The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson
Joel attends Armedius Academy, a prestigious preparation school for both rich children and the elusive and exclusive Rithmatists. Rithmatists can draw Chalkings and defend the lines against the wild Chalkings in Nebrask – a life that Joel wants for himself. When Rithmatist children begin disappearing, Joel is eager to solve the case and learn more about Rithmatics in the process.
Similarly to Elantris, Sanderson takes an otherwise unremarkable and normal character and devotes a whole novel to them that a reader will love. It’s not that Joel is the underdog – he’s not even one of the metaphorical dogs to begin with! Melody is certainly an underdog, but she’s proud to admit it.
Something that doesn’t ring true for me in this novel is the ages of Joel and Melody. For being 16 year olds, both are very childish and their interactions ring false. I find it difficult to believe that even a single-minded teenage boy like Joel wouldn’t notice how pretty Melody apparently is.
Only Sanderson could bring to life a novel that talks about Chalkings – who knew that reading about drawing stick figures on a floor could be so interesting? Certainly, the opening scenes of The Rithmatist are designed to pull out Joel’s passion and invest the reader in the novel.
Keeping in mind that I have only listened to the talking book and never read the novel, the pacing of the novel was quite slow. This was particularly apparent the second time around I still have a hankering to see the Rithmatic diagrams at the beginning of each chapter, and I’m certain that my desire to reread this novel will not wain.
Sanderson, if you (or your many worthy minions) are reading this review, pretty please write the next novel in the series? That cliffhanger was unfair and unjust and I have so many questions left. I fear that the sequel may be like Kathleen Duey’s novels – a sequel that is promised, but may never occur. It’s like waiting for The Red Queen from Isobel Carmody again!
Noah’s perspective is interspersed with his mentor’s and a potential love interest. This gives the reader a bit of variety, and also makes them feel Noah’s growing sense of horror as he realises what he and others have done in the name of safety. I wanted to be horrified when Noah tortured people, but I just wasn’t. I felt as numb as he did.
This novel put the creepy factor up high right from the beginning and it only got worse (or better?)! This is a true psychological thriller that caused me to shiver and make sure I had a good grip on myself (and my stomach). Some of the passages when Naomi were alone almost took my breath away.
It’s very difficult to review a book that is filled with images – you just need to see them for yourself. For example, there is an Escher tattoo and some visual puzzles that if the artist had gotten a tiny bit wrong, it would have been wreaked. There’s a kitten and a dinosaur, and you better believe every hair on that kitten is visible.
I’m not sure if I have commented on this before, but I’m not sure how I felt about the interspersed writings of the Archivist and his lackeys. Did I really learn anything new? What was their effect on the novel’s progress? (maybe these questions are left over from marking literature reviews…) Nevertheless the rest of the writing is fine and you barely realise that you are turning pages at a rapid rate.
I read about half this novel while waiting for the action to begin. I’m sorry, I just don’t find it that entertaining that she forgot nipple pads, and whether breast milk has DNA in it. I continued reading after a month or two had passed and still felt underwhelmed. The ending promised to have a little more action in it, but in the end it felt rushed and unfinished. I needed significantly more shadowing throughout the novel to feel convinced about the betrayals…
The detailed gore at the beginning of the novel was cringe worthy and my feeling was that it was unnecessary. The torture might have been intended to make things feel Gothic and gloomy, but instead I just felt revulsion. I also couldn’t work out why I should care about David and Thomas. What were the men’s purposes in this novel?
The photos in this book are enough to make you drool and then go for a hunt in the freezer for a cookie (jam drop or choc chip? Yes please!). The discussion of the literature is also thoughtful and might introduce you to a couple of little known classics that might take your fancy. I only wish I was part of a book club so that I too could bake some amazing cookies in the theme of the book of the month.
The blurb promises that Simon will have to hunt for his teacher, but the majority of the novel is really about getting to know Simon and understand his relationship with the world. I actually really enjoyed Simon’s unique perspective. It’s exactly how I would imagine thoughts to be of a mildly autistic child (in my limited, and purely academic knowledge that is). I liked each of the small parts that came together to understand his worldview, and how he saw other people and imagined his insides reacting to different situations.
I’m surprised they managed to catch the killer as they were so busy swearing at each other and cracking stupid jokes. I never got Carrie’s motivation for being a cop and her naivety and bright-eyed shine weren’t authentic. It seemed to me that there was a huge focus on the previous child serial killer, but I struggled to work out what the gory details really were.