| Title | : | Spellbound (Grimnoir Chronicles, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1451637756 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781451637755 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 448 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 2011 |
| Awards | : | Audie Award Paranormal (2013) |
The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so—successfully and in secret—since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir. The knights must become fugitives while they attempt to discover who framed them.
Thing go from bad to worse when Jake Sullivan, former p.i. and knight of the Grimnoir, receives a telephone call from a dead man—a man he helped kill.. Turns out the Power jumped universes because it was fleeing from a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. That predator has just landed on Earth.
Spellbound (Grimnoir Chronicles, #2) Reviews
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Cross posted to
The Literary Lawyer.ca
I am Officially Hooked! - 5 Stars
After reading Hard Magic (the first in the series) I knew I would like the series but was not convinced I would love it. Any questions I had about the series were thrown out soon after beginning this installment. Initially, this series was hard to describe as it was so different from others I have read. I think I will classify this as Magical Superhero Noir. There are elements of alternate history and the smoky charm of PI novel set in the 30's. Larry Correia is writing some of the best Urban Fantasy on the market. If you haven't read his work yet, you need to get out your credit card and head to your local bookstore!
Plot summary
The series comes into focus through the plot. We come to see the Grimnoir society on an international basis. The Grimnoir society comes off as a 30's version of the X-Men. They are a group of powerful (magically) active individuals with the dual goals of protecting other actives from the non active powers that be and protecting the rest of the world from actives. After receiving a message from beyond the grave, Jake Sullivan sets the groundwork to track a supernatural threat to earth - The PathFinder. Before he can begin his quest, there is an attempt on the life of the President and actives everywhere are looked at with suspicion. A new and powerful agency, the OCI, is rounding up actives to either kill or detain and they have some powerful weapons at their disposal. Jake, Faye and the rest of the crew are in a fight for their life and their freedom and terror is unleashed on actives and the city. Throughout the plot, we come to know the origins of Faye's power and what sets her apart from the rest of the active population.
The Good
It's Better than a Phone Call from Hell
Yes. There is a phone call from hell or at least somewhere close to hell. Wherever it was, the inhabitants were not very happy. Once again, Correia build a novel on the foundation of a solid plot and excellent characterization. Growing up, my favorite characters from TV were the X-Men. This story channels the great concepts in those comics and sets it in a unique time and place. The idea of the powerful yet misunderstood super humans fighting both their government and other actives while at the same time maintaining pure motives, is a compelling storyline. Beyond the plot, the characters are multifaceted and nuanced. Correia is excellent and creating spoken idiosyncrasies for his characters. This allows the book to translate very well into the audio format and allows the reader to build pictures of the characters in their head. Reading this series is an active and visual experience.
The Bad
There was very little to complain about in this one. Easily one of the top 10 I have read so far this year. If there is any room for complaint it would be that the pacing is a bit slow. Fans of genre will expect a fast paced novel and quick gratification. This series does not do that. I find it very refreshing and enjoyable but not everyone will share that sentiment. For my money, this is probably one of the most intelligent urban fantasy series I have read.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this so much, I immediately moved on to the third (and Hugo nominated) third book. If you know someone who doesn't read UF but enjoys superhero movies, this might be a series they would enjoy. Additionally, it is unique and refreshing amongst its many competitors and the enthusiast is sure to enjoy this entertaining change of pace.
Audiobook Notes
Bronson Pinochet does one of the best narrations I have heard. His timing and pacing is impeccable. He infuses nuance into the voice and his varied accents and range of voices is memorable and entertaining. I am attached to the audio version of this series and will undoubtedly continue in this format.
Content Advisories
It is difficult to find commentary on the sex/violence/language content of book if you are interested. I make an effort to give you the information so you can make an informed decision before reading. *Disclaimer* I do not take note or count the occurrences of adult language as I read. I am simply giving approximations.
Scale 1 - Lowest 5 - Highest
Sex - 1.5
The not so old adage (as far as I know, I made it up) that "its hard to worry about sex when you are saving the world" holds true. There is some relational content but nothing overtly sexual.
Language - 3.5
I would say that the language is a bit more than the average. Moderate use of mild obscenities and low use of the f-word.
Violence - 3.5
As usual, there are plenty of fight scenes. Summoned beings of all shapes and sizes are fought. There is a moderately graphic beheading and discussion of ritual suicide. There is a non ritual suicide and many injuries and blood. It is generally non gory. -
Okay, after some thought I went with a 5 star rating. While I like (in general) the Monster Hunter International series better these are (so far) good and enjoyable books and the rating system of 1 to 5 has this built in deficiency...the book rates better than 4 but isn't quite up to the "top" of my 5 star list. So 4.5...again.
I think most fantasy/science fantasy/urban fantasy/horror/action fans who pick this up will like it. With "over-all" big background plot still in play and growing we also get the single volume plot here also. It's comes across as a sort of "side track" as the world itself is careening toward destruction. Of course none of the "powers that be" will believe the "good-guys" as they try to prevent said destruction and indeed buy the line that (again) said good-guys are really bad guys.
You get the idea. It's something like the government and the public turning against mutants in the X-Men for the comic book graphic novel aficionados among us.
You'll get plenty of action here with good character and plot development. There is a "new" overriding problem that rears it's head here and you can add that to the hurdles between our heroes and saving the totally ungrateful world.
So, enjoy. I like it and plan to snap up the next in this series as well as the Monster Hunter International series.
Recommended.
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I don't think I've had more fun with two books than I have with Larry Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles. I burned through these two books, Hard Magic and Spellbound. They were both sheer awesomeness - great fun. The action was fast and furious, the characters lively and interesting, the writing crisp, the villains super-villainous. There were zombies, aliens, demons, magic, giant airships, Tesla death rays, conspiracies, and even a phone call from a dead man. It was all over the top. But that is what is awesome about it. The author manages to weave all this craziness into something that just works. I sat down last night and plowed through half the book in one sitting because I was just having so much fun reading the darn thing. My only gripe is that I ran out of books in the series. Fortunately, I hadn't touched his other series, Monster Hunter International, so I picked that up! I highly recommend.
Downgraded to four stars after some reflection. Still fun, though. Just purging my favorite's shelf. -
Action. Pure unadulterated action. Excitement. Mind boggling fight sequences. Lots and lots of guns. That is what I expect every time I pick up a Larry Correia book, and with Spellbound, that is exactly what you get. This is a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, and is full of set pieces that leave you gaping in awe. This book is just an absolute blast to read.
When an assassination attempt on the President is pinned on the Grimnoir Society, Jake Sullivan and his cohorts become fugitives, on the run from a government agency who are after more than just imprisoning these freaks. From here we get three very distinct plots that have been cleverly intertwined - the series overarching threat of the all consuming predator being the primary concern for Grimnoir knights, the deep seated distrust and fear of actives by the government, media and general public making life very hard on anyone who exhibits any power, and the coordinated attempt by some well funded and well resourced organisations to capture / kill Sally-Faye Viera because they seem to know / fear exactly what is going on with Faye’s power.
This is a tightly plotted story, one that touches on some big themes like racism, seclusion, and government conspiracy theories, and one that is much more present than in Hard Magic where the plot was a way to get from action sequence A to action sequence B. Correia starts to really explore the consequences of actions in this book, forcing his characters to appreciate these consequences by exposing them to the biggest ones. There is still the sense that the plot is slightly contrived, that a few of the big plot points exist so that the massive fight sequences make sense, but I have very little problem with this because this is a book designed to entertain with good plotting acting as the icing on the cake.
In my review of Hard Magic I said that Correia had put together one of the best cast’s in recent memory, and Spellbound has only strengthened my feelings on the cast. Jake and Faye are still far and away the stars of the show, two very likeable characters that you cannot help but admire for their sheer determination and resilience. For the rest of the cast we get a lot more back story, a greater understanding of their motivations, and a sense that these people have grown from being a team to being a family. The newly added heroes add a lot of spice to this family, while the new cast of villains are all appropriately terrifying in their convictions that they are acting for the greater good. The only small problem I had is that there are just too many interesting and exciting characters in this book, who are all doing interesting and exciting things, and it became almost overwhelming trying to keep up with everything that was happening.
The last thing I want to touch on is the action sequences. The sheer magnitude of the tasks facing our heroes is beyond anything I have ever read, and what makes this so good is the way in which our heroes work together to take down impossible beasts. There is so much going on but Correia seamlessly transitions the action shots from hero to hero depending on who is in the most danger. The final fight sequence goes for nearly a quarter of the book, at no stage does it get dull, and the balance of power hangs by thread where it feels like if just one hero loses concentration for the smallest moment, the fight would be over in an instant.
Spellbound is a book of high stakes and high consequence. The entertainment value is second to none, so don’t go into this book expecting a gentle introduction to plot, setting and character. Correia hurls the reader from event to event, rarely allowing you to catch your breath, and somehow manages to do this while progressing a complex plot and building depth into his characters. You should definitely pick up this book, if for no other reason than to read one of the most epic finales I have ever seen in a book. -
This is part of the review I wrote about Hard Magic, book one in the Grimnoir Chronicles by New York Times bestseller, Larry Correia:
“Imagine X-Men crossed with the 1920’s period show by HBO, Boardwalk Empire . . . The world building is top notch and well researched . . . the alternate history alone makes this worth the read . . . . There’s airships, superhero smack downs, lots of guns, and great writing. If you enjoy lots of action and have a special place in your heart for super heroes, this is the book for you.”
Now onto the review of the even more awesome book two, Spellbound.
I just finished reading Spellbound, book two in the Grimnoir Chronicles, and loved it even more than the first one. The series is so much fun. In Spellbound the heroes from Hard Magic, mostly Grimnoir Knights, are put in serious danger as they are blamed for an assassination attempt on the president—Franklin D. Roosevelt. Those with magic, (called Actives) are then targeted by the government, mostly by the ‘F’ BI, and a secret government organization called the OCI, and soon Jake Sullivan, a kick ass Grimnoir Knight, is public enemy number one.
The opening of this book, and the first few chapters are so entertaining. I particularly loved the scene with the machine that Thomas Edison invented—a telephone that can contact the dead. The man on the other side wants to talk to Jake Sullivan—the man who killed him—and the message he gives Jake is bad, bad news. Something is coming to devour the Earth, and without certain preparations, there is no hope for the world. The hints of this were in book one and now it’s all put on the table.
We knew that Jake was a bad ass. He’s called a “Heavy” and can spike gravity all around him, and ruin anyone’s day, but the big news is that we learn why the teenage girl from Oklahoma, Faye, is so powerful. She’s a “Traveler” who can teleport at will and is the most powerful “Active” on the planet, which we knew because of what she did at the end of book one, a truly spectacular feat that amazed and terrified everyone. I think of Faye as the “Ninja Assassin Queen.” You do not want to mess with her. Ever. She will teleport behind you and put a bullet in your head before you can blink once. Seriously.
The characters are great, and Spellbound is an epic story, and has so much action and lots of fascinating alternate history world building. It’s actually 1933 in book two, and one of my favorite parts of world building was a letter posted at the beginning of a chapter that was from Robert E. Howard to H.P. Lovecraft. I was in Nerdvanna after I read that. Robert E. Howard wrote the Conan stories and Lovecraft invented the Cthulhu mythos.
It’s worth noting that the year 1933 was the year that King Kong (the original movie) came out and Larry Correia’s love of monster movies carries over into this book in a pretty spectacular way at the end of the book. The King Kong parallel was awesome, and all the historical details, small and large, were so great.
The Grimnoir series is the real deal. Hard Magic was no fluke. Spellbound ups the ante with dangerous villains, fantastic characterization, brilliant world building, intense action, and a great story that will enthrall you from beginning to end.
I highly recommend The Grimnoir Chronicles. Five Stars.
Paul Genesse Author of the Iron Dragon Series/Editor of the Crimson Pact anthology Series -
Mobsters, Magic, and Mayhem
I’m surprised at how few of my GR friends have discovered Larry Correia and this gem of a series. It’s high quality urban fantasy, with lots of guns, action and great characters. It really packs a punch!
I recommend the audio, the narrator gives great personality to the characters and has the best accents. -
Okay, after some thought I went with a 5 star rating. While I like (in general) the Monster Hunter International series better these are (so far) good and enjoyable books and the rating system of 1 to 5 has this built in deficiency...the book rates better than 4 but isn't quite up to the "top" of my 5 star list. So 4.5...again.
I think most fantasy/science fantasy/urban fantasy/horror/action fans who pick this up will like it. With "over-all" big background plot still in play and growing we also get the single volume plot here also. It's comes across as a sort of "side track" as the world itself is careening toward destruction. Of course none of the "powers that be" will believe the "good-guys" as they try to prevent said destruction and indeed buy the line that (again) said good-guys are really bad guys.
You get the idea. It's something like the government and the public turning against mutants in the X-Men for the comic book graphic novel aficionados among us.
You'll get plenty of action here with good character and plot development. There is a "new" overriding problem that rears it's head here and you can add that to the hurdles between our heroes and saving the totally ungrateful world.
So, enjoy. I like it and plan to snap up the next in this series as well as the Monster Hunter International series.
Recommended.
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Larry is allowed to eat healthy, exercise, get Doctor's only recommended amount of sleep, spend holidays with family...other than that, he needs to write more for this series. Some of us are addicts. Its not fair to keep us in constant withdrawals. Doesn't the Bill of Rights prohibit authors from the tyranny of not writing fast enough?
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This is the second book in the Grimnoir trilogy. I was quite taken with
Hard Magic, so I pushed the next book up on my queue. This is an alt-history world in which some great magical "power" came to Earth in the 1850s, granting magical superpowers to a small percentage of the population. Now these magical "Actives" are being persecuted by the government; in fact, the conspiracy to round up and inter or eliminate all Actives is what drives much of the action in Spellbound, though the real threat is something much worse.
Most of the characters are returnees from book one, from Jake Sullivan, the smarter-than-he-looks gravity-controlling bruiser and war hero to Faye Vierra, the super-smart, super-fast Okie girl with teleportation powers, ninja fighting abilities, and super-ADD. Most of our other (surviving) friends from Hard Magic are back too, and as the 30s roll on, Correia continues to insert historical figures into his magical alt-history. Interestingly, it looks like there will be no World War II, or at least a very different one, since we learn here that Hitler got put up against a wall in Germany when he first starting making trouble.
But that's okay, because in this version of history, the Japanese Imperium is becoming nigh-unstoppable. In addition to a massive military and superior technology, they also have the most powerful Actives in the world, notably their elite Iron Guard, whom we met in the last book. Chairman Tokugawa, the Big Bad of the previous volume, makes a cameo here to let Jake Sullivan know that things are only going to get worse.
Correia does a good job of weaving the two threats simultaneously throughout the book: the treachery and abnegation of civil rights threatening the knights of the Grimnoir from their own government, and the cosmic horror that is apparently approaching Earth to destroy the source of all magic, and the Earth. He adds a new main character to the cast in the form of an Iron Guard gone ronin.
Mostly this is another action adventure with loads of cinematic fight scenes, culminating in a battle in Washington D.C. against a 70-foot-tall demon. (Really.) Like Hard Magic, Spellbound may purport to be an alt-history fantasy, but it's really a superhero novel.
It's also the middle of a trilogy, which means you'll miss a lot if you haven't read the first book, and not much is resolved at the end of this one. But it continues to be highly entertaining high adventure, not terribly deep but great fun. Correia is starting to let his politics creep out a bit more (FDR is apparently going to be the Worst President Ever), but it's mostly held in check until the villainous leftist fall-guy's monologue at the end, where he practically twirls his mustache and cackles villainous leftist laughter.
Notwithstanding the straw-leftists, though, it's still a fun series. -
The story in this book could have been an X-Men story arc, and I mean that in a good way.
I mentioned in my review for the first book in this series what I loved most about the Grimnoir Chronicles world, the fact that it's this unique blend of noir steampunk urban fantasy-sci-fi set in this alternate history of 1930s America. The Grimnoir are a secret society of magically empowered individuals, or "Actives", who exist to protect their own people against anti-magic violence as well as the "Normal" population against magical threats from more hostile and dangerous Actives.
Like X-Men, amirite? In fact, that's how I eventually came to think of the characters, as these dark superheroes, except their abilities are all derived from magic. "Heavies" can alter and manipulate gravity forces, "Torches" can control fire, "Travelers" are like teleporters, "Movers" have telekinetic abilities, etc. etc. etc.
In this book, anti-Active sentiment has reached an all time high and a government has initiated a push to have all Actives registered in order to keep tabs on them. Things get worse when an assassination attempt is pinned on Actives, and the Grimnoir become fugitives on the run. Meanwhile an insane government agent is rabidly trying to hunt them down, and if that's not enough Jake Sullivan also has to figure out how to put a stop to an otherworldly threat that would destroy the world if not stopped.
The series is just pure non-stop action and excitement, and it's getting better and better. -
Exciting adventure in a sideways Earth. Historical characters who are somewhat different from the real ones. Suspense and action both well done. The Descriptions are good. The plot follows along well. There are multiple POVs which some readers do not like but Larry does them well.
I recommend it but you definitely need to read the first one to get all that is happening. -
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT
Fantasy Literature.
“You’re Heavy Jake Sullivan, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
“I was afraid of that.”
Larry Correia delivers another exciting magical alternate history with Spellbound, the second of his GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES. After Jake Sullivan and the gang took care of the German zombies, the Japanese Iron Guard, and Nikola Tesla’s peace ray in Hard Magic, the magicals are needed again to thwart new threats to the country. This is hard to do, though, after they’ve been framed for the attempted assassination of President Roosevelt. Public approval for magicals is low and opposition groups are organizing to march on Washington. FDR decides that magic must be regulated and proposes a new-deal-type law that will require all magicals to register with the government and wear an identification badge.
Meanwhile, after receiving a phone call from Hell, the Grimnoir recognize that there’s a much greater magical threat that the American citizens are unaware of. Only the Grimnoir are equipped to handle it. Frustrated, they must take care of this alien evil while hiding from the government. Fortunately, they do have some really awesome magical powers, an unexpected powerful ally, and a lot of guns.
Once again, I’m surprised to find myself enjoying Larry Correia’s testosterone-pumping, gun-toting, blood-spurting, heads-rolling story, but there’s a lot more here than guns, guts and gore. There’s a large diverse set of likeable and fully-developed fictional and real historical characters, an interesting historical backdrop, plenty of action and suspense, some blood-chilling moments, and a few quirky elements, too, such as an army of robots and a black hole.
There’s also quite a bit of dark humor, which blends perfectly to lighten the mood just a bit when things get scary. I was always entertained by the scenes in which Lance takes over the body of an animal. I also love the adapted quotes at the beginning of the chapters, which put the story in its historical context. For example, one is from the New York Commissioner of Boxing who explains how, after Jack Johnson beat the Great White Hope, they bribed a referee and snuck in a Brute to end Johnson’s career (“Gotta keep the sport pure, y’know?”).
Bronson Pinchot’s performance in the audio version of Spellbound is nothing short of brilliant. There’s a large international cast here and Pinchot handles all of those accents with ease. He perfectly captures the excitement, horror, and humor of Spellbound. If you don’t read audiobooks, you might consider starting with this series. It’s a perfect example of how good audio can get.
There’s danger on the horizon, American opinion about magicals is unstable (are they public heroes or public enemies?), and many questions remain about the Power, its motives, and Faye’s ties to it. I’m looking forward to the next GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES book. -
Still really enjoying this series. The first book was great just on its own, but now I see that the trilogy is really a whole that's been broken into three parts. You can stop with the first book, but I don't know why you'd want to.
Unfortunately, Pinchot's reading wasn't as great this time around, and I still have some of the same nitpicks as before: a slightly singsong way of reading things, odd inflections at times, etc. And now, unfortunately, I have to add to the list that he forgot Jane's voice. She was German-sounding in the first book, but in this one, she really didn't have an accent at all. Faye and Hammer sound almost exactly alike (except that Faye is more hyper and excitable), and Dan Garrett's voice REALLY annoyed me this time around. In the first book, it was like he was trying to read Dan as a scholarly radio broadcaster type, which made him sound kinda formal and overly-enunciated, but in this one, it was so over the top that he was almost a caricature. Yes, he's a smart, ex-radio man, who can control people with his voice, but he's still human. He sounded so stiff that I worried he'd been replaced by a machine.
Anyway, that's not really the story's fault, and while I have been known to drop a star for performance, that's not why I did so here. In this case, I dropped the star because I was hoping that the Spellbound story would be wrapped up in this book, so that the final book can focus on the coming war. But instead that was barely touched on at all throughout the book, and carried over to the final installment - making this one feel like filler instead of a complete book in the series. Awesome, plot-twisty, politically scary filler, but filler nonetheless.
I did really like the plot of this book, though, and holy shit was Crow frightening. Definitely not one I would want to meet in a dark alley... or anywhere... ever. He's creepy and deranged, and awesome. I love it when a villain can really make me cringe on behalf of the characters. He did that, for sure.
And, if possible, Dr. Carr was even scarier, though for very different reasons. I pictured him as Dick Cheney. Yeah. Scary as shit.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to seeing how some of the surprises from this book are wrapped up in the final book, and I really hope it's awesome. I have faith that it will be, but I've got my fingers crossed just in case. :D -
First of all, all I have to say is WOW! I didn't think the second book would come close to topping off the awesomeness of the first book but it managed to pull it off. This book was loaded with action, action, and more action! If you're a fan of noir, magic, big scary demons, political conspiracies, guns, and awesome characters than definitely give this book a read.
In this book we get more insight in to the source of the magic , the Power, and what it means for the magic users. It turns out that the Power has jumped universes because there is a Predator after it that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. Now that's a plot! Of course there is also political turmoil mixed in by a radical magic hater to try and control magic users. So it's up to the Grimnoir Society to save the day again.
One of the things I love about this series among many other things is that Correia takes events in history and give thems a different twist. So we get to see what might have happened during major historical events if magic had been in the world. It's very cool! The world building in this fantasy is fantastic, I don't have a single complaint about it. Correia also knows how to build characters that are interesting and make you want to emotionally invest in them.
There really is no other way to describe this book other than epic. The ending of this book takes up about 1/4 of the whole book but it in no way feels too long or like its dragging on. Its pure adrenaline all the way through! -
I loved the first book in this series. It felt new and fresh; an exciting, fun read.
This book was, unfortunately, extremely derivative and almost boring.
Mr. Correia's greatest strength is how he writes action scenes. His characters can be fun and there are some fun ideas floating around in his writing. Unfortunately, for the first 2/3 of the book, the characters were mostly talking and plotting. I can handle this when done well, but it just didn't work for me in this particular book.
As for the derivative part? Well, Spellbound is essentially the story of how the X-men are preparing to hunt down the Silver Surfer and kill him so he won't signal Galactus to come and eat the Earth like he's done for so many other planets. Really. There's even a version of the Mutant Registration Act. Internment camps, like in Days of Future Past. It was disappointing, really.
I'm looking forward to the third book to see how it all turns out, but I'm missing the sheer fun and energy of the first book. -
I was a little harsh with my review of Hard Magic (Vol 1 Of the Grimnoir series) and I gave it 3 stars. The book did a whole lot of world-building and had a big finish, but the rest of it left me a little flat. A bit too much time spent exploring the nuts & bolts of how the world functioned was spent in the first book, but now all that foreshadowed knowledge makes the 2nd book sing.
Now - I have to admit that all that world building and painstaking setup pays off huge dividends in Spellbound, the 2nd book in the series. The story picks up pretty much right where the last book left off and hits the ground running. Shadowy McCarthyism, betrayal, and difficult alliances pepper the book from start to finish.
The pacing was very good, and the action was as always very excellent from Mr. Correia. I am looking forward to the 3rd book in the series, and I am a huge fan of his work now. I can only recommend this series. -
Correia's best work yet. Every character stands out as an individual, I had no problem keeping track of who was this person, what were they about, they were all real. And the story flowed, the action scenes were awesome and I was glued to the book. For anyone that likes old pulp adventure stories this is definately the book for you. I was even excited to see that this book leads up to another book in the works.
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More of the same. I love finding books I can't get out of my head, even if they're of the lighter variety. This has sure made my recent commute up to Logan fly by. Again, some strong language; otherwise very clean.
This second installment delivered some impressive plot twists and revelations leading all the way back to the beginning of book one. I love it when obscure oddities become perfectly clear later on.
Page Turner: 9/10
Honest: 6/10
Cerebral: 8/10
Uplifting: 8/10 -
Another kick ass thrill ride from Correia. Lots of action, good pacing, and great characters. The third book had better be on the way soon.
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Seriously, such a great series. So blown away.
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A great follow-up book. A nice story that has you rooting for the underdog.
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A great science fiction, fantasy, action, adventure, horror book. This book has it all! I'll be starting the third one soon.
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Fey is growing on me.
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“Spellbound” is the second installment in Correia’s “Grimnoir Chronicles”, and it’s every bit as good as the first volume, “Hard Magic”. Set in an alternate early 1930s America, Correia’s world is one where magic works for certain people- Actives. They have superhero like abilities: some are super strong; some can manipulate fire, ice, gravity, mechanical things or electricity; some can read minds or compel others to their will; some can raise the dead or summon demons to do their will. While these talented people have been more or less accepted by regular homo sapiens (especially the really useful ones- Cogs like Edison, Tesla and Browning are valued for their inventions, while Brutes are very useful for heavy labor), that is changing as certain Actives strive to take over the world. A movement towards mandatory registration of all Actives is growing stronger- and after registration, confinement would almost certainly follow soon after. A special government agency has been set up to do this- but it’s going well beyond what it was created for.
Along with that danger, the alien entity that powers the Active’s abilities is being pursued by its enemy, which will destroy earth. The Japanese government keeps trying to take over the world. One of the Grimnoir- a group of Actives who strive to protect the earth- may be connected to something evil. That’s a lot for a group to deal with, even a group as talented and able as the Grimnoir.
The books feature a true ensemble cast- there is no one central character and the POV moves from one to another. There is no guarantee that any cast member, even a very important one, will survive a book- many died in “Hard Magic”. This creates a real suspense that doesn’t come in a lot of books, where one can assume that a main character will survive because there are more books in the series planned. I’ve really come to like the main characters in these books a lot; they learn, they have heartbreak, they grow.
“Spellbound” is nonstop action that combines magical powers, Japanese fighting techniques, hand to hand and enough gunfire to make Remington richer than anyone. It’s intelligent- the many plot strands are woven tightly with none forgotten. And it features the creepiest interrogation scene ever, one that will feature in my nightmares for some time. HIGHLY recommended! -
If Raymond Chandler wrote the X-men, this might be the result.
Spellbound is the second book in the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia. If you haven’t read the first, Hard Magic, go do it now. It’s worth it. Don’t worry. I’ll wait.
Have you read it? Good. Now we can talk. Set in an alternate history 1930’s, these books follow the exploits of the Grimnoir Society, a group of magic (or Active) individuals whose goals are to protect humanity and themselves from magical and otherworldly threats. While the plot may sound slightly familiar (the X-men, I know) where Correia really shines is giving the reader a world and characters that they really want to invest in. Sprinkled throughout the books are references to historical figures and events that give the reader anchoring context while simultaneously posing the question of “What if?” Namely, “What if magic had existed at the same time?” What would have happened?
The overarching plot of Spellbound is one you might be familiar with, especially if you saw the first two X-men movies. The main villain here is not some super-powered evil, although that does come into play, but rather a scared populace who no longer feel safe with a bunch of super-humans running around. The protagonists are still trying to deal with the aftermath of Hard Magic, preparing themselves for what could possibly be a world ending event, but they are constantly harassed by a shady government agency trying to destroy them at every turn. The stakes in this book never let up, and the reader is swept along from one giant set piece to the next, the action always creative and impressively done. What makes it all work is how much the reader now cares for theses characters, as they have now had a full book of development before hand, and thus wants them to succeed as they are thrown at seemingly impossible situation after impossible situation.
Spellbound is a great book, highly recommended for any fan of the super-hero genre. The topics that he covers may seem familiar to some, but it is done in such an innovative and authentic way that it feels like you’re reading it for the first time. If you’re looking for something well crafted and creatively done, this is the book for you. -
Continuing the story begun in Hard Magic, the first in this series, this novel was disappointing. The plot concept is still very good, but the writing is rather choppy. The first half of the book was written better than the last half; I suspect there wasn't much editing done on this one. I also wasn't as involved in caring about the characters; they were mere shadows of themselves, compared to Hard Magic. I understand that it's "well-known that second novels are weaker than the first one", at least I've read that opinion a lot. I don't always agree with that assessment, but would have to with this series.
Also, there's too much prejudice in this book. I don't remember so much of it in the first one, but in this one, "nigger" is used, "Jap" is almost constant. It's rather tiring. I know this is supposed to be an alternate history novel, but growing up in the 50s, I knew many people from the era noted in the book, and I rarely heard these words then.
Hard Magic had HUNDREDS of errors; this second novel had less than that, but I believe it was still over a hundred. Examples are:pg 226 - "canvass the neighborhood" not "canvas the neighborhood" (unless they're really covering the town in fabric); pg 238 - "So I been told" and "it don't matter"; pg 257 - "infomant" instead of "informant"; pg 256 - "chose" instead of "choose"; pg 264 - "mediating" instead of "meditating"; pg 306 - "they're got lists of names".. I hope that's supposed to be "they've" but with the bad usage all through the book, I'm not sure; pg 309 - "by fluke happenstance", well, it should be one or the other.. both words mean the same. Also, the entire book has wrongly used verb tenses for "to have" (I got, etc), as well as the verb "to be". Basic stuff! The frequency of these errors makes it difficult to read past. (please note: I'm not even talking about speech patterns of the ignorant characters here. Much of this is in the exposition surrounding the speaking parts.)
I'll read the third book, but only because it's hard for me to drop storylines once I've begun them. However, I won't be buying these books; borrowing them is sufficient. -
I began listening and was underwhelmed by the beginning threads being spun to several story lines. However, I recalled having the same reaction to the first book in this series,
Hard Magic which I wound up enjoying quite a bit. So I decided to settle in and just enjoy Bronson Pinchot's narration if nothing else.
Ah yes, here we go...
Jake Sullivan has had a very unusual "telephone call" which is quite a bit more intriguing than you'd think from that description. And we now see why no weapons are allowed in a certain facility. I began laughing out loud at the warnings being given from certain records played. Anyone who has read the book knows what I am talking about but unless you've heard Bronson Pinchot voicing them you just haven't enjoyed them to the full.
FINAL
I was really torn between giving this two and three stars. As a story by itself it is a fine adventure. However, as part of a series it left quite a bit to be desired. I wound up feeling like Toro, the Iron Guard who joins the motley crew of actives who will be seeking the Pathfinder, "This is a waste of time."
Yes, it was an adventure, but I'm not interested in the ways Correia develops US history in this alternative world, I'm mostly interested in the source of the magic and it's evil opposite, who is coming (or so we keep getting told). And, actually, at the end of the book we see that there was an inevitable development in the government's approach toward active magic users, no matter which politician "won." Yes, Mr. Crow's side was going to be more drastic, but in the end the result is the same.
I feel as if, aside from a few essential revelations about Faye and Jake, we could have skipped this entire book and gone on to the third one, for all the story development that happened.
I won't say "never" right now but I have a very strong feeling that I don't care enough about the series at this point to read the third book. For one thing, I'm not sure I can trust the author to really move things along. -
OK, now I'm primed for the release of
Warbound. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to reread previous volumes as a new book in a series nears publication.
Once again, a great book. Being a rightwing conservative wingnut, it is nice to read a book which explicitly champions the value of the individual, and their right to make their own decisions.
Also, our heroes here are some of my favorite archetypes (or stereotypes, tropes, etc.). We have 'Heavy' Jake Sullivan, the big man who is smarter than he appears and while he would prefer to just be left alone, won't hesitate to open up a can in order to protect others. Then there is Faye, who covers two stereotypes in one. First off, she's the unsophisticated hick, whose unconventional way of thinking often arrives at the solution quicker than anyone else. And she is also the laughing, happy-go-lucky psychopath, who debates whether she should kill anyone who annoys her, yet somehow, you just can't help but love her. There's Whisper, the foreign beauty . Toru, the Iron Guard who The characters here are great, and I love their interaction.
Ultimately the book is fun, quick and action packed. Read it. -
The second book of the Grimnoir Chronicles. Serious spoilers ahead for
Hard Magic
It opens, in fact -- after a prologue flashing back to the Great War, with new characters -- with Faye being shown evidence that she didn't kill the Chairman after all (and the elders of the Grimnoir discuss whether she's too dangerous to live), Jake doing research in a library, and Francis, in his new role as one of the country's richest men, stuck waiting for the President, with Heinrich playing his bodyguard.
Then an Active tries to assassinate the President. Only Heinrich's quick action saves him, many more die, and Francis uses his powers to kill the assassin -- to find himself in jail, being told that Heinrich died, and accused of killing the man to keep him from talking.
Meanwhile, Faye's assigned to new Grimnoir knights being brought to America to replace the last book's losses, and Jake is recruited to take a phone call from a dead man.
The stakes have gotten higher. Significant incidents include saving the Midwest from a magical prolonged Dustbowl, a revealing explanation of a poem, that Faye's eyes used to be blue, Buckminster Fuller, talking to the Japanese ambassador, eating a note and then trying to recreate it, plans to register all Actives (and eliminate some), a man named Crow, and much more.
