If you have been looking for a new fantasy book this year that includes magic, a unique crew, and a girl looking for her own path – have I got the recommendation. Ship of Spells by H. Leighton Dickson might be the book for you.

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Book Blurb
3. Review
4. Theme Analysis
5. Book Club Questions

Overview

Spice: Slow burn with open door, low spice

Book Blurb

“When Ensign Bluemage Honor Renn is rescued from the wreckage of her first naval post, she expects death or disgrace. Instead, she wakes aboard the Touchstone, a mythic vessel whispered of in dockside ballads and royal war rooms alike. With a crew of misfits. A mysterious, elven captain. And a mission tied to the Dreadwall, the crumbling barrier that has kept the Overland and Nethersea from open war for a hundred years.

But the tragedy that sank her last ship didn’t just take lives―it left something behind.

Now Renn carries a secret everyone wants. A magik that’s chimeric, arcane…and slowly killing her. But the captain’s mission may be her only chance to survive, even if he still doesn’t trust her.

Caught between privateers, princes, and spies, Renn knows each choice could sink her future―or set the sea on fire.

Ship of Spells is perfect for readers who crave the raw grit of Arya Stark, the world-building of Samantha Shannon, and the slow-burn tension of enemies who should never trust or want each other.”

Review

This was a very enjoyable read. Once I got about 20% of the way in, I read the last 80% surprisingly quickly. At 512 pages, it isn’t the smallest book either. As per usual, I am going to try not to give anything away in the review—there will be spoilers in the Theme Analysis section.

The storyline: I have surprisingly read a handful of ‘open-sea’ pirate-ish books this year, which is surprising because it is not my go-to fantasy (maybe it’s because of how motion-sick I get on boats; the idea does not always appeal to me). However, the book blurb caught my attention. It’s a mix of the concept of a sentient ship, magic (of course), and the mistrust of the strong female protagonist who seems to be surviving against all odds. The concept and tropes deeply appeal to me. The book smoothly moves through trials and tribulations, and I engaged in each scenario. I did not feel like I was left feeling bored or wishing scenes took longer; the story had a great pace that I appreciated.

The magic system and world building: Of course, I love a book with well-crafted magic and world building. And this book did well… for the most part. It felt a bit chaotic, and there was a lot of understanding and explaining. Honestly, I am impressed that it packed so much into 512 pages; it definitely could have been longer. There’s wild magik, organized magic, and a lot of magic we could do a deep analysis on.

Additionally, the world combines old world navy pieces with these magic pieces, and of course, two sides at war. I did not have a map in my copy of the book (it may be in the final published novel) and this would have been very helpful for understanding the world, and the people and places in it. In fact, it was confusing without it. I did make notes of information such as new words used for the world, characters, and chapter summaries for the book’s first half to try and keep everything straight and clear when reading.

Characters: The characters had depth, and I had to work to develop a relationship with each one like our protagonist Renn had to. The biggest challenge with the characters is that there are SO MANY OF THEM. It was often challenging to keep them apart and distiguesh them from each other, especially in scenarios where postion was referenced instead of name.

Terminology and Language: This has to be my biggest opportunity with the novel. I know nothing about nautical terminology or references, and this book is full of them. It would have been fine, but the words and concepts were continuously introduced without explanation of what they meant. If you are unaware of navy or nautical terminology, be prepared to use a search engine or a dictionary. It is already challenging to learn and follow new magic and world building, and this made it much more difficult than it needed to be as a reader. It was the main reason why the novel lost a star. There is a glossary towards the back of the book, but I found a lot of the nautical terminology missing.

The language was beautiful; however, at times, it was captivating, and at other times, it was extremely repetitive. I think that terminology and language led to the biggest sense of the novel feeling chaotic because I was floundering at things I felt I should know. Smoothing this out would have improved the reader experience, at least for me personally.

Themes: This book contains a lot of great things to examine, and I would probably need another post to dive deep into them. I would also love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Scroll down to themes for more analysis, as it may contain spoilers.

Overall Thoughts: I enjoyed this book, and I plan on reading the next one when it comes out. Once I got my sea legs, I was able to understand and enjoy the book so much more. I would recommend it to fantasy readers and those who enjoy slow-burn romance as a secondary genre.

Theme Analysis

Contains spoilers.

Identity, Purpose, and Worth: Honor Renn had everything she’d worked for and the foundation of the life she built destroyed at a moment’s notice. We can all, potentially, relate to Renn in this moment where who you thought you were and who you have to be no longer align. Not only does she have to prove herself to others, she has to prove it to herself. (Shall I mention a crab without its shell?)

Magic as Power: There is clearly a power play going on with magic. You can see it in the ranks and how some individuals will do anything to gain more. Power (and magic) always have a cost, but what makes it worth the consequences? Then we must examine the war for power and the political context between the two nations.  

Moral Grayness: This may be my favorite theme of the novel (and not just because I love morally gray men). The costs of magic, the wars, what we must do for family—where does the line blur? What defines a good guy and a bad guy, and can they be the same? This was SO WELL WRITTEN.

Othering: Also extremely well-written. What does ‘othering’ mean? It can mean that one group views another group as different, often in terms of power, identity, and superiority. There is an apparent fear of differences, exclusion, and prejudice. Between cross-cultural encounters and power structures, a lot can be addressed within the narrative.

Trust: Of course, this is one of those great themes associated with the found family trope. I love it every single time. How does Renn build a foundation of trust when everything she has ever known says differently? How does loyalty change, especially when sacrificed or under pressure?

There are more themes to be found, but these stood out to me as being included so well in the novel. A+.   

Book Club Questions

• Was the magik portrayed as a gift or a curse? How did this affect the characters choices?
• How did the book challenge the idea of good vs evil?
• How did trust shape the dynamics of the crew and the relationships with Renn?
• What scene stood out to you in the novel?
• How did the word runechaser change throughout the story?