{"id":11428,"date":"2020-07-11T19:14:51","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T23:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/?p=11428"},"modified":"2020-07-11T19:14:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T23:14:51","slug":"spellbound-book-ii-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles-by-larry-correia-a-science-fiction-fantasy-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orionscoldfire.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/11\/spellbound-book-ii-of-the-grimnoir-chronicles-by-larry-correia-a-science-fiction-fantasy-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Spellbound \u2013 Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles \u2013 by Larry Correia \u2013 A Science Fiction-Fantasy Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Spellbound” is the second book in this series.\u00a0 Obviously since I am reviewing this second volume, I enjoyed the first installment \u201cHard Magic\u201d (see my review of it here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In this story the main characters Jake Sullivan and Faye Vierra are once again swept along in the cataclysmic ricochets of real magic altering the world of the early 20th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 It\u2019s 1933 and FDR is coming into office and one of his priorities is dealing with the \u2018Actives.\u201d\u00a0 This is the term for humans that have major magical powers.\u00a0 This includes \u201cBrutes\u201d who are inhumanly strong, \u201cTravelers\u201d who can teleport, \u201cHealers\u201d who can cure almost any disease or injury and numerous other special types.\u00a0 In the first book we learned how the Japanese had harnessed Actives as a spearpoint for their war machine in Asia.\u00a0 And we met Jake and Faye.\u00a0 Now they are veteran \u201cknights\u201d in the Grimnoir Society, sworn to use their powers to protect the innocent and destroy those using magic for evil.<\/p>\n

But forces within the United States government are conspiring to discredit the Grimnoir and turn the American public against the Actives through a series of false flag operations.\u00a0 This book is the story of the Grimnoir fighting against that operation. \u00a0But it also builds on the conflict with the Japanese Iron Guard, (enhanced military Actives) from the first book and then clarifies the nature of the forces that had originally unleashed magic into the world and how that will threaten the whole world in the very near future.<\/p>\n

Okay, so that\u2019s the setup.\u00a0 Larry Correia is a very good story teller.\u00a0 He paints a very rich picture with his characters and the action of the plot.\u00a0 Even the villains are well written and the story is peppered with historical personages like J Edgar Hoover and Buckminster Fuller who are adapted to fill their roles in this alternate universe.\u00a0 Each chapter begins with a quote from some person, mostly historical, saying something that illustrates how real magic has impacted the alternate universe of the story.<\/p>\n

I find this alternate world very entertaining.\u00a0 The Jake Sullivan character is one of Correia\u2019s competent man heroes.\u00a0 He is a brawler who has been treated badly by the world but refuses to abandon the good.\u00a0 Even his enemies have learned to respect his abilities and this allows him to form alliances that otherwise would be impossible.\u00a0 Faye is a powerfully gifted \u201cTraveler\u201d who possess abilities that far exceed what other Actives can do.\u00a0 She is also a very young woman from a sheltered small-town environment who is still trying to figure out how she fits into this strange world she finds herself in.<\/p>\n

These two characters are the twin focuses around which the other characters and the plot revolve.\u00a0 The whole story is a straight forward action adventure.\u00a0 There are plenty of good guys, bad guys and even some good bad guys and bad good guys.\u00a0 It\u2019s a combination of Buck Rodgers, The Untouchables and H. P. Lovecraft with some film noir thrown in for good measure.\u00a0 If that sounds like something you might like then pick up the first book Hard Magic and start at the beginning.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve already read it then know that the series is still getting better in book two, Spellbound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Spellbound” is the second book in this series.\u00a0 Obviously since I am reviewing this second volume, I enjoyed the first installment \u201cHard Magic\u201d (see my<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,237,4,242],"tags":[68,2558,2569,2568,8,38,1355,2570,59],"class_list":["post-11428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-reviews","category-sff","category-sff-book-reviews","tag-book-review","tag-grimnoir","tag-hard-magic","tag-historical-fantasy","tag-larry-correia","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-spellbound","tag-urban-fantasy"],"yoast_head":"\nSpellbound \u2013 Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles \u2013 by Larry Correia \u2013 A Science Fiction-Fantasy Book Review - 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