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Drinker of Souls: Wild Magic #1
Wild Magic
Return to the universe of the Drinker of Souls trilogy in a magical novel that explores a whole new domain where rival gods vie for mastery by manipulating both the forces of nature and their own devoted mortal worshipers. Young Faan is a mortal trapped in a war between gods that will destroy them all.
363 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
Jo Clayton
71 books66 followersJo Clayton, whose parents named her after Jo in Little Women, was born and raised in Modesto, California. She and her three sisters shared a room and took turns telling each other bedtime stories. One of her sisters noted that Jo's stories were the best, and often contained science fiction and fantasy elements.
Clayton graduated from the University of California in 1963, Summa Cum Laude, and started teaching near Los Angeles.
In 1969, after a religious experience, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, joining the teaching order Sisters of Mount Carmel as a novice. She left three years later, before taking final orders.
During her time in New Orleans, Clayton sold sketches and paintings in Pioneer Square to supplement her income.
After being robbed several times, Clayton moved to Portland, Oregon in 1983. She remained there for the rest of her life.
Clayton was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996. Jo continued to write during her year and a half in the hospital. She finished Drum Calls, the second book of the Drums of Chaos series, and was halfway through the third and final book when she lost her struggle with multiple myeloma in February, 1998.
Literary executor Katherine Kerr made arrangements with established author Kevin Andrew Murphy to finish the third book of the Drums of Chaos series. It is now completed.
Clayton graduated from the University of California in 1963, Summa Cum Laude, and started teaching near Los Angeles.
In 1969, after a religious experience, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, joining the teaching order Sisters of Mount Carmel as a novice. She left three years later, before taking final orders.
During her time in New Orleans, Clayton sold sketches and paintings in Pioneer Square to supplement her income.
After being robbed several times, Clayton moved to Portland, Oregon in 1983. She remained there for the rest of her life.
Clayton was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996. Jo continued to write during her year and a half in the hospital. She finished Drum Calls, the second book of the Drums of Chaos series, and was halfway through the third and final book when she lost her struggle with multiple myeloma in February, 1998.
Literary executor Katherine Kerr made arrangements with established author Kevin Andrew Murphy to finish the third book of the Drums of Chaos series. It is now completed.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 25, 2014
The story of spunky, defiant Faan who is forced into a war between god and goddess, Wild Magic is, at its heart, a tale of ordinary people caught up in cosmic circumstances. It's a story with an intensely realized and complex world which is never fully explained to the reader - most of its concepts are learned by osmosis (or perhaps not at all). It's the kind of book that probably wouldn't be published today: full of dense, poetic language, an overabundance of made-up words, and following its heroine from infancy through growing pains to the adolescence in which the real story starts. Yet this life-long course is perfect for the story: it allows us to understand Faan in both her mundane and magical aspects.
It's a pity that this book is under-explained - some major concepts, like the Change, seem to appear suddenly and are left to inference, and there are aspects of the setting that I still don't understand. Faan's time learning sorcery was generally glossed over, which felt like a major omission, though it wasn't necessarily crucial to the story and seems like it will come into play more in the second book. As far as a satisfactory ending, Wild Magic has a great "Yes, but ..." conclusion ... and that's all I'll say on that.
It's a pity that this book is under-explained - some major concepts, like the Change, seem to appear suddenly and are left to inference, and there are aspects of the setting that I still don't understand. Faan's time learning sorcery was generally glossed over, which felt like a major omission, though it wasn't necessarily crucial to the story and seems like it will come into play more in the second book. As far as a satisfactory ending, Wild Magic has a great "Yes, but ..." conclusion ... and that's all I'll say on that.
October 25, 2018
Oh, how I wanted to like this book.
I first started reading it sometime I the mid-nineties. I must have been a preteen (though I wouldn’t call this a young adult level read - to get my fantasy novel fix I often read past the suggested ages of library books). I’ll admit, the lovely cover is what drew me to it. I tried to read it over the course of several renewals, but just couldn’t quite GET THERE with it. Ya know? And so, I finally turned it in after only getting through a few chapters. As I remember it, I had too many other great books in my queue at the time.
Fast forward to many years later, in the age of Amazon, and I found myself thinking of this book and how I always wished I had finished it. I still remembered the beautiful colors on the fantastical cover, and thought, now is the time! I ordered my copy and had it a couple of weeks later.
I put it in my purse to read on my commute to work. Surely I would speed through it now that I had an hour and a half per workday of uninterrupted reading time!
And yet. I soon realized that the reason I hadn’t gotten through it as a child was not simply due to youthful distraction, but more likely due to the dense new language and the author’s tendency to leave maddening portions of the world completely unexplained. Now, I’m all for contextual learning, and all for allowing the reader’s imagination to fill in gaps, especially in a fantasy novel. But there were simply too many things left unsaid, to the point where it frustrated me and gave me little room to connect with the novel!
I allowed myself to get distracted by my far more interesting phone and posts on Reddit, etc. day after day. Reading slump status, almost! But I finally lined up another book I wanted to read far more for after I finished this one, and knew that I had to force myself to finish it. I’m usually ok with “DNFing” something, but I knew that this second time around would be the last chance to finish it. I’d never go back again.
So, I finished it. And unfortunately, nothing ever drew me in. I wish it had! It seemed to have so much potential. I never connected with any of the characters, and found the world rather soulless and bleak. Maybe another reader will connect, I don’t know. But in my heart, I know I can never recommend this one. Will never move on to the second or third book in the trilogy either (though I did grab those on Amazon too, whoops). It’s a bummer. But...there it is. Can’t love every book, right? No matter how pretty the cover is (just kidding! Kinda 😉)
I first started reading it sometime I the mid-nineties. I must have been a preteen (though I wouldn’t call this a young adult level read - to get my fantasy novel fix I often read past the suggested ages of library books). I’ll admit, the lovely cover is what drew me to it. I tried to read it over the course of several renewals, but just couldn’t quite GET THERE with it. Ya know? And so, I finally turned it in after only getting through a few chapters. As I remember it, I had too many other great books in my queue at the time.
Fast forward to many years later, in the age of Amazon, and I found myself thinking of this book and how I always wished I had finished it. I still remembered the beautiful colors on the fantastical cover, and thought, now is the time! I ordered my copy and had it a couple of weeks later.
I put it in my purse to read on my commute to work. Surely I would speed through it now that I had an hour and a half per workday of uninterrupted reading time!
And yet. I soon realized that the reason I hadn’t gotten through it as a child was not simply due to youthful distraction, but more likely due to the dense new language and the author’s tendency to leave maddening portions of the world completely unexplained. Now, I’m all for contextual learning, and all for allowing the reader’s imagination to fill in gaps, especially in a fantasy novel. But there were simply too many things left unsaid, to the point where it frustrated me and gave me little room to connect with the novel!
I allowed myself to get distracted by my far more interesting phone and posts on Reddit, etc. day after day. Reading slump status, almost! But I finally lined up another book I wanted to read far more for after I finished this one, and knew that I had to force myself to finish it. I’m usually ok with “DNFing” something, but I knew that this second time around would be the last chance to finish it. I’d never go back again.
So, I finished it. And unfortunately, nothing ever drew me in. I wish it had! It seemed to have so much potential. I never connected with any of the characters, and found the world rather soulless and bleak. Maybe another reader will connect, I don’t know. But in my heart, I know I can never recommend this one. Will never move on to the second or third book in the trilogy either (though I did grab those on Amazon too, whoops). It’s a bummer. But...there it is. Can’t love every book, right? No matter how pretty the cover is (just kidding! Kinda 😉)
November 21, 2022
This book would have been better with more clarity. The structures, culture, language, mores, etc. are all very different from the real world but, without more description and explanation from the author. No, I cannot read inside her head. A strong caste system makes up a large part of this fantasy world's structure. My own take away is that the book reflects USA society of the first 20 years of the 21st century (now)- one where a large group of citizens follow blindly a dictator bathed in his own ego and his craze for power. And a large, opposing group fights for a world where women are equals, slaves are freed and also made equals, and caste is made nonexistent. Just my take. Strange book.
August 13, 2020
This author has very interesting characters and story lines, but I really don't care for the way she makes up words, apparently expecting the reader to derive the meaning of the new word from context.
January 6, 2015
This was a book I read when I was very young. It, like many of the older books I've read, has a certain flavor that I can't define and is hard to find in current writings. Almost like a smell. You know when you smell something and it brings back a memory vivid enough for you to feel? It's like that. I don't remember enough of the book to write a detailed review, but I do remember that I enjoyed the book.
May 3, 2022
Wild Magic by Jo Clayton – I picked this one up in a used bookstore. Fun world building! Happy Reading!
June 19, 2015
Some parts of the story reminds me of a more twisted version of Jim Henson's Labyrinth.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews