Posted by I have been on a recommendation reading marathon! There’s still a few weeks left until SPFBO starts so I’m trying to get through some fun reads. The person who recommended it said it was vaguely like Terry Pratchett’s style, and so I was definitely interested.
As the title suggests, Sprikit is a bard. He’s a little guy standing about 4 foot tall, and he’s also kind of an ass. He’s a con-man who takes advantage of people he perceives as stupid, and yet, at the start of the book he’s facing the consequences of selling magic beans to people who did not experience any post-purchase magic. Me, the reader, is left wondering who is actually the dumbass since he’s the one facing death by FAFO. But, yet again, he manages to talk his way out of it promising 10x the money they paid for the beans if they just let him go. He will totally, absolutely, definitely pay them back. It’s a sure thing. He does have some Dibbler vibes so I can see the Pratchett comparison. Sprikit is also a magic bard, and he’s able to change the minds of people who listen to his music, and he can even somewhat control people’s behavior through suggestions.
One thing leads to another and Sprikit ends up accused of something he actually didn’t do, and it’s pretty serious. He also manages to wrangle the poor bean-buying victims into this new horseshit, and now Sprikit has to set out on an adventure with someone who doesn’t like him, lol.
I’m not entirely sure I ever liked Sprikit. That seems to be a running theme for all the books I’ve read so far this month and that was not on purpose, lol. Sprikit has lived a life with very little in the way of a conscience. He knows that he sold regular beans for the price of two months wages to these “brutes” and they tell him they might starve now, and he’s like “oh, shucks, sorry!” Many times what makes a con artist endearing is a Robin Hood vibe, stealing from the rich, not those who may starve as a result of their cons. I do believe you’re supposed to find him a bit repelling as he gets verbally chastised by the people he thinks are “ignorant.” Now, he does go on a journey and gets better over the course of the book, and he also has a very strong foil character who outshines him in a lot of ways. You do get this sad backstory including how he had no family and his only mentor and he parted ways on bad terms etc. It wasn’t quite enough for me to get past the fact he would let people starve to death if it meant he got a buck.
This is set in a very classic medieval/high fantasy type society and civilization. Horses and wagons, taverns and inns, rolling landscape, various types of classic fantasy races, and it could definitely pass as a little D&D-esque.
I’d recommend this for people who like redemption arcs, opposites paired together, snarky characters, con artist characters, non human characters, shorter books, and a DND type storyline.