Brandon Sanderson, the author best known for his Mistborn series and for finishing Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, has scored another hit with his Young Adult fantasy novel, The Rithmatist. Although this novel is considered “Young Adult”, it is great reading for all ages.
Background Info (taken from Amazon description):
“More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings--merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing--kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery--one that will change Rithmatics--and their world--forever.”
“More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings--merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing--kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery--one that will change Rithmatics--and their world--forever.”
My Synopsis: Described as a “gearpunk”
novel, The Rithmatist is set in a
clever alternate-universe America in which America has been divided into sixty
islands comprising the United Isles of America. The story takes place on the
island of New Brittania at the prestigious Armedius Academy, where the sons and
daughters of the elite are sent to be educated either in regular classes or, if
they have been chosen to be one of the special few, Rithmatics. Joel, the main
character of The Rithmatist, stands
out as an oddity among the student population at Armedius. Joel, the son of a
chalk maker and a cleaning lady on the staff at Armedius, has only gained
admittance to the school because the Principal was good friends with his father.
Joel, who is not chosen to be one of the elite group of Rithmatists, is
obsessed with all things Rithmatics, much to the dismay of… well, pretty much
everyone. When Joel arranges to be the research assistant to the brilliant but
self-doubting Professor Fitch, his surpassing knowledge of Rithmatic theory
makes him an invaluable aide when he finds that his job as a research assistant
is to help solve the mysterious disappearance of a Rithmatics student.
Things I liked about this book:
The Magic System: Before I read this book, I was
already a big fan of its author, Brandon Sanderson. One of my favorite things
about Sanderson is his unique, inventive magic systems. In my opinion, Sanderson’s
magic systems are particularly innovative in the fantasy genre because they
rely on rules. While many fantasy books use magic as deus ex machina plot
devices to abruptly solve what was hitherto an unsolvable problem in the plot, Sanderson’s
use of rule-based magics avoids many of the fantasy genre’s common shortcomings.
Sanderson has even formulated a theory on the use of magic in fantasy books,
which he dubs “Sanderson's First Law of Magics”: this law states that “an
author's ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how
well the reader understands said magic” (for more on Sanderson’s opinions on
how magic should function, check out this article from his website).
The Characters: The main characters
of the book, Joel and Melody, make an awesome duo. Both teenagers are outcasts
for different reasons: Joel is a shy, overly studious kid whose attempts to
socialize are shunned by his much more wealthy peers as well as the snobby,
aloof Rithmatics students while Melody, a Rithmatist from a wealthy family, is
anything but shy. A failure at Rithmatics, Melody’s personal brand of melodrama
is both funny and a cause for sympathy. Even though Joel and Melody are
complete opposites in both personality and circumstance, they develop a strong
friendship. I also enjoyed the lesser characters such as the nervous Professor
Fitch, as well as other characters that I don’t want to give anything away
about! All of the characters were well developed, with unique feelings and
motives. Another thing I like about Joel is that it is his intellect and
dedication (and sometimes, sheer stubbornness) that is emphasized as being
instrumental to solving the mystery. Unlike a lot of fantasy books (I’m looking
at you, Harry Potter), it isn’t the
kid with the innate magical powers or un-worked-for genius that saves the day
in The Rithmatist.
The Plot: The Rithmatist is fast-paced and coherent, and manages to both
develop and resolve a complex plot in 384 pages. The book manages to be more
than a simple “who-dunnit”; The Rithmatist
is also a coming of age story. Sanderson manages to insinuate teaching moments
about bullying and acceptance for the book’s target demographic (teenagers)
without it being either obvious or preachy. The plot is engaging and Sanderson
deftly drops clues to both lead and mislead the reader into forming opinions
about the culprit. Even at the very end of the novel, new surprises are being
thrown at the reader, which left me hooked and eagerly anticipating round 2 in
the sequel to The Rithmatist, which
is due sometime in 2014.
Additional Features: From the
beginning of The Rithmatist, diagrams
outlining the use of Rithmatics are provided for the reader. Many chapters begin
with further diagrams that show different uses of Rithmatics that will appear
in the upcoming chapter. These diagrams were absolutely essential to
visualizing and understanding Rithmatics. Another added bonus feature is the
illustrations interspersed throughout the book, which definitely enriched the
reading experience by making some of the writing’s images come to life.
What I didn’t like about the book: hardly anything, really.
Mostly I just wish it had been longer, or that the sequel was coming out sooner
(i.e. yesterday). I personally am a fast reader, insofar as that when I read, I
read for hours and hours on end. Because of this, I ended up finishing the book
in less than two days. For readers that have less free time on their hands, I’m
sure this book will last much longer.
So do I recommend The
Rithmatist? Absolutely! And not just to teenagers—I think adults are every
bit as capable of enjoying the suspense, character development, and creativity
found in The Rithmatist as the
supposed target audience. Really, the only thing that makes this book “Young
Adult” fiction is the lack of profanity and adult content. As I said before, I
eagerly await the next book in what is supposed to be a trilogy, especially
because of the surprising ending! Go forth and read!
You can buy The Rithmatist here on Amazon.
