its set and what it looks like. The people are brutal but I felt like there was something missing and I'm not sure what that was.

Fabulous fantasy with an amazingly witty, self-deprecating hero in Kellen, an even sassier sidekick in Reichis, and a kickass companion in Ferius. I loved the voice here and the plot is excellent, as a series of twists and turns build to a stunning climax. Superb.

I'll be completely honest, this book took me a long time to get into. The book places you in the middle of the action with very little information to go on. Once you are in the story though, I found it much more enjoyable. This is a first book in a series which follows Kellen, a member of a powerful magic family, Kellen however, has very little magic ability and relies on tricks to get by. This didn't feel like a brand new idea but the premise drew me in with a different twist on a popular theme.

My favourite thing in this book was the characters. Kellen, for the most part, was funny and felt realistic (apart from his love of a completely underdeveloped character who we know next to nothing about and yet he is the only one who can truly see how perfect and intelligent she is.... ugh). Seeing Kellen develop an understanding of the world and its flaws as he realises what he thought was a great life and community isn't what it seems.

This book was quite predictable, I knew who the villain was as soon as we met them and I was surprised by the big reveal, I wasn't hugely disappointed either, I think it was executed in a good way.
Not a perfect book, but not as bad as I'd been lead to believe either.

3/5 stars

I have fallen in love with this series, and my only regret is not reading it sooner. How was I to know that I needed a fantastical western with a talking squirrel-cat in my life? And trust me when I say you need it to! This was such a fun read and as I write this I’m already halfway through book three and am even more in love with the story.

Spellslinger follows Kellen, an aspiring mage fast approaching his sixteenth birthday and the trials that will determine his future path. But unlike his classmates, Kellen's magic just won’t spark. Now with time running out, Kellen must resort to cunning tricks to deceive his way through the trials… or risk falling into a life of servitude. But magic darker than he ever dreamed is at work, and kellen’s is about to discover, his noble people may not be so grand and noble after all…

I am in love with Kellen. He is such an unfortunate character and everything in his life goes from bad to worse. Each time I prayed and hoped for some magical miracle (it is a fantasy after all) none ever arrived. Even Kellen’s victories get shadowed by ominous news, and following Kellen from one disaster to the next was riveting. I simply could not put this book down!

At heart Kellen is just a normal guy, and the idea to have this normal guy head a fantasy story is just brilliant. Kellen is literally the underdog, written as the hero and wow does it work well. His suffering, his triumphs, they all add together to make you love Kellen more and more.

I also adored the main cast of characters - but I’m sure everyone’s favourite will be Reichi, the talking squirrel cat. He threw in a dose of much need humour - plus plenty of drama - from the moment he entered the story. Without doubt he gets the best dialog and I like how his tough thinking balances out Kellen’s timidness.

Then there is Ferius, another tough character who’s backstory I can’t wait to discover. And her choice of weapon… steel edged cards! She is a woman not to be messed with!

Sadly though I found the secondary characters somewhat lacking in, well… character. Aside from fancy names that confused me (at times I really couldn't keep straight the bad guy or his cronies) there was very little else to distinguish them. And while I enjoyed the magic system (Kellen, I think, explains it really well) I wish the world building had a bit more depth.

Otherwise the book has very little romance - although the pinch that’s in there is remarkably sweet. However this wasn't a deal breaker for me as Kellen did indeed have much bigger problems than worrying about his love life.

All in all though I really liked this story. It just sucked me in and wouldn't let go until I had turned the last page and I instantly needed to jump into book 2, then 3 with 4 soon to follow :)

4.5 Stars!

Kellan comes from a people with two very different types of citizen, you either pass your magic trials before your sixteenth birthday and become Jan'Tep (a mage) or you fail and become Sha'Tep (basically second class citizens whose only duty is to serve the mages). Kellan comes from a powerful family so there should be no question about whether he'll pass or not, there's just one small problem though, his magic is gone. If Kellan can't find a way to get it back his life will be a misery but when Ferius, a mysterious traveller, passes through his village she makes him question everything and offers him the chance at a different kind of life.

There is a lot to love about Spellslinger, the story was fast paced and had me totally hooked from very early on. It was very easy to connect to Kellan and it felt like I was going though the trials right alongside him, I hurt for him when he failed and I wanted to climb into the book to defend him when he was bullied by other kids his age for his practically nonexistent magic. There was a lot of humour in the story but there were some really dark things too. It was hard to like any of the Jan'Tep and Kellan's parents crossed lines that were incredibly painful to read about so I'd happily set them on fire and watch them burn.

It was only the humour that Ferius brought to the story and the addition of Reichus, the talking squirrel cat, that kept this from being a bit too dark for me but they were such fun characters to read about and I was so invested in Kellan's story that I couldn't put the book down. I have very high hopes for this series and can't wait to see where Kellan's journey takes him next.

I'm a huge fan of Traitor's Blade and was so excited when a second series was announced. I'm relieved to say Spellslinger does not disappoint!

Action-packed and full of Castell's trademark humour, Spellslinger is perfect for fans of ADSOM.. I'm so thrilled to have the sequel in easy reach!

MY REVIEW: Spellslinger (Spellslinger 1) by Sebastien De Castell (5 stars)

Kellen is failing at becoming a mage of the Jan'Tep, due to lack of his own higher magic. At one of his failures he is saved by Ferius, a tough Argosi with bravado and jokes to spare.

Underdogs always have a special place in my heart, especially tricky young ones like Kellen. Without realizing, you are invested in his adventure. Emotions are felt due to narrative, not just stated. Ferius oozes brash her brash charm as she becomes a teacher of a different kind of "magic". She is an immediately likeable character and you wish to learn more about her. And Reichis's antics and sarcasm are a joy to read.

Enjoyed learning about the Jan'Tep magical system, which pulls you in from the get go. As does the protagonist's absence of the magic of his family, and the possibility of an explanation. The intrigue of this world is served slowly with tidbits instead of a full blown explanation, tickling the imagination even more and making it so much more savory.

Bravery is sometimes found where it is least expected, brought to the surface by situations deemed unfair. As certain events may shake the very foundation of what you thought as truth.

Entertaining, wonderfully surprising, with lurking danger and adventure. A story I would call a sort of mystical mystery, with the flair of an old Western, featuring playing cards. Complete with an applause-worthy finale

A YA fantasy novel that blends magic and western elements in a grand fashion. DeCastell is brilliant with character voices and this story makes for a rather fast read. The story of a young man in a magical world with seemingly no magic, this is a tale that will be relatable to many. Kellen is a character young people can relate to, constantly worried about not being of the same ability of his peers. I thoroughly recommend this novel.

Really enjoyed this new stArt to a good series

Let me start by saying that I love the cover of this book.
I haven't read anything by this author before and I have to say that while I enjoyed the writing, the world building wasn't very vibrant and I think that may be in part because it was described more in the previous series and to save time and pages it was brushed over in this book rather than set up again.
The plot was okay, but I am excited about the next book more.

This is my Goodreads review and will probably be cross-posted to my blog, with minor edits, in May. (I'm currently in the process of returning from hiatus and sorting out my schedule.)

EDITED TO ADD: My hiatus lasted longer than planned, but this has now been posted to my blog (in September, oops), and the link is below.

This was an intriguing book with interesting worldbuilding, although I wasn't entirely sure about all of it.

So, the worldbuilding: that was cool. I particularly liked the magic system and the idea of tattooed bands that have to be 'sparked' before spells of certain types can be performed, as it wasn't something I'd come across before and it made the book feel new and original. Although these are never explicitly explained and you're sort of left to figure them out, this is easy enough and I didn't spend the first few chapters lost in confusion the way I sometimes do. I still have a lot of questions about the worldbuilding that weren't answered, particularly about the peoples other than the Jan'Tep, but I feel like those might be dealt with in sequels.

My least favourite thing about the book would probably be the squirrel cats, even though I didn't 100% dislike them. There's something about talking animals -- even when the means of communication is magical -- that undermines my ability to take anything seriously, and while they were quite entertaining at time, I did felt they robbed certain scenes of their gravitas.

I liked Ferius, though, and I liked that even though Kellen lived in quite a misogynistic society, it was a woman who taught him to find his own power and helped him stand up to unfair systems, while being badass and entertaining in her own right. That said, I didn't necessarily appreciate the use of gendered insults and her insistence that he needed to "be a man" because... well, you know why that sort of thing bothers me. And there were a few descriptions of female characters from Kellen's point of view that made me roll my eyes. They were interesting and developed characters, but there was a hint of sexualisation in the narration that reduced them to their looks at times, and it annoyed me.

Something else I wasn't as keen on was Kellen's friendships, or the lack thereof. The fact that they could fall apart so easily was meant to demonstrate the inherent prejudices of Jan'Tep society, I guess, but I would have liked him to have more interpersonal relationships -- possibly because I didn't care about his squirrel cat companion all that much.

(I'm beginning to think the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy was listed as one of this book's comp titles was because if you can deal with Rocket Racoon you can deal with the squirrel cats, which is... fair. And like I said, I didn't 100% dislike them. I'm just not sure I was in the mood this evening for inexplicable talking animals.)

The writing style was pretty solid -- it didn't blow me away with its beauty or make me crack up or anything, but not everything has to.

I'm torn between giving this three stars or giving it four, because I think it's probably a 3.5. There was a lot to like about it, but I didn't quite click with it on a personal level. I'll go for four, I think, because I liked the ending and because it was a lot less disappointing than the other books I read today, but it was a close thing.

Kellen must pass four trials to become a spellcaster. There's only one problem - his magic is so weak that there is little chance he will spark any of the bands on his arm before his sixteenth birthday.
Then Kellen meets Ferius Parfax, a strange traveller who challenges Kellen, and they form an unlikely friendship.
Will Kellen pass the four trials?
Is Ferius a spy like people suspect? Or is she simply a traveller passing through?

Spellslinger was an intriguing read.
The idea of having to unlock bands on your arm before you can perform certain kinds of magic was interesting.
Kellen was a good character - I liked him, and felt sorry for him. I could understand why he was so desperate to pass the trials.
I liked Ferius as well. She was tough and I wanted to find out more about her.
The plot was interesting and didn't go where I was expecting it to.
The writing style was easy to follow but didn't grip me.
I love the cover and how it's like one of Ferius's cards.
I am slightly disappointed that I didn't enjoy Spellslinger as much as I thought I would.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

I've read one other book by Sebastien de Castell, Traitor's Blade, and it was a lot of fun, much like this -- although aimed at a different audience, somewhat, given that this is essentially a coming-of-age story, and deals with the various trials and tribulations of proving yourself to your society, living up to your parents' expectations, and discovering you're just not like everyone else. It surprised me in that it doesn't take the easy way out, emotionally. Kellen has to get through the whole book with more or less the same advantages he started with.

The family dynamics are just... painful. They're plainly abusive, even when they express affection/pride in any way, and it's just not at all fun to read for me. The way Kellen's friends turn their backs on him, too. I don't want it to be a true depiction of people, of family and friendship, but I'm afraid it really can be, and that's kind of awful.

Spellslinger doesn't go easy on the protagonist or the reader, it has a pretty cool magic system and world-building, and plenty of space for more adventures. Oh, and a talking animal sidekick which is not a dog, but a squirrel cat. I'm here for this.

There's plenty more room for world-building, and I feel like things might really kick off in later books -- this did feel like an origin story, though there are one or two themes that I imagine will be explored further.

Review link will be live 13th August.

The world building in this book was great, and the storyline was interesting, but I found something lacking, there was a lot of build up and it took a lot of time to build up the story, but once it did, it was exciting and fast paced, however the story felt quite wrapped up to me, so i'm not sure i'll be interested in reading the next book.

I would read anything written by Sebastian de Castell. The Greatcoats series, coming to a "shocking conclusion" with the Tyrant's Throne soon to be out, is one of my favorite running series. (Oh next on my reading list!) It's pulpy fun, old fashioned fantasy about heroic protagonists, revenge duels, political conspiracies and truckloads of bromance and a whole lotta love. So when I came across Spellslinger, his alleged YA-Fantasy debut, I was equal parts excited - and a bit dismayed. YA? Sticking to the defined cordons of this genre, would Sebastian really be able to bring out the delights of the comic camaraderie of the knights' brotherhood, that dark brooding atmosphere of conspiracies and dangers, the intensity? Or will it be a watered-down version with possibly a candyfloss romance thrown in between teens swooning for each other?

I need not have worried much. Spellslinger is a completely fresh tale, a YA-fantasy with a western frontier feel to the world, featuring a first-person narrative by this wily and courageous, even if magically untalented sixteen year old named Kellen, on the verge of his sixteenth birthday - which also happens to be the day he is to be initiated as a full mage and thereby determine his role in this rigid hierarchical society of magic practitioners - those blessed with the ability for magical spells by binding with six different elementals ( Silk & Sand, Breathe & Blood, Iron & Ember) are known as the Jan'Tepp and have roles based on their abilities. The different clans that make up this society compete for power and are kept in check by an elected authority, the last one being a prince who had been ruling all of them for past three hundred years. So cut back to Kellen, who unfortunately has not been able to "spark the bands" (that signify his ability to bond with the elements and get a spell going) is about to get into his first trial for becoming a mage - a duel with a bully in the academy. Kellen uses his cunning to get the better of his opponent but his own sister, who cannot stand a "wrong in terms of the magical rites of passage" calls him out on his trick.

A stranger named Ferius rides into the town - a lady who's sort of like a traveling performer with her card tricks and saves Kellen from getting beat up by the bully and his brothers, who also happen to be the sons of the mage heading a rival clan. Things heat up rapidly from here, with a larger conspiracy looming large on the society - of an evil, eradicated eons ago, threatening to rise again and threaten the survival of the whole society. And Kellen, the magically untalented kid, gets unwittingly drawn into this and discovers a lot of truths about not just the world he grew up in but also himself.

On the premise, it does look like it's a story that's been done before. But Sebastian's treatment makes it special and his characters really get the story going - immersing us into this magical world of spells, potions, magic tricks and talking snarky squirrel-cats. There's never a dull moment, with the duels and the attacks by the unknown evil from outside - and also the growing insidious power struggle within the society. As with the swashbuckling swordfights from the Greatcoats' series, this one here is full of in-your-face magical fights, entertaining and fraught with dangers galore. The narrative flies along at breakneck pace as conspiracies are revealed, history is ravaged and secrets come tumbling out. And the dialogues are spot-on, funny and hilarious. Kellen's first person narrative does limit the world building to his own interactions with this world but there are hints of older myths and a far larger world beyond that of the Jan'Tepp that makes sense.

Sebastian has always been a winner when it comes to the characters. Here as well, Kellen the main protagonist is sparkling, a boy who is going through a rite of passage, but remarkably bending the rules of the game to his own tunes and kicking everybody's ass. Now what Kellen lacks for in terms of magic, he more than makes up for it, with his cunning. This quality kind of sets him apart from the rest of the mages and initiates and this forms a crucial part of the overall plot. He is chosen by a powerful mage, precisely for his ability to see the big picture and not bend to the rules, like sheep. He is witty but immature at times. There are moments when he behaves like a foolish, a lovelorn teenager, yes and his confusions are hilarious but he overall, more than redeems himself with his relentless courage in the face of danger and his staunch love for those he calls family or friend.

Kellen gets an unlikely mentor - actually two but let me get through the humans first, huh (wink!) So Ferius is the mysterious stranger riding into town ( Like the Man with No Name from Sergio Leone's movies made immortal by Clint Eastwood, just that it's a woman with balls of blue bronze.) who is openly scornful of magic, flouts traditions and is not afraid to speak her mind. Naturally, Kellen is fascinated by her, in truth just a few years older than him probably but living life on her own terms - and yes, kicking the magical bumbling arses of these mages who are 'holier and mightier than thou'. I loved her character and yes, there is a lot hidden behind her, to be revealed hopefully in the next book.

The rest of the characters are all fascinating and fun - There's Ke'heops, Kellen's father - the man revered for his magic and who will do anything to abide by the rules of the society. His sister, Shalla an ambitious driven and talented little girl ready to go to any lengths to earn her tithes. The bad guys, really aren't that intimidating and daunting though. And there are quite a few of them. Which brings us to the talking squirrel-cat, full of vitriol and snarky spark and wit. Reichus - he's the surprise package that is going to bowl you over and I won't break the suspense for you.

It's a fairly brisk read and you can rattle through it in under a few days. Yes, its squarely in the YA territory and hence, not dark at all. And the depth of the world-building or the emotional heft in terms of immersing ourselves in the rapidly evolving conflict might not be too significant. But it's definitely got the Sebastian stamp on it. Its highly entertaining as a story and things only look to be building up to be better in this series as we go ahead. Shadowblack comes out in October, so not too long a wait to be reunited with Kellen and his friends. Highly recommended!

Fantastic book! Well written, immersive world and sympathetic characters.

Fantastic! Really enjoyed the book. Already started recommending it to customers!

From the description & cover, I was expecting more of a "Western" feeling fantasy with a hint of caper, but this first book in what is going to be a series is mostly set-up. I imagined the landscape like pre-Jonas "The Giver" or the neighborhoods Cassia left in "Matched", and the injection of one dusty female stranger and a telepathic flying lemur got things riled up enough to move the story forward but still didn't quite hit "Western". I'm excited for the second novel where the main character will be riding around rogue, using his spell and (hopefully) acquiring more; I want to know more about the different societies and the structures and rituals of their magic. It's a good world, I just hope it gets a little less spotless.

Don't you just love when a book is so much better than you expected it to be? Especially since I'm going through a phase of not being so into Fantasy at the moment, when I looked at this book, I wasn't sure whether it was for me. But it looked interesting and there were things that drew me to it. So I gave it a chance and I am so, so glad I did, because it was fantastic.

The whole world just had something interesting to it. The society of the Jan'Tep with their mage names and the class divide between the magic users and the non-magic users. Also, the small hints at what Argosi life is like. I was so happy when there was another hint about what Ferius Parfax's life consisted of.

The only thing that put me off a bit was that Kellen was rather whiny about not having magic. Other than trying to trick people, he didn't do much to try and help himself out or find out what Ferius was offering him outside of magic. I got that his situation was awful and that probably would be what I'd do in that situation too, but I much preferred him towards the end of the book when he took matters into his own hands and actually did something about it all.

With secrets, lies and interesting societies, I truly think this is one of the better Fantasy books I've read lately, I really feel it's making an effort to do things different. I can't wait for the next book so that I can see more of the world outside of Kellen's society.

Kellen is a fifteen year old mage in training, but despite his father being one of the greatest wizards of the age, and his younger sister already having more potential than is good for her, his own magic seems to be fading fast. If he can’t pass the three mage trials he’s going to end up in the servant classes, something he dreads. Apart from his own future, his failure will also threaten his father’s standing as he hustles for the leadership of the clan. But Kellen is not entirely without resources. He’s intelligent, observant and asks the right questions. He wins his first mage duel, the first trial, by cunning and psychology rather than magic, but it all goes sour when his own sister accuses him of cheating and nearly kills him. He’s saved by Ferius Fairfax, a mysterious Argosi traveller who lives by her wits and a deck of cards. Difficult and unpredictable, Ferius nudges Kellen in the direction of doing the right thing, which loses him friends, but gains him a somewhat fierce talking squirrel-cat. There are a lot of twists in this. Characters are not always what they seem to be and Kellen is let down by the people he trusts the most and finds help where he least expects it. This is an excellent introduction to this magical world. I haven’t read any Sebastien de Castell before, but I’ll certainly be looking out for the rest of this series.
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