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I thought we'd reached the end of Sebasien de Castell's Argosi/Spellslinger books, but how wrong could I be? This is a prequel outlining the way a young, angry Ferius Parfax takes to the road and learns the way of the Argosi after her parents and her tribe are massacred, and she is the subject of cruel experiments masterminded by two Jan 'Tep mages. Ferius' rage is gradually replaced with something else when she meets Durral Brown, a wandering philosopher wise in the ways of the Argosi. Apparently this is the first in a Ferius duology, but I found it complete in itself as a standalone read. Sebastien de Castell is becoming a buy on sight author.Aug. 31st, 2021
I thought we'd reached the end of Sebasien de Castell's Argosi/Spellslinger books, but how wrong could I be? This is a prequel outlining the way a young, angry Ferius Parfax takes to the road and learns the way of the Argosi after her parents and her tribe are massacred, and she is the subject of cruel experiments masterminded by two Jan 'Tep mages. Ferius' rage is gradually replaced with something else when she meets Durral Brown, a wandering philosopher wise in the ways of the Argosi. Apparently this is the first in a Ferius duology, but I found it complete in itself as a standalone read. Sebastien de Castell is becoming a buy on sight author.
A set of young triplets, Cordelia, Giles and Rosalind, their older half brother, and their sorceress mother, live in a castle deep within an enchanted forest. Cordelia, a shapechanger and the wild one of the threesome, longs to see the other side of the forest but it's probably a case of 'be careful what you wish for' because, suddenly, after a lifetime of isolation, the outside world comes to them. It appears that one of them - the oldest - is the heir to the Raven Throne. but their mother has always been careful to hide the order of their birth. "I'll tell you when you're older," is just a way of fobbing off enquiring minds. The noble faction that wants to put one of the triplets on the throne desires a puppet ruler and - as has happened before - their puppet is not likely to live long, so Mom is not likely to give them up easily. Unfortunately the castle is overrun, Mom and big brother are captured, but the triplets escape, and thus begins their adventure.
The triplets are very distinct from each other, with contrasting but complementary talents. They have to figure out how to outwit both their supporters and their enemies. A lovely mix of politics and magic with an evil granny thrown in for good measure. It's a book about family, good and bad. The pacing is good, and the plot twisty withoiut being incomprehensible. Though this is obviously the beginning of a series, it's c9omplete in itself - no cliffhangers. Recommended for the 10 - 12 year-olds in your life. Possibly good for younger YA readers, too.
When a humanity-saving expedition to Proxima Centauri leaves Earth taking one of Julie's close friends with it, Julie is left behind, one of the billions on the dying Earth. Oh, it's not about to explode tomorrow, but the air is full of dangerous particulates and most people have been housed in cubes, kept doped up to the eyeballs by constant attachment to virtual reality feeds. When Julie's mother decides to move out of the family home in a failing suburb, Julie, still a minor at 23, is faced with life in a city cube… or… she can go on the road and hope to fall in with the Volksgeist, groups of tramps, hoboes and free citizens in their collection of ramshackle campers, and converted vans. So she goes on the road. Since she's not a legal adult until she's 25, Julie is a runner. Luckily she meets up with Ranger, an experienced road warrior whose lungs are none too healthy. There's a lot to learn, from driving (which she'd never been allowed to do) and how to pack the van to making soap and bio diesel from used cooking oil.
It's a coming of age story, but it's also a travelogue around this dysfunctional, dystopian (North American) world. To be honest it doesn't really have a plot other than, 'Julie goes travelling and meets a lot of people, some good, some not,' but it's an interesting read with, on balance, more good folks than bad. Julie is an engaging protagonist and Ranger is an interesting character who becomes Julie's mentor.