"Spellsinger" follows the adventures of Jonathan Thomas Meriweather, known mainly as Jon-Tom, as he uses some really hard-core drugs while a wizard from another worlds sucks him into a magical land full of furries. And I know what you're thinking: It was probably just the drugs. Well, he thought that too, but when the visions last well after your completely sober, you begin to realize that all this stuff is actually real. And it was real. In fact, he couldn't even get home again for the rest of his life.
The idea here is that a turtle wizard named Chothahump was facing the potential end of the world, and so he tried to draw a wizard from another dimension into his world, but he accidently gets a law student who was not actually a wizard. It was pretty comical.
But as it turns out, Jon-Tom wasn't completely useless. He found out that he sing while playing an instrument and then magic would happen somehow. They all called him a Spellsinger, and that's where the book gets its name, I guess!
The cast is a mix of talking animal characters and humans. The humans are fine, I guess. It's the animals that made me the happiest. You got Mudge who is a horny otter who is basically a scoundrel that gets away with just about everything. Caz is a rabbit who is very charming and well-spoken, but he isn't super reputable himself. He is just sort of better at saving face. Pog the bat is a grumpy but very loyal fellow who is actually the indentured slave of Clothahump. There is also an actual--I kid you not--Marxist dragon.
The dragon is named Falameezar, and he had some weird dream where his brain got soaked in the words of Carl Marx. Now he is absolutely obsessed with socialism and is always on the verge of killing anyone who doesn't agree with him. This character is hilarious. He is the only person in the whole story that actually wants to start a socialist revolution in the world, and Jon-Tom, who had studied the subject in school, has to keep patronizing him with his own socialism logic to keep him calm and friendly to their group. It also gives them a very powerful ally just as long as he can be convinced that the people he is with are all "comrades."
I did enjoy this book a lot. I loved all the talking animal people as they go on a quest to stop an army of insectoids from taking over the world--a plot that does not complete by the end of the book, by the way. This is kind of a series that you have to keep reading to see how things end up. My main complaint with the story is that it is... really horribly paced. I mean that.
What happens throughout the book is that the main characters spend too much talking while standing completely still in one place. They don't do a lot of talking and walking at the same time. This causes the story to feel like it keeps getting stuck. Now, I am told that the future books in the series do better in this area, but it's pretty bad when you like a book but also wish it would just get to the end.
Even so, I do recommend "Spellsinger." It's a great story, and I will be reading the next one. I'll probably just do the first three and then stop. I have to be a little careful about novel series since I have time concerns. Either way, the first book did make me want to see how the initial story would end, and that's saying something at least.
This blog was written on February 2, 2023.
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The story seems like a silliness the storyteller knew was silly but he took it seriously. I can relate, since my BLACK DEATH series is likewise. There are probably many SPELLSINGER books because the author not only had fun writing them, but doing so was therapeutic. He could express himself freely in any way, and few projects lend themselves to such.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there was a lot of humor in it, but it was still taken seriously.
DeleteSounds like a great read. I read "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" by Alan Dean Foster and I enjoyed his style so this series would probably be to my liking. Of course there is a horny otter haha.
ReplyDeleteMost of the books I read of his have been fine.
DeleteIt is important to keep the story moving, and it helps if the characters do not remain stationary. Staying in one place tends to feel as if very little is happening. It also gives the impression of a lack of urgency.
ReplyDeleteThat was what happened.
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