BOOKMONGER
Fantasy series features sisters, dark magic
Seattle author Django Wexler is a
self-proclaimed “nerd for world-build-
ing.” As such, he has created several
series that take place in worlds that have
magic, monsters and mayhem.
The Shadow Campaigns is a six-book
fantasy series for adults. The Forbidden
Library is a four-book fantasy series for
middle-grade readers.
Wexler is halfway through a fantasy
trilogy for young adults, “The Wells of
Sorcery.”
Wells are the sources for different
types of magical powers. In the rigidly
stratifi ed society of the Blessed Empire,
this magic can be tapped by only a select
few – the mage-born. The various powers
can be wielded with results that might be
healing, psychological or deadly.
The fi rst book in this series, “Ship of
Smoke and Steel,” focuses on 18-year-
old Isoka, who commands the power of
Melos, which is the Well of Combat. Her
power manifests as blades of crackling
green energy that typically wreak fatal
consequences.
As an “adept,” Isoka is one of only a
handful of people who are so fully vested
with the power of their Well that they are
expected to serve at the pleasure of the
Emperor.
But Isoka has kept a low profi le and
avoided government service. Instead, she
works as an enforcer for the criminals
MADDOX
D ance S tudio
Home
of
North Coast
Dance Center
little ballet theatre
503-861-1971
389 South Main Avenue
Warrenton, OR
www.maddoxdancers.com
maddoxdancers@opusnet.com
22 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
who control one of the brawling lower
wards in the powerful port city Kahnzoka.
She’s chosen this unsavory but lucra-
tive line of work because it enables her
to provide Tori, her younger sister, with
a life of refi nement and safety in one of
the upper wards. The two were orphaned
years earlier, and Tori’s welfare has
become Isoka’s central focus.
When the government catches on to
Isoka’s exceptional powers, the Emperor’s
spymaster threatens to abduct and harm
Tori unless Isoka undertakes a mission
to hijack the Soliton, a legendary ghost
ship that comes to Kahnzoka once a year
and exacts tribute in the form of several
mage-born.
The next time the massive ship docks
in Kahnzoka, Isoka is among the group
who is loaded aboard.
“Ship of Smoke and Steel” focuses on
Isoka’s nightmarish voyage as she tries
to fi gure out how to wrest control of the
ship while battling giant crabs and other
monstrosities.
The second book, out just this month,
is “City of Stone and Silence.” This
sequel toggles between the two sisters’
separate stories.
Isoka’s travails and responsibilities
grow as the Soliton travels to distant lands
populated by madmen and living corpses.
Back in Kahnzoka, meanwhile, Tori is
venturing beyond the protective sphere
Hammond
Kennels
THE ONLY DRIVE THRU
COFFEE SHOP ON THE
SOUTH SLOPE OF ASTORIA
We provide a comfortable
and caring environment
for your pets!
Boarding • Grooming
Training • Pet Supplies
503-861-1601 •
1050 Pacific Drive
Hammond, OR
www.hammondkennels.net
632 W. Marine Drive,
Astoria at Smith Point
her sister had built for her. She sneaks
out to volunteer at a secret sanctuary for
mage-born, strikes up a relationship with
a young member of the noble class, and
begins to explore the capacities of her
own Well, telepathy.
This tale is stocked with an assort-
ment of gruesome creatures, brutal fi ght
scenes, corrupted systems, and sexually
and politically active teens. It is indeed a
vivid world author Wexler creates –one
that supplies an array of appetites, specta-
cle and ideas.
This Week’s Books
“The Wells of Sorcery” series
By Django Wexler
Tor Teen — $17.99
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd
McMichael, who writes this weekly column
focusing on the books, authors and publish-
ers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact her at
bkmonger@nwlink.com.