Review of The Sorcerer’s Slave

Working for the Wizard

James cannot remember a time before he worked in the service of the powerful sorcerer, Sir Xandar. He and the other servants keep the castle running and help produce ingredients for the magic experiments, but any mistakes or misbehavior is punished with frightening sorcery. Hoping to keep his head down, James is waiting for the approach of his 18th birthday when he believes the sorcerer will set him free, but he is beginning to have doubts. James cannot understand why he does not sleep anymore, why there are unexplained interruptions to the lives of the workers, and why servants are disappearing. Desperate for answers and his freedom, James begins a secret search of the castle for answers, and the riddle of a deranged, hidden prisoner sets him on a path to discover the magic tools he will need if James wants to recover both his past and his future.

Sorcery Without Swords

The Sorcerer’s Slave is a fun adventure book mostly for young adults but with plenty of entertaining moments for any reader. It fits well into the long line of similar stories—such as Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, or the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling—where children and young people have to win through their wits, often in magical circumstances. This novel is at its best when James has to scramble and simply do his best in dangerous circumstances, whether it be stealing from the magical library, surviving the Woods of Funera, or outwitting wizards and ghosts.

Meta Magic

While there is a sense of adventure and danger, the tone is generally light and amusing as James moves from one precarious situation to another. The atmosphere of the story has a lot in common with genre movies from the 1980s: adventure films featuring young people like The Goonies, Labyrinth, and The NeverEnding Story combined with low-budget but over-the-top enthusiasm of sword and sorcery movies like Willow, The Beastmaster, and Hawk the Slayer. These moods reinforce each other, giving a sense of old-school charm to the undertakings. There is also a surreal quick trip through some other pieces of fiction and works of art that is lost on James but a wild diversion for the audience.

This tone is helped by the inclusion of rhymes and riddles and contemporary references that James—with his magical memory hole—does not understand, but the audience does. The t-shirts for New York City and the Rolling Stones mean nothing to him, but they can throw readers off balance while moving through a story set in the fantasy world of Juniri in a way that is similar to someone reading Stephen King’s The Gunslinger will find it odd when people in that setting starting singing “Hey Jude.” Hopefully, Guinn received a generous endorsement deal from 3G Capital because the novel features a Burger King that is a magical, salvific oasis. Only the rejuvenating powers from the Lake of Life can surpass the elation of a Whopper in this novel.

Recommended

Emily Dickinson's "If those I loved were lost"

Memory Problems

James is a serviceable protagonist, good-intentioned if bland, especially in relation to some of the bigger personalities with which he interacts, like Deke, Rook, or Fantômas. The tail end of the novel shifts to being more of a group effort, and the last 70 pages or so are weakest in terms of the plot. It feels more like James being tasked with additional quests when the solution to his problem is already at hand. As absurd and enjoyable as it is, the sequence involving the Castle in the Clouds stretches the book without adding much to characterization, plot, or theme that the audience had not already encountered in the story.

The book’s conclusion might also happen too quickly for some readers and not provide enough of a satisfying catharsis given the wild set of adventures everyone just experienced. The notes of ambiguity are not so much the problem as a lack of a final high note to give the readers a vicarious sense of accomplishment.

To Forgive Divine

The Sorcerer’s Slave is an old school adventure story that should appeal to younger readers and to younger readers who grew up and still want a taste of the kinds of stories they remember from their youth. The flaws are minor distractions in comparison to the fun to be had with the book.

Source

Guinn, E.M. The Sorcerer’s Slave. Amazon, 2024.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

© 2024 Seth Tomko