Literary debut
I read the whole thing in a few days with bated breath. After the initial reluctance, each subsequent chapter made me learn the story of Caldan with flushes on his face. So what was my surprise when it turned out that Mitchell Hogan is a literary debutante! The author, who in his short biographical note refers to the inspiration of Tolkien’s works, has done something that today seems to be extremely difficult. He brought freshness to the fantasy novel – a genre that has been mercilessly exploited in recent years, with various results.
Caldan alone in the big city
The main character of the Crucible of Souls is Caldan. This young man is brought up in a monastery on the island of Loners, where monks teach the children of the noble families the basics of magic, metallurgy, alchemy and swordsmanship. As an orphan, the hero is at the mercy of his masters, who treat him accordingly. From day to day, the situation changes when there is a fatal duel. Caldan is forced to leave his current home and live in the city. Full of bandits, gamblers, dirt… but also opportunities. Will the boy, who has been cut off from the real world so far, cope?
Rockefeller of fantasy
The Crucible of Souls is, in a sense, a description of the famous American Dream . We get a story about a young boy, experienced by fate, who, despite adversity, manages to achieve success in a hostile environment. Despite all the evils of the big city of Anasoma, Caldan lands a great job and begins his apprenticeship at the Mages Guild. We can safely call him the John D. Rockefeller of the fantasy world!
Crafting = new magic
Mitchell Hogan showed us here his own view of magic, completely different from what we have known so far. Destroying other items with spells is considered impossible in this world (until now). What’s more, carefully crafted items, the so-called craftsmen, are used to weave spells. The material from which such an amulet is made depends, for example, on how long it will be able to work. The right metal alloy, the runes applied, the user’s power all contribute to how much powerful magic can be summoned. However, the skills of the inhabitants of Anasoma are mostly limited to creating … glowing orbs. However, as it turns out over time, Caldan shows an extraordinary talent in terms of both crafting (creating craftsmen) and spells themselves. What secrets is this young man hiding?
Crusade against sorcerers
The two themes are neatly combined here. In addition to following Caldan’s fate, we can also learn the story of Aidan – a young man close to his age, who participates in a crusade against illegal magic users and the broadly understood Evil. Together with their fanatical leader and a squad of mercenaries, they travel the land in search of sorcerers, and mercilessly nip any signs of deviation from faith in Good in the bud. Although this is a completely different story from the story of Caldan, the fates of these two heroes begin to (almost) intertwine at the very end. Or at least they’re within a few miles of each other. We’ll see how the author now manages their fate.
A breath of freshness
What attracted me most to this book? Incredible freshness. There is no classic fight between good and evil, clashes of great armies, monumental spells and powerful rings (the latter, however, may be found). Instead, we get a well-constructed, extremely realistic world. Visiting dark alleys will end in robbery, hard work and study will bring success, and conversations with strangers can lead to unpleasant surprises. Magic is a mysterious and almost unknown area here, and the great city where the action takes place is unlike other metropolises known from fantasy. Although we know dozens of similar titles, Crucible of Souls does not bring any of them to mind and begins its own, independent and extremely addictive story.
Now you have to wait…
Mitchell Hogan has already announced the next volume of his saga, for which I am extremely grateful to him. The ending of the book raises more questions than it answers. Caldan is an extraordinary person, there’s no denying that, but we don’t know the source of his power. The political turmoil in the known land has also not been explained. Mysterious enemies remain just as unknown. The Crucible of Souls is incredibly addictive, but now you have to wait patiently for the continuation.
