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tandemjon's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting story of one of the spellslinger characters prior to the series.
jadeyrae's review against another edition
5.0
9.43 on CAWPILE.
My fav author, one of my fav series, with one of my fav characters... I LOVED THIS
My fav author, one of my fav series, with one of my fav characters... I LOVED THIS
hrgisahero's review against another edition
2.0
Spoiler
I loved Ferius and what I knew about her. I honestly felt like this made me like her less and changed the character for the worse.daffz's review against another edition
4.0
Ahh I was so excited for this book!
Seeing the start of Ferius' story was amazing. I loved going back into this universe, especially when the story is about Ferius as she has always been my favorite character from the spellslinger series.
That said, this book was a bit tough to get into at first. Mostly because of that reason. The book starts off very bleak and depressing, and it stays that way for quite a bit. It was pretty tough to get through, especially as I already had an attachment to Ferius as a character.
But the story was worth it. It was really interesting and quite different from the other books set in this universe. I really loved how you could see Ferius grow and change, she picked up more and more traits that we know her to have as an adult throughout the course of this book. Though she's still not the same Ferius we know from Kellen's stories.
All in all, a definite recommendation for any Spellslinger fans.
Seeing the start of Ferius' story was amazing. I loved going back into this universe, especially when the story is about Ferius as she has always been my favorite character from the spellslinger series.
That said, this book was a bit tough to get into at first. Mostly because of that reason. The book starts off very bleak and depressing, and it stays that way for quite a bit. It was pretty tough to get through, especially as I already had an attachment to Ferius as a character.
But the story was worth it. It was really interesting and quite different from the other books set in this universe. I really loved how you could see Ferius grow and change, she picked up more and more traits that we know her to have as an adult throughout the course of this book. Though she's still not the same Ferius we know from Kellen's stories.
All in all, a definite recommendation for any Spellslinger fans.
chrstn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shaeilidh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
becca1909's review against another edition
4.0
i did really enjoy this, ferius is one of my favourite characters from this year so reading her backstory was really interesting
escan's review against another edition
5.0
Good news: the book I've been anticipating for a solid year is finally here!
Bad news: I'm out of space on my designated Sebastien de Castell shelf.
Not every character needs a backstory - sometimes a character just is, and it doesn't matter how or why, and trying to explain it will just kill the magic. That's not the case when it comes to Ferius Parfax.
Unfortunately, due to commitments like "school" and "work" and "tragic virtual university open days", I didn't find the time to reread the Spellslinger books before my copy of Way of the Argosi was delivered at an unspeakable time of the morning, but as far as I can remember we get a bare bones outline of Ferius' past: she's of the Mahdek people who the Jan'Tep are so hellbent on extinguishing, she was eventually taken in by an Argosi couple, and she was not a happy kid at that time.
It maybe shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Way of the Argosi is pretty unrelentingly bleak. Not necessarily in terms of the tone - the book has the same slightly-wry-in-the-face-of-unimaginable-pain first-person narration as both Spellslinger and The Greatcoats - but certainly in terms of the content. Ferius is persecuted, abused, abandoned, and destroyed physically and mentally, and she's a child. But this isn't grimdark; Ferius does eventually find beauty, hope, and love in the world. Admittedly, she tends to approach these things like an unsocialised kitten, hissing and scratching for all she's worth, but she definitely does find them.
These 350-odd pages are a great stand-alone read, but in their role as backstory I believe they genuinely strengthen the adult Ferius as a character in the main series. Her kindness and compassion (towards everyone, but particularly the Jan'Tep characters) is that much more impactful, her joy is that much more valuable, and her teaching methods clearly run in the family.
A final thing that I really have to note is that, as per usual, the cover design is absolutely gorgeous! The individual pieces of art look incredible, and everything comes together beautifully - it's clearly still related to the main Spellslinger books, while still being visually distinct.
(I also hope the "two belligerent cats" from the author's profile at the end of the book are doing well and contributing to the writing process for Play of Shadows, which I am absolutely dying to read!)
Bad news: I'm out of space on my designated Sebastien de Castell shelf.
Not every character needs a backstory - sometimes a character just is, and it doesn't matter how or why, and trying to explain it will just kill the magic. That's not the case when it comes to Ferius Parfax.
Unfortunately, due to commitments like "school" and "work" and "tragic virtual university open days", I didn't find the time to reread the Spellslinger books before my copy of Way of the Argosi was delivered at an unspeakable time of the morning, but as far as I can remember we get a bare bones outline of Ferius' past: she's of the Mahdek people who the Jan'Tep are so hellbent on extinguishing, she was eventually taken in by an Argosi couple, and she was not a happy kid at that time.
It maybe shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Way of the Argosi is pretty unrelentingly bleak. Not necessarily in terms of the tone - the book has the same slightly-wry-in-the-face-of-unimaginable-pain first-person narration as both Spellslinger and The Greatcoats - but certainly in terms of the content. Ferius is persecuted, abused, abandoned, and destroyed physically and mentally, and she's a child. But this isn't grimdark; Ferius does eventually find beauty, hope, and love in the world. Admittedly, she tends to approach these things like an unsocialised kitten, hissing and scratching for all she's worth, but she definitely does find them.
These 350-odd pages are a great stand-alone read, but in their role as backstory I believe they genuinely strengthen the adult Ferius as a character in the main series. Her kindness and compassion (towards everyone, but particularly the Jan'Tep characters) is that much more impactful, her joy is that much more valuable, and her teaching methods clearly run in the family.
A final thing that I really have to note is that, as per usual, the cover design is absolutely gorgeous! The individual pieces of art look incredible, and everything comes together beautifully - it's clearly still related to the main Spellslinger books, while still being visually distinct.
(I also hope the "two belligerent cats" from the author's profile at the end of the book are doing well and contributing to the writing process for Play of Shadows, which I am absolutely dying to read!)
seanpatricklittle's review against another edition
5.0
Sebastien de Castell writes the books I wish I was writing. They're full of clever twists, bravado, and flawed heroes who say the right things at the right moments. He's writing the books that fall right into the legacy Alexandre Dumas, Russell Thorndike, and Rafael Sabatini started. I loved his Greatcoats series, and the Spellslinger series was great.
This book is the origin of Ferius Parfax, easily the most intriguing character in the Spellslinger series. As with all of de Castell's books, there is plenty of attitude, gumption, and a central character who can't catch a break.
However, while the glimpse at young Ferius is appreciated and fascinating, I kind of liked Ferius because of who she was in Spellslinger, not necessarily who she was before she learned to walk the Path of the Wild Daisies.
In a way, it feels a lot like seeing young Boba Fett in those Star Wars movies. It's neat, I guess...but it's not the character I grew to love in her later years, and that disconnect is throwing me.
But, it's still a grand de Castell adventure, and worthy of being read. Looking forward to more.
This book is the origin of Ferius Parfax, easily the most intriguing character in the Spellslinger series. As with all of de Castell's books, there is plenty of attitude, gumption, and a central character who can't catch a break.
However, while the glimpse at young Ferius is appreciated and fascinating, I kind of liked Ferius because of who she was in Spellslinger, not necessarily who she was before she learned to walk the Path of the Wild Daisies.
In a way, it feels a lot like seeing young Boba Fett in those Star Wars movies. It's neat, I guess...but it's not the character I grew to love in her later years, and that disconnect is throwing me.
But, it's still a grand de Castell adventure, and worthy of being read. Looking forward to more.