SHIP OF SPELLS

Dickson crafts a rich fantasy world, deeply infused with the seafaring spirit of a pirate yarn.

Ensign Bluemage Honor Renn of the Oversea Navy desperately clings to a plank of wood following a brutal battle with the Rhi’Ahr ship Endorathil that reduced her ship to charred splinters, sinking beneath the waves. Her hands—her tools as a magic-wielding mage—are horribly injured, leaving her helpless: “With a cry, I pulled them from the waves and froze in horror at what I saw….The flesh was torn away like ribbons, revealing glimpses of thin white bones and long yellow tendons.” Just as she’s about to give up, the legendary and mysterious Ship of Spells arrives to rescue her; she’s shocked and horrified to learn that the craft is helmed by Capt. Thanavar, a Rhi’Ahr whose people hail from the mysterious southern hemisphere known as the Nethersea. The Rhi’Ahr possess the secret of “chimeric,” a dangerous alchemical powder that enhances their munitions with caustic magical runes. Although Renn initially hates and mistrusts Thanavar, she comes to learn that he’s the key to her learning how the mysteriously healing of her wounds has left her with a deep connection to the chimeric—one that the Ship of Spells puts to use in an attempt to end the ongoing war. Dickson delivers an inventive riff on familiar fantasy tropes within the framework of a thrilling swashbuckler. Any pirate story lives and dies on the dynamics of the crewmembers, and in this, the author does not disappoint. Each character satisfies familiar tropes of fantasy and seafaring adventures while also thriving as fully realized individuals—whether it’s the telepathic faun, Echo; the jovial minotaur, Buck; or the stoic harpy, Kit. The relationships among the players develop in rewarding ways, and none more so than that between Renn and Thanavar. The narrative, rendered in clear, straightforward prose, also sketches out its fictional world in detail and drives readers relentlessly forward toward a satisfying conclusion, which will leave them wanting more.

High-seas adventure meets rich fantasy worldbuilding and strong character development.