What do you think?
Castaways #3
Rats
The circle is broken.
Dalton and Olivia have been captured, stolen away in the night by Mr. Shaddock and his crew of rodent mercenaries. Their fellow students have been warned not to intervene: there are politics in play, and everyone from the rat-clans to the Saunders Academy’s mysterious investors want this situation — and the school’s kidnapped students — to vanish in silence.
For Amy, Vail and the rest of the Castaways, silence was never an option.
Putting their lives on the line, they set out into the endless void of the In-Between, intent on tracking Shaddock down and rescuing Dalton and Olivia. From a space station at the edge of eternity to a cosmic pirate galleon, from a barren death-world inhabited by gigantic, carnivorous monsters to a sleek and shining neon metropolis, they won’t give up the hunt.
They’re either going to bring their friends home, or die trying.
Dalton and Olivia have been captured, stolen away in the night by Mr. Shaddock and his crew of rodent mercenaries. Their fellow students have been warned not to intervene: there are politics in play, and everyone from the rat-clans to the Saunders Academy’s mysterious investors want this situation — and the school’s kidnapped students — to vanish in silence.
For Amy, Vail and the rest of the Castaways, silence was never an option.
Putting their lives on the line, they set out into the endless void of the In-Between, intent on tracking Shaddock down and rescuing Dalton and Olivia. From a space station at the edge of eternity to a cosmic pirate galleon, from a barren death-world inhabited by gigantic, carnivorous monsters to a sleek and shining neon metropolis, they won’t give up the hunt.
They’re either going to bring their friends home, or die trying.
346 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2026
About the author
Craig Schaefer
46 books1,350 followersCraig Schaefer's books have taken readers to the seamy edge of a criminal underworld drenched in shadow (the Daniel Faust series), to a world torn by war, poison and witchcraft (the Revanche Cycle), and across a modern America mired in occult mysteries and a conspiracy of lies (the Harmony Black series).
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
Despite this, people say he's strangely normal. Suspiciously normal, in fact. His home on the Web is www.craigschaeferbooks.com.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 9, 2026
The word that comes to mind here is "fun". This is not a work of sublime literary merit. Schaefer does not do anything terribly new here. This book will not, on the whole, shock or surprise you.
But it will please and amuse you. The whole series is basically a N+1 iteration on the Magic School set of tropes (see: Harry Potter, but also Naomi Novik's Scholomance, or Red & Flynn's Nevermore), as executed by a very competent author of urban fantasy thrillers.
Schaefer has an excellent grasp on pacing, and the action scenes are all quite well done - you'd expect no less. Characterization is good but not amazing, with our ratfolk priestess being the most multifaceted and fascinating character of the book. World-building is tropy, but has a few interesting elements, particularly a much more direct invocation of gnosticism than I would have expected.
I expect to keep buying these books, and I expect to reread them all sooner or later. Well done!
But it will please and amuse you. The whole series is basically a N+1 iteration on the Magic School set of tropes (see: Harry Potter, but also Naomi Novik's Scholomance, or Red & Flynn's Nevermore), as executed by a very competent author of urban fantasy thrillers.
Schaefer has an excellent grasp on pacing, and the action scenes are all quite well done - you'd expect no less. Characterization is good but not amazing, with our ratfolk priestess being the most multifaceted and fascinating character of the book. World-building is tropy, but has a few interesting elements, particularly a much more direct invocation of gnosticism than I would have expected.
I expect to keep buying these books, and I expect to reread them all sooner or later. Well done!
February 26, 2026
I usually like this author's books much more than I liked this one.
Probably one of the problems was I had forgotten lots of the details about the characters since I read the last book, but still. That happened at the beginning of book 2, also, and I still liked it.
This whole book was basically a chase. Everybody was chasing each other. These people were looking for their friends, who were perhaps held by those people. So they were looking for this other guy, who they thought could help them find those people. But then, after they found him, that other guy was a stinker, which they had to overcome. Plus, those people perhaps holding their friends were trying to find yet another guy, so everybody's running around trying to outsmart each other. And, except for "these people," everyone's a bad guy. Lots of racing around, traps, and other shenanigans. Snore.
The first two books of this series were MUCH better. I'm worried about the two other books coming up.
Sorry, Heather.
Probably one of the problems was I had forgotten lots of the details about the characters since I read the last book, but still. That happened at the beginning of book 2, also, and I still liked it.
This whole book was basically a chase. Everybody was chasing each other. These people were looking for their friends, who were perhaps held by those people. So they were looking for this other guy, who they thought could help them find those people. But then, after they found him, that other guy was a stinker, which they had to overcome. Plus, those people perhaps holding their friends were trying to find yet another guy, so everybody's running around trying to outsmart each other. And, except for "these people," everyone's a bad guy. Lots of racing around, traps, and other shenanigans. Snore.
The first two books of this series were MUCH better. I'm worried about the two other books coming up.
Sorry, Heather.
June 10, 2026
I wasn’t really feeling this one and I’m not sure why, some of the newer characters are gonna take some getting used to because I’m not sure I understand them, feels like they were supposed to be complex but I personally found them a little complicated, so mission accomplished I guess? The story was fine but it didn’t grip me like the last two. I will be tuning in for the rest though. I’m really interested to see where this is going.
September 15, 2026
On a mission
Rats is the third book in Craig Schaefer's Castaways series. It is currently (15-Sep-2026) the last one, although Schaefer plans two more.
Rats differs from the first two books in that it is not really a magic school book. Very little of the action of Rats takes place at Saunders Academy, the magic school in and around which the first two novels take place. Book 2, Firebreak, ended with two of the Castaways getting abducted.. The Castaways are the group of misfit students (yeah, yeah, I know -- what a cliché!) on whom the series is focused. Dalton and Olivia were snatched by a giant criminal rat-man named Shaddock. Shaddock flew away with the captives on his spaceship, which is manned by his sister, a rat-woman named Riva, and her best friend Marcie.
Well, of course you know what has to happen next -- rescue mission. This is not the first time the series has ventured away from the Saunders Academy, but the main previous excursion was to our Earth, which is where one of the Castaways comes from. This time we head out into Schaefer's First Story multiverse. I have not read any other First Story books, but I didn't have any trouble following. This multiverse is broadly like most other fantasy multiverses you may have run into. Near the end we start to hear about some wider themes, like who the main good guys and bad guys of the universe are.
You've got the picture, I think. It's a fantasy space adventure with a bunch of plucky magical kids. Not really breaking new ground. But the kids are fun, and the stakes feel genuinely high. I enjoyed it. If you enjoyed the first two books (and I did), you'll enjoy this one, too. And I will continue with the series when the next books are published.
Blog review.
Rats is the third book in Craig Schaefer's Castaways series. It is currently (15-Sep-2026) the last one, although Schaefer plans two more.
Rats differs from the first two books in that it is not really a magic school book. Very little of the action of Rats takes place at Saunders Academy, the magic school in and around which the first two novels take place. Book 2, Firebreak, ended with two of the Castaways getting abducted.. The Castaways are the group of misfit students (yeah, yeah, I know -- what a cliché!) on whom the series is focused. Dalton and Olivia were snatched by a giant criminal rat-man named Shaddock. Shaddock flew away with the captives on his spaceship, which is manned by his sister, a rat-woman named Riva, and her best friend Marcie.
Well, of course you know what has to happen next -- rescue mission. This is not the first time the series has ventured away from the Saunders Academy, but the main previous excursion was to our Earth, which is where one of the Castaways comes from. This time we head out into Schaefer's First Story multiverse. I have not read any other First Story books, but I didn't have any trouble following. This multiverse is broadly like most other fantasy multiverses you may have run into. Near the end we start to hear about some wider themes, like who the main good guys and bad guys of the universe are.
You've got the picture, I think. It's a fantasy space adventure with a bunch of plucky magical kids. Not really breaking new ground. But the kids are fun, and the stakes feel genuinely high. I enjoyed it. If you enjoyed the first two books (and I did), you'll enjoy this one, too. And I will continue with the series when the next books are published.
Blog review.
April 29, 2026
Craig Schaefer delivers another tight, dark fantasy, fun rescue mission. A light read with a decent payoff. There isn't a ton of character development compared to the previous instalments other than the (fairly obvious) redemption arc for one of the characters, but that's okay for what this book is - something that keeps the overall narrative going, drops some interesting world lore (albeit not as much as the last ones), and does so through a tight, fast-paced episode. Readers of his other books (Faust/Black, Revanche, Wisdom's Grave) will enjoy the cosmological dot-connecting to those arcs that you find in here. I suspect we're in for another grand unifying arc in the not-too-distant future.
March 5, 2026
When shit hits the fan in this one, it really hits!
)O(
Anahera's prophecy: three go out, nine come back.
Out: Amy, Vail and Bahati
Back:
)O(
Anahera's prophecy: three go out, nine come back.
Out: Amy, Vail and Bahati
Back:
August 9, 2026
Exciting!
The third book in the wonderfully written Castaways Books was a riveting, thrilling, and entertaining read.
There was plenty happening during the girl's attempts to rescue their friends. I found Riva and Marcie both very interesting and likeable. I want to read about them in further books.
The third book in the wonderfully written Castaways Books was a riveting, thrilling, and entertaining read.
There was plenty happening during the girl's attempts to rescue their friends. I found Riva and Marcie both very interesting and likeable. I want to read about them in further books.
February 19, 2026
3.5/5
Rats is another fun entry in the Catsaways series.
This time the plot revolves around a rescue mission, which gives the story a tight structure. It moves fast and doesn’t overcomplicate things. The redemption arc (?) here is serviceable, but never especially deep or surprising. The villains are also fairly caricatural, but subtlety is not why I'm reading this series.
I'm here for pulp-fiction escapism, snappy momentum, and high-stakes confrontations. On that front, Rats absolutely delivers. It may not be the most layered installment, but it’s a solid, enjoyable ride, and it left me more than ready to pick up the remaining two books.
Rats is another fun entry in the Catsaways series.
This time the plot revolves around a rescue mission, which gives the story a tight structure. It moves fast and doesn’t overcomplicate things. The redemption arc (?) here is serviceable, but never especially deep or surprising. The villains are also fairly caricatural, but subtlety is not why I'm reading this series.
I'm here for pulp-fiction escapism, snappy momentum, and high-stakes confrontations. On that front, Rats absolutely delivers. It may not be the most layered installment, but it’s a solid, enjoyable ride, and it left me more than ready to pick up the remaining two books.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews