#Spellslinger

[ace7librarian]

I have so many characters that I wish could be Tumblr sexyman but the fandoms are too small

[tea-and-scribbles]

"Hate is the door through which self-destruction enters each of us."

- Sebastien de Castell, The Way of the Argosi

[icantrememberwhoiwaslastdecember]

*sword catcher, the prison healer (reread), the shanarra chronicles, shadowhunters (reread), legacy (reread. kotlc one.), aurora cycle, babel (super cool book :3

[fluoxetinegf]

Apparently I have a thing for books that have a small fandom (and a mmc called Kel) 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🫠

[spork-supremacy]

been reading spellslinger in the past few days after having it on my shelf for ages. Really good book and all but what I’m stuck on character designs.

aka.

This is what the main character looks like, a blond dude actually. But everytime I try to visualise him I see

THIS BITCH WHO HAS NOT LEFT MY BRAIN YET.

[xochilexart]

Storm's a Brewin'

[gentlemanjackthelass]

Please why aren't more lesbians talking about Ferius Parfax?????

[cantheywinthehungergames]

Submitted anonymously

Keep Reading for Tribute Info

Happy New Year!

If you would like to see your favorite character either as a tribute or as a mentor, please fill out this Google Form. Just keep in mind that for mentor polls, they will be posted every Saturday so chances are it could take a long time before they are posted.

Please also look at my pinned post for submission rules as well as a list of previously submitted characters prior to submitting your character.

Tribute Name: Kellen Argos

Age: 16-18

Media: Spellslinger series

Restrictions: No magic or magical abilities of any kind and no assistance from magical creatures

[stendra]

A sence commission from Malgrave, Wildstar. Gosh, I miss that game so much!

[ace-is-undead]

I just started book 5 of Spellslinger. Had to put it down laughing when Kellen made That Mistake at the beginning

We love a sassy idiot who did escape death. Again

[ace7librarian]

My favourite gender is "queer ginger mentor"

[morniae]

Morgane automnale🍁🍂🔮

[icantrememberwhoiwaslastdecember]

My to-read list:

Once upon a broken heart (spinoff of Caraval)

Aurora Cycle

Shanarra Chronicles

The Bane Chronicles

The mortal instruments (re-read)

Six of crows

Magisterium (did i spell it right?)

Pjo

Prison healer (re-read)

Gatekeeper

Arcane

Fate of the argosi (spellslinger spinoff/prequel)

spellslinger (re-read)

ACOTAR

The wicked powers

guys this is what i mean when i say i have a long to-read list

[fluoxetinegf]

I really need more people reading the spellslinger books because they’re AMAZING

[stravvymilk]

I was reading a review recently for "Crownbreaker" by Sebastien de Castell, and I feel the unstoppable urge to analyze it a little.

Now I am not a frequent Goodreads user. I use it to keep track of my books and reading progress, but I don't read nor write reviews. The intention of this post isn't to shield Spellslinger from negative criticism. As a fan I have a few critiques myself, but those aren't what I'd like to focus on at the moment. I simply want to chat a little about one particular critique mentioned in one specific review.

(A review I skimmed once over a week ago, and have since been unable to find again, and consequently will not be able to quote from directly. Sorry!)

But the claim I want to address is, essentially, the poster's disappointment over the fact that we are entering Book 6, the conclusion of the series, and Kellen still only has one trick.

(That trick being the single breath spell that Kellen learned back in Book 1.)

The review goes on to say that it's unrealistic that Kellen is able to defeat opponents who possess comparatively more magic than he does, and implies that, at this point in the story, Kellen should be a far more powerful protagonist.

Now please hear me out for a second, even though I know the argument of "it's supposed to be like that, you just don't get it >:c" is an annoying one, and I definitely don't want to come off that way.

This is just me thinking aloud and voicing my understanding of Kellen as a character.

Personally, I just feel that it's a very important part of Kellen's identity that he only has one spell, and has thus been canonically classified as the weakest mage in Jan'Tep history.

Because I'm a loser, I did read through the Acknowledgements at the end of the book. And I remember that de Castell said that the base idea behind Kellen as a character is that he isn't the chosen one. He's weak. He's whiny. He's forever envious of his little sister's power, the fact that she's the apple of their father's eye, the fact that she's destined to be the most powerful mage in the history of the Jan'Tep people, and if such a "chosen one" exists, it's her.

Kellen's internal conflict revolves around his desire to be a mage, while simultaneously rejecting magic and the way Jan'Tep society has structured itself socially, economically and militaristically around it. Kellen grew up in a world that thrives off of magic that he doesn't have access to.

But okay, let's ignore all that for a second here and get back to the review's original complaint: that Kellen only has one trick.

And I use the word "trick" very deliberately here, because that's the word that the reviewer used, and is essentially what I'm going to build my argument from. Not "spell", not "power", but trick. Which is a very interesting word. A fitting word, granted, because Kellen is, in essence, a trickster figure.

But also, a word that is crippling to it's argument, because it renders the entire statement untrue.

From the first chapter of the first book, Kellen has always had a pocket full of tricks. His introduction as a character is done through a sparring match with one of his classmates, during which Kellen admits that his opponent is far more powerful than he is. So, his plan is to use trickery to divert Tennat's attention, toy with his expectations, and turn his own spells against him.

Kellen's development as a person lies in his shift to relying more on his wits than magic he doesn't have and was raised to be dependent on. Therein lies the key to his self acceptance.

But more technically, Kellen's development as a fighter is learning to make up for his lack of brute strength by using slipperier tactics: slight of hand, bluffs, quick perception, diversions, feints.

Tricks.

Kellen has spent the first fifteen (almost sixteen) years of his life learning about Jan'Tep magic. Including where it falls short. Mages are apparently so tunnel-visioned when it comes to magic that they don't think to anticipate alternate fighting tactics. As a result, Kellen is constantly underestimated due to having only one spell in his arsenal, and uses that to his advantage.

To that end, his status as the weakest mage in history is, in itself, a trick. After all, doesn't every good trickster know how to direct someone's eye in order to fool them?

The argument that Kellen only has "one trick" almost makes me think that this Goodreads review could've been written by Ke'heops or Shalla, or any of the other Jan'Tep mages we've come to know. It carries a very similar sentiment that the book's corrupt magical characters have built their entire society on.

A society who thinks any race, civilization, or person without magic is biologically and fundamentally inferior. The very people that the books specifically go out of their way to say are in the WRONG.

Ferius Parfax once said that a novice card player plays their own hand. A skilled card player plays their opponent's. And an expert plays the space in between.

That is the space in which Kellen operates. The blind spots in Jan'Tep philosophy. The shadow of his powerful family. The direction his opponent isn't looking.

Yes. Kellen has only one spell. And he probably won't ever be capable of casting any more.

But Kellen, like his wily Argosi mentor, will always have one more trick.

[xochilexart]

Can't believe we're not getting one but TWO incredible spellslingin ladies! I love them both omggg

Izzet spellslinger is eating good this set.