Shadowblack by Sebastien de Castell – Review

Published: August 21, 2018

Publisher: Orbit

Series: Spellslinger #2

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 384 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

A failed mage turned outlaw must use guile and a handful of spells to challenge a dangerous rival in the second book of an exciting adventure fantasy series from Sebastien de Castell.
Forced to live as an outlaw, Kellen relies on his wits and his allies to survive the unforgiving borderlands.
When he meets a young woman cursed with a deadly plague, he feels compelled to help. But her secrets draw powerful enemies and it’s not long before Kellen is entangled in a conspiracy of blackmail, magic, and murder. As the bodies begin to pile up, Kellen fears he’s next.

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Once again Sebastien de Castell delivered an awesome story full of action and intriguing characters. I’m still a little stunned at how much I’m enjoying this and could have easily read this book in one sitting if time had permitted. In Shadowblack we continue to follow Kellen’s journey since his exodus from the Jan’Tep lands. He’s not just exiled from his people, but is actively being hunted by them on top of having to deal with the shadowblack disease.

Kellen and Ferius’ travels ultimately bring them to the Seven Sands after they meet a fellow Argosi and her blindfolded travelling companion Seneira. Seneira isn’t blind but rather is suffering from what seems to be the same shadowblack afflicting Kellan, though she isn’t a mage. Oddly, it seems to be spreading and there may be an outbreak among a population with no mages. Kellan, Ferius, and Reichis endeavor to stop the plague and discover some rather dark secrets in the process. The whole plot in this story was fascinating and full of surprises.

I thought the world building and character development evolved very smoothly throughout the book and I never really felt as if information was just inconveniently being dumped on me. The world is slowly expanding and Kellen, Ferius, and Reichis continue their travels and dodge Jan’Tep assassins and it’s a fascinating world indeed. From the arcanocracy of the Jan’Tep to the wondrous halls of learning found in the Seven Sands, this is such a fun world to learn about. It’s not incredibly deep world building since these are shorter books largely moved along by our characters, but it’s not particularly shallow either.

I’ve gotten a little behind on reviews lately since I’ve been tearing through books at a rapid pace (I blame the onset of fall) so I’ve actually just finished the next book in the series as well. Charmcaster is just as fun as this book and possibly a little more harrowing, so the series continues to go strong. I’d highly recommend this series for anyone looking for a quick paced and light read. It’s the perfect series to break up the piles of heavy, dark books I seem to gravitate towards.