Welcome back Readers! I’m going to level with you… October was a busy month for me. Normally I’d have cracked open a classic horror novel to showcase for you all around Halloween, but this year I was feeling more stressed than spooky. If you’ve missed the last few years of this tradition, though, feel free to check my thoughts on The Exorcist Here and The Amityville Horror Here to hang on to those Halloween vibes just a little longer!
Considering my kind of grueling schedule this past month, I felt like I deserved a bit of a treat. Something of a mental spa-day. What better escape hatch from the rigors of a blisteringly busy day than some time spent with a good book, right? (This, by the way, is my secret to surviving the Holiday season as well. Feel free to follow my lead!) And so I went back to my current favorite series, The Frith Chronicles. I’ve talked about them at length starting with Knigtmare Arcanist, then moving on to Dread Pirate Arcanist, Colosseum Arcanist, Plague Arcanist and World Serpent Arcanist. Obviously there are spoilers ahead for those books within this Spotlight! Some of these spoilers are MASSIVE in scope so I am warning you now to hold off on going forward if you’re interested in reading these books because I do not in any way want to ruin that experience for you! Having said that, I’m not going to summarize the entire story so you’ll be quite lost reading on if you haven’t read the prior books, also.
Anyway, make sure your Guild pendant is polished and your Eldrin is well fed as we dive right into this tale of adventure!
Book Stats
- Author: Shami Stovall.
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, and Audible.
Price: $26.99 for Hardcover, $19.99 for Paperback, $6.99 for Kindle (Currently available for free via Kindle Unlimited!), and $26.21 for Audible, or one Credit on Audible.
Length: 568 pages or 20 hours and 19 minutes in audio format.
Narrator: Brian Wiggins
Number of books in the series: 8 or 9 – Arcanist Fables is a short story collection that takes place in continuity between books 5 and 6. There are also other series set in this same world by Shami Stovall.
Basic Premise
Luthair is dead. Lost in an ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the Knightmare gave his life so that Volke could survive a battle with a Grim Reaper, which lead Volke to bond with the world serpent Terrakona. There are a total of twelve god creatures – mystical beasts who’s power can shape the world in a very literal sense. In the ancient past, these creatures saved the world and could do so again… or very well lead it to ruin instead if they were to fall into the wrong hands. Terrakona is one of these god creatures and Volke is now its arcanist. This makes him one of the most important people in the world.
Not bad for an orphaned grave digger from a backwater island, right?
Though, it does present seemingly more problems than it solves to be suddenly granted a partnership with a god-monster. Where Volke had been familiar with the application of Luthair’s Knightmare magic, Terrakona is a completely different matter. What can he manifest? What passive traits does a divine beast’s magic grant? What aura could he generate? Who could possibly train him to BE a world serpent arcanist? And how quickly does he need to figure all of it out before the other reborn gods are bonded with new arcanists of their own?
The answer to that last question is, unfortunately, pretty darn quick. Not only because of the other god creatures finding new partners, but because Volke is being rushed to a meeting of world leaders, gathered by the news of the World Serpent’s emergence. Volke needs to show these people why they ought to ally with him and not the villainous Second Ascension. They need to know that the newest god arcanist is a force to be reckoned with and someone to be relied upon.
As if that wasn’t enough, Volke starts having dreams. An abandoned fortress deep under water is calling to him. It’s something important and he needs to find it, but with everything else that’s going on, is now really the time to be chasing ominous dreams?
You’re going to have to read it to find out!
My Take
I mentioned in my last Spotlight for this series that I got to the end of book five with a misty eye. This was a lie. Sorry to tell you this, but I wasn’t being entirely open with you about my reaction. I was actually straight up ugly-crying! Not just misty eyed, but full on hiccuping into my tea. Luthair’s sacrifice just killed me – this character we’ve grown to know and love over the course of five books, so brave, kind, diligent and willing to help Volke save the world just giving himself up against an, essentially, un-winnable fight just caught me right in the feelings. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t think it would happen. I didn’t want to give too much away at the time of writing my last piece… but now you know.
This DOES inform a lot of my feelings about book six, however. I really enjoyed it, but there was something about the partnership between Volke and Luthair that I loved. Luthair being second-bonded with Volke after his first arcanist was killed made me love him all the more; it put Volke on the back foot a little bit in that second bonded magic is harder to learn and is painful. Volke finally got to live out his dreams of being an arcanist in the Frith Guild like all his childhood heroes but it wasn’t easy for him. Nothing ever is easy for Volke and his ability to push forward despite that is part of his charm and something I empathize with. Terrakona, while an interesting character in his own right, spins this around on its head. Again, this isn’t me saying that the book was bad or unsatisfactory. It wasn’t. But there was a shadowy hole at its center and I felt that absence keenly throughout. I will say that despite becoming one of the world’s key figures overnight, Volke remains humble, loyal and capital-G Good throughout this story and I very much appreciated that.
The fight scenes are less frequent but the action is, as always, wonderfully written! Frenetically paced without ever being confusing or hard to follow. Volke’s new powers are devastating and watching him learn to work with them on the fly is a real treat.
We also get a little more in-depth with Volke’s love life which actually was a little surprising! Not the way I thought things were going to go, but I’m not unhappy with it.
The audio version is narrated by Brian Wiggins and, as per usual, he does an excellent job. He keeps everyone sounding distinct and his emotional range is awesome, even for characters with heavy accents. His plague voice, though, is always my favorite; less common in this book but wonderful when it does appear!
Being as we’re already in November, if you’re getting an early start on holiday shopping and you know someone who’s into fantasy, monster taming stories, magical tales or high seas adventure, this series is one you should consider getting as a great stocking stuffer. These stories are just really fun, and would also be perfect for getting reluctant readers who may have interests in Pokemon, Palworld or Digimon turning pages over the holiday break!
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