Spell of Catastrophe
Jan. 31st, 2010 05:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
draggonlaadyI've started reading this book, by Mayer Allen Brenner. It has apparently been put out under both Catastrophe's Spell and Spell of Catastrophe.
It is available for free download from the author's website: http://mayerbrenner.com/download/
Since I'm sort of on a reviewing kick lately, I'll just continue on, shall I?
About a third of the way in now.
The story follows 3 sets of people who have been and/or will be entangled with each other, but currently are doing their own things. Sections switch between groups. Basic world is post-apocalypse? Definitely post-technological. It seems that at some point in the past, the gods showed up, said "No." to any technology beyond blacksmithing and ship building, and replaced tech with magic. Standard fantasy stuff, really, so the attraction of this book is primarily it's light-hearted sense of humor. One of the main characters, for instance, is Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable. How can you say no to that?
There are occasional typos, generally odd ones--substitution of 1 for I, for example. I suspect this is only found in the downloads and is a result of scanning to text, not actually the author's fault.
The primary cast are Max and a couple of his friends, one of whom is being held hostage by a moving castle; a nameless (as of yet) private investigator that just got tossed in jail; and a physician/adventurer named Shaa. Shaa is hugely sarcastic and my favorite part of the book so far.
A quote for a chuckle, chosen because it's the page I'm on:
"Then we can get on with it," Shaa said. "I have some skill with boats."
"Boats? But we don't have a boat."
"Acquiring the boat is one of my skills."
It is available for free download from the author's website: http://mayerbrenner.com/download/
Since I'm sort of on a reviewing kick lately, I'll just continue on, shall I?
About a third of the way in now.
The story follows 3 sets of people who have been and/or will be entangled with each other, but currently are doing their own things. Sections switch between groups. Basic world is post-apocalypse? Definitely post-technological. It seems that at some point in the past, the gods showed up, said "No." to any technology beyond blacksmithing and ship building, and replaced tech with magic. Standard fantasy stuff, really, so the attraction of this book is primarily it's light-hearted sense of humor. One of the main characters, for instance, is Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable. How can you say no to that?
There are occasional typos, generally odd ones--substitution of 1 for I, for example. I suspect this is only found in the downloads and is a result of scanning to text, not actually the author's fault.
The primary cast are Max and a couple of his friends, one of whom is being held hostage by a moving castle; a nameless (as of yet) private investigator that just got tossed in jail; and a physician/adventurer named Shaa. Shaa is hugely sarcastic and my favorite part of the book so far.
A quote for a chuckle, chosen because it's the page I'm on:
"Then we can get on with it," Shaa said. "I have some skill with boats."
"Boats? But we don't have a boat."
"Acquiring the boat is one of my skills."
