The Rithmatist is Brandon Sanderson's
newest YA book. Newest only in terms of publishing since he wrote it six or
seven years ago. But then a tiny side project, aka finishing Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, got in the way.
With
The Rithmatist Sanderson has written
an alternative world “gearpunk” detective story filled with a typical
Sanderson-style, intricately crafted, unique and incredibly detailed magic
system I'm used to expecting these from his books and, so far, haven't been
disappointed.
Is
it a typical Sanderson novel? I haven't read his Alcatraz books, but The Rithmatist certainly isn't a novel
like Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn
or The Way of Kings. We have the
unique magic system, but the events don’t happen on the same epic scale his
high fantasy books do. If I had to compare it to another of Sanderson's works,
it's closest to his novella Legion. In both books we get an unlikely set of
characters who work together to solve a crime.
“Rithmatics”,
as the magic system is called, is chalk and geometry based, which gives the
reader the benefit that in addition to it being well-described, the book offers
numerous drawings and sketches showing exactly how it works between the
chapters.
It's
the beginning of the 20th century and instead of automobiles and fossil fuel we
get springrail trains, coaches with clockwork engines and automatic,
clockwork-powered horses. The events of the book take place mostly on the
campus of the Armedicus University on the island of New Britannia, one of the
50+ isles the United Isles of America consist of.
Armedicus
is one of only a few academies where, in addition to all the normal students,
Rithmatists are taught. This is an immensely important thing, since Rithmatics
is the only reason humans where able to populate the previously uninhabited
United Isles at all. And to hold them.
A
Rithmatist possesses the ability to use chalk to draw geometric lines and 2D
creatures that will ward, protect or attack other chalk drawings and even
humans. While Rithmatists often duel for fun, to settle arguments or just to
hone their skills, there is a more serious reason for their work. The ominous
Tower of Nebrask, located in the middle of the United Isles, is a sinister
place spawning wild chalklings, chalk-drawn monsters, which are a permanent
threat to all of America.
The
story evolves around Joel, a normal student on the campus who's biggest (and
only) hobby is Rithmatics. Only he isn't a Rithmatist and his chalk drawings
will never come to life. When Rithmatic students start to disappear from their
homes, leaving chalk drawings and blood, his usually boring summer holiday is
bound to become a lot more interesting.
It's
easy to relate to Joel, who is intelligent and friendly but because of his
poverty an outsider nevertheless. He doesn't have friends, something he shares
with the eccentric girl Melody, the worst Rithmatics student on campus. The
interaction of those two is comedic and the way Sanderson makes them become
friends is funny, heartwarming and authentic.
One
of the few weak points of The Rithmatist
was, at least for me, that it didn't evoke strong emotions. It's certainly
gripping, but I don't remember laughing out loud or secretly wiping some tears
from my eyes. If you love books where characters are severely punished for
making bad decisions, you'll be disappointed too (but knowing his main
characters, that's probably something that'll change).
There
is a lot going on in this world and Sanderson manages to make it a colorful and
real-feeling place (Europe conquered by Asia a long time ago? All Scots
displaced and living in American diaspora?) which you dearly want him to
explore more. Add an ending that only resolves the main plot line but not all plot
lines and you get a book where you're glad that it had the three magic words in
the end. To be continued.
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4 comments:
Great review, Christian. : )
Thank you. :)
Told you I'd read it! Great review, and glad to hear you liked it more than another blogging friend of mine. Going to head off the laptop now and read some more, myself.
I thought some of the characters could be fleshed out a bit more, instead of learning every little bit of the magic system, but all in all a great read :)
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