In Spellbound, book two of the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia, the adventure continues for Jake Sullivan and Faye Vierra as things get rather dark. It opens with an attack on the new president, FDR, by an active magic user but this is also an attack that works to frame the Grimnoir society and thus all actives. At the same time Jake Sullivan is approached by a woman claiming that the phone built by Edison that can contact ghosts has been receiving calls for him from the former chairman that he had killed at the end of the previous book. Faye is working on learning more about her power while also meeting the new knights from Europe that have been sent to help after the fight with the chairman. However, things start to get suspicious when it is revealed there is a mysterious government organization that may be involved with the attack and framing. It is also revealed that there is a mysterious and unknown active user that grows more powerful by absorbing the power of dead actives and is being hunted by some of the European knights from the society.
I like this series because it has some pretty unique magic. Some of it is similar to other representations but a lot of it is pretty unique. This book adds a lot more depth to that magic than what was presented in the first book. We see a lot more versatility and power in the way it is used here than it was used previously. Another thing that I rather like is the added depth to the overall world as we see a lot more detail added to some of the alternate history created by the introduction of magic. It is interesting trying to figure out how some of what it mentions might have been change and the cause and effect of those changes. I feel like I am trying to piece together a puzzle with only a little bit being revealed at a time. The plot for this book is a little more complex as well with a lot more layers to it as the characters have to peel back a lot more layers to get to the actual problem and who is it causing it. At the same time they also have to deal with the growing awareness of this enemy that is coming to potentially consume their world so it feels like there are multiple layers caused by that as well. I just feel like this book has a lot more depth and complexity all around in comparison to the first book. It feels a lot more fleshed out. I also feel like our two protagonists, Faye and Sullivan, see a lot of growth over this book as they seem to have slightly changed priorities from the previous book. One of the big ones is their dedicated loyalty to the Grimnoirs. Overall, this is a great addition to a pretty good series and one that gets four out of five stars from me.
This is a pretty good example of a fantasy novel with some pretty interesting alternate history thrown in as well. If either of those interest you than I suggest you consider trying this book. Make sure you read the first book though as you may be missing key details and information otherwise. If you don’t happen to enjoy these genres and themes than I am not sure if this book would hold a lot of appeal for you. This book is primarily aimed at an adult audience and I would mostly agree with that. It does contain mild violence and bigotry against magic users. However, I would also think none of it is severe enough that the book cannot be read and enjoyed by older teens and young adults. The book is pretty good though and I hope you consider trying it out. If you do feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.