Wednesday 4 February 2015

This Book Could be Ours (4): The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson


The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Narrator: Michael Kramer
First in The Rithmatist Series
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
Published: 14th May 2013
Publisher: MacMillan Audio
Length: 10 hours and 23 minutes
Format: eAudiobook
Source: My local library

Tell me more, tell me more...
Joel would like nothing more in the world to be one of the Rithmatists: those who The Master gives the power to animate Chalkings. However, the closest he can get to being one is studying their history. When Rithmatists in training from his school go missing, can Joel help solve the mystery

Why did I read this?

I've always wanted to read a Brandon Sanderson book as I've heard so much internet buzz about his writing and world building. I kept hesitating for a while though due to fear it wouldn't live up to my expectations and not knowing what book of his to read first! (All his book blurbs sound AMAZING.)

What I liked:

The Magic System: At the very beginning I was skeptical of the premise of characters dueling by bringing chalk drawings to life. Thankfully my cynical attitude soon disappeared. It was clever of Sanderson to set the books in a pre modern technology era as it made the system more believable.

I quickly became as fascinated as Joel with the different approaches and defenses Rithmatists could draw to protect themselves. The small section at the end of each chapter describing a particular concept just mentioned by the characters was informative. and helped me visualise the duels.

As a history geek, I also liked the portions of history from Joel's textbooks and library books. It was nice getting to know a bit about the Wild Chalkings' background. I feel there's a lot more to be revealed!

The Unpredictable Plot: The mystery of who was behind the Rithmatists' in training disappearances is one of the few I have been utterly fooled by. It felt as startling a reveal as an Agatha Christie Mystery  (I'm not saying that lightly as she is my idol). The twists and turns just kept coming!

Joel's and Melanie's relationship: It was refreshing to see these characters relationship grow slowly. The potential for them becoming more than friends is nice and subtle. Sanderson is going for the slow burn with these two I reckon.

Who might like this?

Fans of High Fantasy and those who would like to get into the genre would both enjoy this book for its solid world building and truly unpredictable mystery.

Final Thoughts:

The Rithmatist was a great point to start exploring Brandon Sanderson's books. I'm desperate for the sequel to come out, but glad I have his backlist to keep me busy in the meantime.

Have you read any Brandon Sanderson books?

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