SPELLBINDERS

Adventure calls for Ben and friends when someone starts stealing the Spellbinder’s books—and taking those who possessed them.

Following the events of the first book, Ben’s only battles are in a LARP game alongside his best friend, nonbinary shape-shifting mimir Merv, and their not-so-effective teammate, Agnes. When toad men from another realm attack the LARPers in their pursuit of Ben and his book, Ben reunites with assassin Niara and mercenary Drake. Frustrated Ben believes his friends consider him too reckless to wield Spellbinder magic. He uses a role-playing manual (think Joseph Campbell’s famous hero’s journey from The Hero With a Thousand Faces) to structure his own development. Meanwhile, Niara has an introspective journey of figuring out who she is with the Elders she formerly served dethroned. The metafictive story structure counters predictability with a self-awareness that caters to imaginative readers. Interspersed chapters flashback to Julia Profit, Lux’s founder and prophet, as she finds her own book, creates a world, learns the true cost of the magic, and interacts with mysterious nonbinary Cash, who seems friendly and knowledgeable about the magic and realms. Julia’s story sets the stakes Ben faces if he uses the magic and the realms he travels to showcase danger and excitement. A stinger of an ending promises escalating adventures to come. Game manual profiles include spot art; Ben reads white, and the portraits and some surnames cue some diversity in the supporting cast.

Ideal for fantasy nerds, gamers, and writers.