Even magic has to keep up with the times, so it's about
to get an upgrade.
Fate can be a bit unkind to everyone, but what if you were
related to the old gals? Literally? Ravirn, a sorcerer,
hacker and junior at the University of Minnesota, has more
to worry about than a heavy course load when he pisses off
his great aunt Atropos. Atropos, the fate who cuts the life
thread, comes after Ravirn with a vengeance when he tries
to put the whammy on her new spell. The spell, which she
dubs "Puppeteer," will effectively take free will,
something Atropos finds both annoying and overrated, away
from the human race. She comes to Ravirn to help her fix a
flaw in the spell. When he not only declines but threatens
to go to his grandmother Lachesis (the fate who measures
the thread and determines its destiny), Atropos curses him.
With her curse in place, no one will believe a word he says
when he talks about Atropos and her plans. Ravirn has few
allies and his family makes formidable enemies. It will
take everything he has in him to expose Atropos and
survive. And hopefully pass his midterms.
I love debut novels. Before readers are clamoring for
series and sequels, it seems like there's simply the book
the author wants to write. There's nothing like that first
story, which springs from the author's head (kind of like a
Greek God), with no other agenda than to be published.
WEBMAGE hosts an original and animated world with its mweb
and web goblin familiars and the Greek mythological family
trying to turn poor Ravirn's life into a major Greek
tragedy. There's humor and romance and men with swords, web
goblins, trolls, evil aunts and meddling grandmothers. A
fine first novel. I kind of hope McCullough's next book is
another original and not a sequel, but I won't be
disappointed if it is.
Ravirn is a child of the Fates, literally. His grandmother
is Lachesis, the Greek weaver of destiny, and like
Hercules, Ravirn lives in the middle country between the
human and the immortal. He’s also a hacker whose divine
talent is find the fatal flaw in just about any program.
Since magic in the 21st century has gone digital to keep up
with the times, this makes him a better than average
sorcerer. His best friend and familiar is both a goblin
and a laptop, changing shape from one to the other to suit
the needs of the moment.
Ravirn's a bit of a shape changer too, demi-divine hacker
one minute, harried college student the next. His
grandmother has enrolled him in C-Sci at the University of
Minnesota, in hopes of turning his talents toward the good
of the family. She started him at MIT, but after a little
incident with the grades computer he had to relocate. His
great aunt Atropos has uses for him too. She thinks free
will has gotten to be too much of a good thing and wants
Ravirn's help in fixing the problem.
But as a hacker, Ravirn has a thing about free will. When
he not only refuses to help, but begins to actively oppose
her, all hell breaks loose. Ravirn has to decide which is
more important, the integrity of destiny, or his own skin.
With the free will of every living being hanging in the
balance, Ravirn is caught between Fate and its ancient
enemy Discord with both sides out to get him. Now Ravirn
and Melchior have to find a way to stop Atropos and get him
off Discord's hit list. Even with the help of his sorceress
cousin Cerice, a friendly troll, and the webgoblin
underground it's going to be a very close call.
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