Spellslinger - Sebastien de Castell

[goodreads]

Title: Spellslinger
Author: Sebastien de Castell
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 416
Date read: November, 2019

Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage's duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spellcaster. There's just one problem: his magic is gone.

As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen falls back on his cunning in a bid to avoid total disgrace. But when a daring stranger arrives in town, she challenges Kellen to take a different path.

Ferius Parfax is one of the mysterious Argosi—a traveller who lives by her wits and the three decks of cards she carries. She's difficult and unpredictable, but she may be Kellen's only hope...


VERY easy read. I read the first half in one sitting and was instantly charmed. While I'd agree that much of the pagetime is spent setting the scene and explaining the universe, I'd still say that there's enough plot going on to make it worthwhile reading for its own sake.

I really liked Kellen and how he turned out to be a reluctant hero rather than one who got everything served on a platter. I liked how he befriended Ferius and wasn't too arrogant to learn from her... and I liked the fragile "business partner" relationship he had with the squirrel cat. I liked that while it had an open ending, it wasn't an unfinished one and as such could easily be read as a stand-alone novel rather than as a setup to a long series.