Spellwright by Blake Charlton

Blake Charlton’s Spellwright is set in a world where the ability to understand the written word is the key to being a Spellwright – a person who can wield magic. Nicodemus Weal was once perceived to be the Halycon, a savior for the people, although not all Spellwrights believe in the prophesised Halycon, and others believe there to be an Anti-Halycon, who will work against the savior to destroy the world. However, all hopes of Nicodemus being the Halycon are dashed when it’s found that he’s a Cacographer, meaning that he jumbles up words and cannot properly read – and therefore cannot produce magic. When murders and suspicious start floating around Starhaven, the school where Nicodemus takes residence, he and his master, Agwu Shannon, are the prime suspects.

A new and refreshing, if confusing, magic system
Spellwright isn’t set in a world where there are wizards who wield vast amounts of arcane magic like many other fantasy epics of the past and present. The ability to write words and have them be transformed into power is one that I think everyone finds exciting – if only we had that ability. I praise Mr. Charlton for how inventive he was with his magic system, because it truly was refreshing. There were times, however, that I felt like I needed an English degree to understand some of the ways that the Spellwrights wielded their magic, but by the end of the book I understood nearly everything, so at least it is explained.

A hero you can’t help but root for
Nicodemus Weal is someone who’s at the center of all of our hearts: he’s an underdog who’s had to go through a lot in life and has been pushed around and frowned upon by his peers and teachers because of his disability. His mentor, Agwu Shannon, has helped him along throughout his life, but he still has a hard time because of his disability. He longs for the chance to be more than what he is now, and he will do nearly anything to get it.

Prophecies and legends galore
Normally, when I pick up a book and hear the word ‘prophecy’, I immediately put it down. They’re overdone, overused and far too typical for fantasy epics. However, I decided to give Spellwright a shot because of the magic system, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that while yes, there is a prophecy (multiple prophecies, in fact), it doesn’t play a huge role in this book until later on, which is something that I enjoyed. The prophecy itself is rather confusing, and I had to re-read the passage twice to figure out what exactly was going on, but when I figured it out it was rather breathtaking.

I also enjoy the fact that there are many Gods in this book. It seems like they existed as an afterthought, which again is something that I enjoy. They don’t play a huge rule, but they are important, which is what I think a God should be – not directly involved in someone’s life but they can play a very active role if you let them.

A lack of minor characters
This is only a small issue, but it is big enough for me to bring up. There were almost no minor characters in Spellwright, which was a bit of an issue for me. What I thought was originally going to be a minor character comes to play a huge part in the end of the book, and the other possible minor character has such an insignificant role that I can’t even really call her a minor character. In future installments I’m really hoping that there will be an influx of characters, because they’re sorely needed.

Why you should read this book?
This book has a new and interesting magic system, which is the biggest draw for me. The main character is likable, as are the other characters who get a point of view. The plot is interesting, although incredibly intricate and detailed, and it’s going to need a lot of fleshing out in the sequels. If you’re looking for a fresh, new type of fantasy epic, then this is a book for you to read. No English degree required.

If you like this, you might also like:

	Discuss this article on our forums!
	Visit the Ranting Forums, where you can discuss many topics with our reviewers and other readers, including recent reviews, upcoming books, the fantasy genre, your favorite books, movies, characters, authors, and much more.

	Spellbound (Spellwright #2) by Blake Charlton
	This review contains minor spoilers of Spellwright, which is reviewed here. Set ten years after the events in Spellwright,  Nicodemus has left the Heaven Tree Valley and is now in the city of Avel,...

	Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1...
	Empire in Black and Gold is the first book of the Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Czajkowski (he has it spelled Tchaikovsky on his books to make his name easier to pronounce for his American and...