Crownbreaker by Sebastien De Castell – A Book Review

All good things must come to an end and sadly the tales of Kellan and Reichis have reached their conclusion, for now at least. Crownbreaker is the sixth book in the very successful and well crafted series.

Kellan, a spellslinger, an outcast and confused young man has really been put through the mill in previous books but with help from his Argosi teacher and a select few others he has avoided assassination by Jan’Tep Mages, travelled the world, taught queens cards and so much more but in this book he finally has his greatest challenge, to kill a god.

The book is filled with De Castell’s humour and attention detail. He has created a great world with rich cultures and now draws all the threads and breadcrumbs dropped in the previous five books together in a thrilling climax.

Its hard to end a series and De Castell avoids this problem by not really ending it completely, there is scope for more and he may indeed return to the character but if not this book stands as a fitting epitaph for him. Kellan has grown as an individual and finally gets to put to rest some of the many demons of his own soul to rest.

What I like about these books are light touch of the author which makes it a very easy read. De Castell keeps the plot ticking over with twists and turns that are just enough to keep you on your toes. In after 5 books he can still surprise.

Kellan is an excellent and vulnerable lead, it is impossible not to feel for him and empathise with his decisions even when we might not agree with him. His sidekick, Reichis the Squirrel Cat, is a remarkable invention and one that carries much of the interplay with Kellan. He is a unique character with a challenging personality, the perfect antihero. De Castell makes this wild animal, wild with different priorities and perspectives.

The book wraps up much of the plotlines in the series but does allow you the pleasure of wondering what comes next and the author actually actively encourages you to think about what you think comes next and that is very easy with such a rich world with deep characters.