Sean Randall reviewed Spellwright by Blake Charlton
Review of 'Spellwright' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
“Humanity uses the word ‘prophecy' as if it were synonymous with the word ‘destiny.' Nothing is destined. Prophecy is like rain falling on a mountain. The
water must flow down. It must find its course in creeks and streams and rivers. One might calculate where the water would flow in a static world. In an
unchanging landscape, we might say that this drop is destined to flow into this lake, this river flow into this ocean. But the world is always changing.”
Not since [b:The Way Of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267576417s/7235533.jpg|8134945] have I seen such an imaginative world, and I don't know that I've ever seen such a brilliantly different magic system anywhere in recent memory. It took me a while to get into the swing of things, I'll admit; when you soak up the language and really get to follow the pros, the writing flows …
“Humanity uses the word ‘prophecy' as if it were synonymous with the word ‘destiny.' Nothing is destined. Prophecy is like rain falling on a mountain. The
water must flow down. It must find its course in creeks and streams and rivers. One might calculate where the water would flow in a static world. In an
unchanging landscape, we might say that this drop is destined to flow into this lake, this river flow into this ocean. But the world is always changing.”
Not since [b:The Way Of Kings|7235533|The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1267576417s/7235533.jpg|8134945] have I seen such an imaginative world, and I don't know that I've ever seen such a brilliantly different magic system anywhere in recent memory. It took me a while to get into the swing of things, I'll admit; when you soak up the language and really get to follow the pros, the writing flows so well that it catches you up and hurls you through the pages apace. Whether this turns out to be an epic trilogy, to have overtones of a bildungsroman or to veer off into some hither too unfathomed direction... Time will tell.
On a more personal note, having the author respond to my comments on Twitter was a most fascinating (and unique) experience. I can't rate short stories on Goodreads but I read Endosymbiont at his website and thought it one of the best stories of the last few years.
