Blake Charlton | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews

SFF Author: Blake Charlton

Blake Charlton overcame severe dyslexia in grade school when he began sneaking fantasy and science fiction books into special ed study hall. Inspired, he went on to graduate summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University. Blake is currently a medical student at Stanford Medical School, where he teaches creative writing for medical students and has received a fellowship to write fiction. Spellwright is his first novel, but the author also has a short story included in the Seeds of Change anthology edited by John Joseph Adams. Read some of his stories at Blake Charlton’s website. Read our interview with Blake Charlton.

Blake Charlton charms us

Today we welcome Blake Charlton, debut author of Spellwright, into the chair to talk about bullying, doorstop tomes, and Internet presence! Have a read of the interview all the way to the bottom to find details of a Spellwright giveaway.

AMANDA: Hi Blake and welcome to FanLit! Let’s get down to some serious questions straight away: It is no secret at all that you suffer from dyslexia — in fact, you’re loud, proud and very supportive of all those organisations helping to assist the people who are afflicted by this disability.

Amanda Rutter (guest) | Blake Charlton | Author Interviews, Giveaway! | 29 comments |

Spellwright: Remarkable debut

Spellwright by Blake Charlton

FORMAT/INFO: Spellwright is 352 pages long divided over 46 numbered chapters, a Prolog, an Epilog, and a World Map. Narration is in the third-person, mainly via the protagonist Nicodemus Weal, but also includes narratives by Grand Wizard Agwu Shannon, the druid Dierdre, sentinel Amadi Okeke, and the villainous “creature.” Spellwright is the first volume in a trilogy, but many of the book’s major plotlines are satisfactorily concluded, while the closing chapters set up events for the upcoming sequels. The second book in the trilogy is currently titled Spellbound.

Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Blake Charlton | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Spellbound: Even better than Spellwright

Spellbound by Blake Charlton

PLOT SUMMARY: In a world where one’s magical prowess is determined by one’s skill with words and ability to spell, Francesca DeVega is a gifted healer in the city of Avel, composing magical sentences that close wounds and disspell curses. Her life is suddenly thrown into chaos when a newly dead patient sits up and tells her that she must flee the infirmary or face a fate worse than death. Now Francesca is in the middle of a game she doesn’t understand — one that ties her to the notorious rogue wizard Nicodemus Weal and brings her face-to-face with demons,

Robert Thompson´s rating: 4 | Blake Charlton | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |

Spellbreaker: An imaginative and challengingly complex fantasy

Spellbreaker by Blake Charlton

If someone is offering to sell you a spell that predicts one hour into the future, one excellent way to test whether the spell really works is to try to murder the man selling it to you. If you succeed in killing him, clearly it wasn’t a valid prophetic spell. In any case, that’s Leandra Weal’s rationale for poisoning the blackrice liqueur she offers to the smuggler selling her the spell. Luckily for both Leandra and the smuggler, the spell warns the smuggler not to drink the puffer fish liver-infused drink.

Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Blake Charlton | SFF Reviews | no comments |

Great Bookstores: Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park

We’ve been getting a lot of great bookstore recommendations — thanks for sending those in! Today we’re featuring Kepler’s Books and Magazines in the San Francisco area. You can find Kepler’s at 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (phone 650-324-4321).

Blake Charlton wrote in to tell us why he loves Kepler’s:

“Kepler’s Books and Magazines is a wonderful indie with a unique history, great staff, large SFF section, and a lively community. Kepler’s is a wide,

Kat Hooper | Blake Charlton | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |