… a cracking good read …

IMG_2212Kellen is approaching his sixteenth birthday and it is becoming increasingly obvious he will not become a Jan’Tep. Unlike his sister who has the potential to be a magus; his friends, Panahsi and Nephenia; and even his rival, Tennat, none of the bands at his wrist have sparked so he will become Sha’Tep, part of the servant class.

Kellen, furious and desperate by turns, fights back using his wit against this high magic. With the help of a foreign cardsharp and a bolshy squirrel cat, Kellen uncovers secrets that will change him and his society forever.

Sebastien has created a cracking good read: clear and attractive characters set in effortless world building with a great narrative pace and lightened with some lovely touches of humour.  Its tagline: “the fantasy novel that keeps you guessing on every page” sums it up. Sebastien backs Kellen into so many unwinnable situations, I just had to read one more chapter to see how it turned out …

Highly recommended.

Usually, I edit down biographies in my posts but his is such fun that I didn’t wield the blue pencil quite so energetically.  Here’s the (almost) full length piece … Sebastien had just finished a degree in Archaeology when he started work on his first dig. Four hours later he realized how much he actually hated archaeology and left to pursue a very focused career as a musician, ombudsman, interaction designer, fight choreographer, teacher, project manager, actor, and product strategist. His debut novel, Traitor’s Blade, was shortlisted for both the 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy and the Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut. He lives in Vancouver, Canada with his lovely wife and two belligerent cats. You can reach him at www.decastell.com

Cover Design Moment: There are two cover designs for this book. I am assuming I have a proof of the UK edition – which I prefer.  It’s a clear and dramatic design featuring a playing card design with the magical wrist tattoos Kellen tries so desperately to quicken.  The US (?) design takes the card theme further showing Kellen with his familiar, Reichis, and Ferius Parfax, the Argosi cardsharp, on the flip side. It’s still a bold clear design yet portraits of fantasy characters are always a problematic mismatch for me … they just don’t look anything like the images created by my imagination! I’m going to email the publisher to find out more details about the designer.

Spellslinger will be published in May 2017 by Hot Key Books, the teens and YA imprint of Bonnier Publishing Group. It is the first in a planned series of six books. Emily at Emily’s Bookshop lent me her proof copy.  Thanks, Em!