Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder

Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder

Review by Robert Brouhard

Alrighty, Internet Land, today's book is Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder (2009, Ballantine/Del Rey in paperback and e-book/Kindle formats).  The cover of Spellbent caught my eye (hot gal with a shotgun and fiery fingers, dragon-thing, and a ferret… color me curious) while going through Wal Mart.  I had the extra cash at the time, so I bought it.  Yes, it is a paperback and I read it.  I feel dirty and ashamed… okay, not really. Sometimes you have to get a paperback to have a good time.

Spellbent is dark, magical, and sexy.  One could call it a modern day fantasy (I think the term is "Urban Fantasy"... at least that is what Chrisopher Golden calls it on the front cover, ha ha).  Which isn't exactly what I expected.  But it does read fast and it has some great suspense and humor.  Overall, I'll sum it up as: Fun. Escapist. Fiction.   

Growing up, I loved Piers Anthony's Xanth books.  I haven't touched them since I was about 18, but I still have a soft spot for them.  This book reminded me of those times I spent reading through the Xanth books.  Not in plot or structure, but in that fun and almost innocent joy sort of way that one can read fiction that isn't "deep" (and some of that nice naughtiness, ha ha).  Plus, the added creepiness and more adult subject matter kept Spellbent a really top notch read for me.

Now, for an un-spoiler-y plot synopsis.  Our main character is Jessie Shimmer and she is a female wizard of sorts, but the magic is different in this book, and not very Harry Potter-y (more of a holding objects and chanting for Jessie, but some of the other characters do more traditional wizardry).  When it comes to dealing with demons and things though, Jessie prefers to use her wits and shotguns, not magic.  Jessie has a familiar named Palimpsest (Pal) who just so happens to be/look like a ferret.  Jessie has a boyfriend named Cooper Marron who has a familiar named Smoky (who is/looks like a dog).  They all live in sin together in an apartment near the city of Columbus, Ohio.   One day, Jessie and Cooper go downtown to do a "simple" storm-calling -- while naked and making love, of course-- outside in the middle of a park (don't worry, there are magical reasons why no one saw them).  BUT, they end up screwing (ahem) something up and letting a demon loose after accidentally opening a portal into another dimension, and Cooper disappears into the other side of the portal.  Now, Jessie must fight the evil that has been unleashed and find a way to rescue her boyfriend. And that is the first 10% of the book.

There are some very creepy moments in this book that sent some true shivers down my spine.  There is also enough blood, guts, humor, and action to keep the pace brisk (plus the touch of sexiness doesn't hurt things).  Being a little over 350 pages long, you might need to set some time aside to read it in one or two sittings. It isn't Under the Dome, but it isn't a novella either.

The story is told in the first person by Jessie… mostly.  You see, there is a main character point of view (POV) shift at a couple of points in the book.  This unique device helps the reader get a lot of insight into one of the character's origins and motivations that would have been very difficult to do otherwise.  The author sets these chapters off by putting the POV character's name at the start of the chapter title.  I really enjoyed this device.

I haven't read a lot of Urban Fantasy, but I have read and enjoyed a few of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.  This book doesn't have Anita Blake's overall feel though.  Romantic love quadrangles, vampires, and were-creatures aren't a part of the Jessie Shimmer: Shotgun Sorceress series (at least, I hope they won't be).  Oh, and a little bird (*coughLucyASnydercough*) told me that the author had to dial down the horror of this first book… but the author has been given more free reign in the books to follow (OOH BOY!).

My copy of Spellbent lists the next book/part as The Devil in Miss Shimmer,  but the next book has been re-titled Shotgun Sorceress because, from what I understand, of some title length issues that Ballantine had.  Shotgun Sorceress comes out October 26, 2010 (in paperback and e-book/Kindle formats).  Also, Lucy Snyder had been calling the series a trilogy, but I believe I read somewhere recently that the series will now be at least four books long.  Each book will stand on its own, but there will be some ongoing interconnection too (like any great series).   Oh, and just so you know, the third part is currently being called Switchblade Goddess by Lucy A. Snyder (due out in late 2011, I would guess... it is currently being written).  I had a lot of fun with this book, and I will be reading the others in this series as they come out.