SORCERY AND SMALL MAGICS

Ciaran Saward gives an appealing narration of this fantasy, told from rakish Leovander Loveage's point of view. Leo, a scriver from a privileged gentry family, and Sebastian Grimm, a studious caster whose parents are farmers, are rivals in their fifth year at the Fount, a school of magic. Saward keeps all of the characters distinct, and he gives Grimm a Northern England accent that effectively differentiates him and his working-class background. After Grimm unwittingly casts a spell on Leo that compels him to do whatever Grimm says, they eventually decide to enter the Unquiet Wood, full of monstrous plants and animals, in search of a counterspell. Saward's characterization of the mysterious sorcerer they encounter there is a delight. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2024]