Arcane Geometry

The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson. Standalone novel.

Apologies for the lateness of this review. In my defense, Fire Emblem: Awakening is really good. Ahem. Moving on…

One of the things I really like about Sanderson’s books is that each series has its own unique way that magic works, including different ways of tapping power, limitations, and even public opinion of practitioners. In each case though, the magic is ingrained into the setting, meaning that the world looks different in various ways depending on the nature of the magic.

In The Rithmatist, magic comes in the form of drawing chalk circles, lines, and pictures, and imbuing them with power. There’s a little more to it than that, of course, but that’s the essence. The story takes place on an alternate Earth, where very little is as we know it. The big one that springs to mind is that instead of the United States, they have the United Isles, though there are countless others. The setting is also somewhat… gear-punk? I don’t know if that’s the right term, but they have mechanical coins, which is cool.

The story focuses on a student at the Armedius Academy, Joel, who is not a Rithmatist (magic user) but does know and obsesses over the theory. I feel that much explanation of the plot would spoil it for potential readers, as it is something of a mystery, but I will say that the book opens with a Rithmatic student being eaten by living chalk drawings and let you draw your own conclusions about where it might be heading.

One thing I really like about this book which is the illustrations. Rather than characters, architecture, or landscapes, every drawing (with the exception of the map of the United Isles at the front) is Rithmatic in nature. That is, every drawing within the text is a representation of something which is drawn in chalk in the book. At the start of each chapter there are also instructional diagrams on how Rithmatic lines and defenses are used, which both helps the reader to understand how magic works and (at least for me) increases immersion by a huge amount.

I honestly can’t think of any complaints with this book. Likable protagonists, genuine mystery, and Brandon Sanderson’s trademark excellence with regards to handling magic. Highly recommended for readers of all ages. Can we have a sequel please?

Up next is another alternate universe tale, but in a different part of the world.

No Wizards Here

Otherworld Nights, by Kelly Armstrong. A collection of short stories and novellas from the Women of the Otherworld series (also known as the Otherworld series).

I’m not really sure how to tackle the review of a short story collection, but I’ll give it a shot. In my rules section I said I might try to review each story individually, so we’ll try it that way. Here goes!

So, the Otherworld series. It’s pretty good, focusing on the supernatural creatures and people living among us, undetected. Off the top of my head, viewpoint characters have been werewolves, witches, ghosts, necromancers, and half-demons. Sorcerers also play a major role as the male counterparts to witches (no wizards, sorry!), and shamans are mentioned but never really elaborated upon. The powers and abilities of each type of supernatural are well thought out and explained, which gives them each some distinction.

With that, on to the individual reviews! Warning: spoilers may be hard to avoid.

Demonology – The story of how the mother of one of the series’ main characters finds out about his powers. Pretty light, and I thought it could have gone on for another page in order to show some more reactions, but overall not bad.

Twilight – Called out by the author in the introduction as having an unfortunate title, this one is indeed about a vampire. On the other hand, it’s actually really good, dealing with the final years of a vampire’s life and how even immortality isn’t eternal. Quite sad, actually.

Stalked – The story of two main characters’ honeymoon. Entertaining, and back on the light side. Turns out that other werewolves just don’t respect a romantic occasion.

Chivalrous – Starts light, then takes a sharp turn towards dark. This one is the backstory of a minor character in the series, and if I’d remembered who they were earlier I’d have been less surprised at where this goes.

Lucifer’s Daughter – The two protagonists of this story are my favourite characters in the series, and that probably explains why this is my favourite story in the collection. Basically, if you take a jewel thief to the grand opening of an exhibition of ancient jewellery, you have to expect trouble. This does not disappoint.

Hidden – A novella, detailing the werewolves attempt to have a family Christmas. Good writing and good pacing throughout, and the kids are hilarious. Not really sure what else to say. The werewolf pack is probably the most detailed group of characters in the setting, and it’s nice to see them having a little time off from saving the world (and saving the world in the process).

From Russia, with Love – A short story taking place almost immediately after the end of 13, the last book in the series. I wasn’t too impressed with the last couple of books, compared to the high points of the series, though they did round everything off nicely. This story doesn’t really add anything to 13, I’m afraid, but it doesn’t take anything away either.

Vanishing Act – Another novella, this time starring the witches. Begins with a demon summoning going wrong, which is always a good sign, but is actually about resolving the relationship issues that the protagonists have been having throughout the whole series. Finally, guys!

And that’s the lot. Overall I enjoyed the collection; it’s been a while since I read the series, and this has made me want to go back to it. On the other hand, there are several other series that I want to re-read, and if I do all of them then this blog is going to get boring quickly.

If you fancy reading the series, I’d naturally suggest starting at the beginning – Bitten. Each book builds on those that have come before, but the first one I read was Personal Demon (book eight), and I’m pretty sure it’s still the best. Re-reading it now though, the significance of background characters is revealed, which makes for a higher-stakes story.

Next up, not wizards again. On a technicality.