jacey | Booklog 32/2019 - Sebastien de Castell: Soulbinder

Kellen is a spellslinger, an outlaw estranged from his family, and he's also infected with shadowblack, a magical disease which imprints tattoo-like shadow designs on the body (in Kellen's case, around one eye) and will eventually lead to being taken over by a rampaging demon. No wonder Kellen's mage-loving people are trying to kill him. In the first three books of the series, Kellen has been learning from Ferius, an Argosi cardsharp and gambler, but now he's left her (and his one-time girlfriend Nephenia) behind because he thinks he's putting them in danger. He's travelling with only Reichis, a ferocious kleptomaniac squirrel-cat, for company. Kellen and Reichis are searching for the semi-mythical Ebony Abbey where they hope to find a cure for shadow black. Early in the book, Kellen and Reichis are separated, which leaves Kellen on his own for the first time in his life. When he finds the Abbey it's not what he's expecting, and neither are the people there. Unfortunately, as Kellen discovers more about shadowblack, he's swamped with more questions than answers, and all the while his own father and a posse of mages are getting closer with the intent of destroying the Abbey and all it stands for. Kellen is caught between a rock and a hard place. All he really wants to do is rescue Reichis, but that might not be possible. Has Kellen learned enough of the Argosi ways to walk the path? If so it just might be his salvation. This is another gripping instalment in Kellen's story. Sebasien de Castell's writing is gripping an imaginative. Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to the next book, Queenslayer, due in the UK on 16th May 2019.