What do you think?
Rate this book
De demon van Felswyck #1
Invocatie
Invocatie is het eerste deel van het fantasy-tweeluik De Demon van Felswyck van auteur Jürgen Snoeren. In de straten van Felswyck is er geen dief zo bedreven als Feri. Maar als ze op een avond met haar metgezellen in een laboratorium inbreekt, laat haar zorgvuldige voorbereiding haar helaas in de steek. De eigenaar van het laboratorium, de waanzinnige Kephris, keert eerder terug dan gepland. Feri weet ternauwernood te ontsnappen aan de man, maar niet voordat ze getuige is van iets vreselijks: Kephris roept een demon op van pure kraft. Een wezen dat nu de levens van iedereen in Felswyck én de Westelijke Territoria bedreigt. Kort daarna wordt Feri opgepakt door de mannen van de stamheer en gedwongen Kephris op te sporen. Hij is de enige die de demon weer ongedaan kan maken. Maar dan breekt een burgeroorlog uit en lijkt alle hoop verloren Kephris ooit te vinden.
- GenresFantasy
592 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
About the author
Jürgen Snoeren
5 books6 followersJürgen Snoeren (Oisterwijk, 3 juli 1972) is een Nederlands schrijver en was uitgever. Hij studeerde literatuurwetenschap aan de Universiteit van Tilburg. Na zijn loopbaan als uitgever en redacteur debuteerde hij met het fantasytweeluik De demon van Felswyck.
Snoeren is getrouwd en heeft twee kinderen. Hij woont in Zaandam.
Wiki pagina: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BC...
Snoeren is getrouwd en heeft twee kinderen. Hij woont in Zaandam.
Wiki pagina: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BC...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 2, 2018
Vlotte schrijfstijl en goed doordachte, uitgebreide wereldbouw. Ik word altijd een beetje wantrouwig als er een lijst met personages in een boek staat, maar over het algemeen had ik de lijst niet nodig.
Een puntje van ergernis waren de vele keren dat de gedachtegang van een personage uitgebreid beschreven wordt, waarna het personage hetzelfde idee nog eens hardop herhaalt, wat nogal dubbelop voelde. Verder worden er soms belangrijke gebeurtenissen overgeslagen om er alleen in een terugblik nog even naar te verwijzen, wat voor mij de vaart uit het verhaal haalde en zorgde dat ik moeilijker met de personages kon meeleven. Ook het ontbreken van een duidelijke spanningsboog en een concreet doel of moment waar naartoe gewerkt word, droeg daar aan bij. Al met al kon het verhaal me daardoor minder boeien dan ik had gehoopt.
Maar de wereld was interessant, en ik vond het leuk om gaandeweg steeds meer een beeld te krijgen van de verschillende volkeren en culturen die in Felswyck rondlopen. Daar is duidelijk goed over nagedacht. Extra leuk is dat ik een workshop van de auteur heb gevolgd over het ontwerpen van fantasysteden, en bij het lezen kon zien wat zijn grondige aanpak in de praktijk oplevert.
Een puntje van ergernis waren de vele keren dat de gedachtegang van een personage uitgebreid beschreven wordt, waarna het personage hetzelfde idee nog eens hardop herhaalt, wat nogal dubbelop voelde. Verder worden er soms belangrijke gebeurtenissen overgeslagen om er alleen in een terugblik nog even naar te verwijzen, wat voor mij de vaart uit het verhaal haalde en zorgde dat ik moeilijker met de personages kon meeleven. Ook het ontbreken van een duidelijke spanningsboog en een concreet doel of moment waar naartoe gewerkt word, droeg daar aan bij. Al met al kon het verhaal me daardoor minder boeien dan ik had gehoopt.
Maar de wereld was interessant, en ik vond het leuk om gaandeweg steeds meer een beeld te krijgen van de verschillende volkeren en culturen die in Felswyck rondlopen. Daar is duidelijk goed over nagedacht. Extra leuk is dat ik een workshop van de auteur heb gevolgd over het ontwerpen van fantasysteden, en bij het lezen kon zien wat zijn grondige aanpak in de praktijk oplevert.
December 19, 2025
Dit boek pas tien jaar na publicatie ontdekt. Het verhaal wordt verteld vanuit verschillende personages en dat is ook nodig om de wereld en wat er gaande is te kunnen begrijpen.
Sommige stukken waren wat taai en daar dwaalde ik wat af. Osse (de spion), Feri (de dief) en Isse (met vechtlust in haar bloed) zijn personages die alle drie anders zijn, met een verschillend moraal compas, achtergrond en met hun eigen geheimen.
Het is een boek wat mijn aandacht nodig had anders zou ik maarzo iets kunnen missen.
Sommige stukken waren wat taai en daar dwaalde ik wat af. Osse (de spion), Feri (de dief) en Isse (met vechtlust in haar bloed) zijn personages die alle drie anders zijn, met een verschillend moraal compas, achtergrond en met hun eigen geheimen.
Het is een boek wat mijn aandacht nodig had anders zou ik maarzo iets kunnen missen.
May 5, 2020
Het verhaal komt erg langzaam tot stand en door de lange hoofdstukken is het soms moeilijk om erdoorheen te komen.
Ik heb dit boek en het vervolg uit impuls allebei gekocht omdat ik de kaft mooi vond. Ik ben van plan het tweede boek wel te lezen, maar ik heb tussendoor wel even een dun makkelijk boekje nodig om te lezen.
Ik heb dit boek en het vervolg uit impuls allebei gekocht omdat ik de kaft mooi vond. Ik ben van plan het tweede boek wel te lezen, maar ik heb tussendoor wel even een dun makkelijk boekje nodig om te lezen.
October 26, 2019
Uitstekend en vooral uitdagend!
December 26, 2017
Update: This book gets even better upon second read, which I undertook in preparation for reading the second volume. It may have been that I read it the first time in too short increments (10-15 minutes in bed until my eyes began to droop), but the whole thing became that much more coherent and understandable the second time around. From a three-is-too-meager four-star review, this has now turned into a full-fledged four stars.
In the broad field of fantasy, where generic dime-a-dozen epics still dominate, it's always a relief to read a book that stands apart, be it for level of ambition, originality, complexity, or scope. Invocatie, Jürgen Snoeren's debut novel, stands apart for all these reasons. No fireballs, no dwarves, elves of halflings, no evil overlord, not even a mountain range with an ominous name. "Just" people living on the island of Fels, their struggles, political intrigue, war, magic, and a demon called up from pure Kraft, the book's name for magic. Snoeren weaves a complex plot, introduces fleshed-out characters, builds the world and the story with confidence and calm pace, and makes me eager to read the second volume in the duology. Echoes of Brandon Sanderson and a bit of George R.R. Martin can be heard throughout, but Snoeren is very much his own man, and brings a unique world, narrative, and voice to the field of fantasy. I hope very much that this Dutch novel will find the international publisher, and the English edition, and the worldwide readership, it clearly deserves.
In the broad field of fantasy, where generic dime-a-dozen epics still dominate, it's always a relief to read a book that stands apart, be it for level of ambition, originality, complexity, or scope. Invocatie, Jürgen Snoeren's debut novel, stands apart for all these reasons. No fireballs, no dwarves, elves of halflings, no evil overlord, not even a mountain range with an ominous name. "Just" people living on the island of Fels, their struggles, political intrigue, war, magic, and a demon called up from pure Kraft, the book's name for magic. Snoeren weaves a complex plot, introduces fleshed-out characters, builds the world and the story with confidence and calm pace, and makes me eager to read the second volume in the duology. Echoes of Brandon Sanderson and a bit of George R.R. Martin can be heard throughout, but Snoeren is very much his own man, and brings a unique world, narrative, and voice to the field of fantasy. I hope very much that this Dutch novel will find the international publisher, and the English edition, and the worldwide readership, it clearly deserves.
July 21, 2019
Extensive world building on all levels, from geography, to politics, to ethnicity, to magic, to ancient ancient history. Layers upon layers. Enough for at least 4 follow-up books in this series. The book could be stronger in emotional impact. For instance, we never learn what it means for a man to be the bed play thing of a barbaric woman. He just is. The equilibrium of everyone in nearly all circumstances is astounding and not as rewarding as an honest emotion would have been. No one seems to have a goal for him/herself, a personal yearning that drives them. Their goals are at plot level: find the demon, get the political upperhand, discover what the enemy is doing. Having said that, Snoeren did creat a masterful and intrinsic plot in his world, in which three people's POV are followed, and not a single piece of expose is presented, while we still get to understand the world better with each chapter. Kudos for that. Snoeren als0 created a world man in which there is true equality between men and women. So much so that surprised me from time to time, as my own prejudices often presented me with a man for a certain role, while it often turned out to be a woman. Eye-opening.
I will certainly read the next volume of the series.
I will certainly read the next volume of the series.
April 2, 2017
Vond hem tegenvallen, hoewel bewondering voor de uitwerking. Zat een kaart bij en een lijst met namen en verklaringen. Die heb je echt nodig. Op zich is het verhaal aantrekkelijk, maar door de vele namen e.d. lastig om te lezen.
Read
April 6, 2017I am so sad. Why you ask? Because I would have loved this book had it not had some aspects that I think are problematic. I was unsure of this big tome of a book from a Dutch author in the fantasy genre no less. And while I had some starting problems, once the book got going I was swept up in it.
The story is told through three people. Feri who is mentioned in the synopsis and who is a thief. Isse who is the daughter of the ruler of Fels and bisexual. And Osser who is of mixed race and working as a spy for the Avicenni. Small background here. The Felswegan are the original habitants of the Fels that is an island before being taken over by the Avicenni who came from the main land. They are very distantly related to one another. And here lies the problematic part. The Avicenni are white and conquerors and we only get point of views from them. While Osser might be of mixed race, his affliction lies with the Avicenni. They look down upon the Felswegan to a point, them even being called savages once. Osser is also considered less for being mixed race. Their viewpoint became obnoxious very quickly and there was no calling out of these view points on the page. I do think there are plenty of hints in the text that shows that the Felswegan are smart and more than the Avicenni think but it takes a long while to build up, through Osser, and it certainly is not enough to push away the negativity.
I would also like to point out that I think this book has scenes that can be triggering for sexual assault victims and those who have lost a loved one through suicide (through hanging). If my father was a reader I would keep this book very far away from him for the way that they talk about hanging people.
Yet I still liked it. Had this above not been done like that I could have loved this book. It has a lot of things that I want. Strong females. Characters that have flaws, yet that you still feel drawn to learn more about their story. I kept telling myself just one more chapter but then I would start another one. I do have to say that you need to commit to this book. The start is slow. It takes a while to get going and to understand the world. But once I did I flew through the rest of the book.
It is very political in parts, but there is also plenty of action going on to break up those parts. I do have a bit of a tid bit with the timeline. Feri’s and Isse’s timeline run next to each other but Osser’s chapters often backtracked in time which I thought was a bit annoying to be honest. He would be just in a scene with Feri and then we would go back in time to something that happened before that.
I quite enjoyed the side characters. I thought Marcus was a great balance to Feri. Esric also seemed really interesting and I hope we get to see him soon. Allis and Nes are such hard asses, but it was great to see a bit of a different side to Allis nearing the ending.
The story is told through three people. Feri who is mentioned in the synopsis and who is a thief. Isse who is the daughter of the ruler of Fels and bisexual. And Osser who is of mixed race and working as a spy for the Avicenni. Small background here. The Felswegan are the original habitants of the Fels that is an island before being taken over by the Avicenni who came from the main land. They are very distantly related to one another. And here lies the problematic part. The Avicenni are white and conquerors and we only get point of views from them. While Osser might be of mixed race, his affliction lies with the Avicenni. They look down upon the Felswegan to a point, them even being called savages once. Osser is also considered less for being mixed race. Their viewpoint became obnoxious very quickly and there was no calling out of these view points on the page. I do think there are plenty of hints in the text that shows that the Felswegan are smart and more than the Avicenni think but it takes a long while to build up, through Osser, and it certainly is not enough to push away the negativity.
I would also like to point out that I think this book has scenes that can be triggering for sexual assault victims and those who have lost a loved one through suicide (through hanging). If my father was a reader I would keep this book very far away from him for the way that they talk about hanging people.
Yet I still liked it. Had this above not been done like that I could have loved this book. It has a lot of things that I want. Strong females. Characters that have flaws, yet that you still feel drawn to learn more about their story. I kept telling myself just one more chapter but then I would start another one. I do have to say that you need to commit to this book. The start is slow. It takes a while to get going and to understand the world. But once I did I flew through the rest of the book.
It is very political in parts, but there is also plenty of action going on to break up those parts. I do have a bit of a tid bit with the timeline. Feri’s and Isse’s timeline run next to each other but Osser’s chapters often backtracked in time which I thought was a bit annoying to be honest. He would be just in a scene with Feri and then we would go back in time to something that happened before that.
I quite enjoyed the side characters. I thought Marcus was a great balance to Feri. Esric also seemed really interesting and I hope we get to see him soon. Allis and Nes are such hard asses, but it was great to see a bit of a different side to Allis nearing the ending.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews