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Arcane America #3
Caller of Lightning
BOOK THREE IN THE ARCANE AMERICA SERIES
When Halley’s Comet blazed across the sky in 1759, onlookers saw a sight far more spectacular—and disastrous—than they ever could have imagined. Destroyed in a magical battle, the comet is rent in two and appears to strike Earth. The event is known as The Sundering, the moment in which the Old World is separated from the New, perhaps permanently isolating the Americas. What’s more, The Sundering has brought magic into the world—creatures from folklore and fairy tales come to life, along with wizardry and magework unlike anything seen outside of legend. The New World is now far stranger than before, and the Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous peoples on the American continent must forge new bonds if they are to survive.
So, when magic returns to the world of the 1700s, who does the world turn to for help? None other than the father of electricity himself: Benjamin Franklin! But Franklin is in for a shock if he thinks his knowledge of science will prepare him for the world of magic. The master once more becomes the apprentice. But Franklin must learn his spells fast, for he is far from the only one studying magic.
In point of fact, he’s late to the race and almost out of time . . .
Praise for Peter J. Wacks:
"Peter Wacks is a talented writer coming at you from all different genres. Watch out, readers!"—Kevin J. Anderson
Praise for the work of Etyan Kollin:
"Reminiscent of Heinlein—a good, old-fashioned, enormously appealing SF yarn. bravo!"—Robert J. Sawyer
"Turns what could have been a one-note trilogy into something more interesting that encompasses a wide range of ideas."—The Denver Post
"The Kollins' masterful command of multiple plot threads, characters, and the motifs of grand-scale space opera make for a breathtaking sequel."—Booklist
"Rich with multiple plot thread skillfully handled by the authors. . . . Well-conceived characters, along with intense battle-oriented space content, will keep even new readers glued to the page."—RT Book Reviews
When Halley’s Comet blazed across the sky in 1759, onlookers saw a sight far more spectacular—and disastrous—than they ever could have imagined. Destroyed in a magical battle, the comet is rent in two and appears to strike Earth. The event is known as The Sundering, the moment in which the Old World is separated from the New, perhaps permanently isolating the Americas. What’s more, The Sundering has brought magic into the world—creatures from folklore and fairy tales come to life, along with wizardry and magework unlike anything seen outside of legend. The New World is now far stranger than before, and the Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous peoples on the American continent must forge new bonds if they are to survive.
So, when magic returns to the world of the 1700s, who does the world turn to for help? None other than the father of electricity himself: Benjamin Franklin! But Franklin is in for a shock if he thinks his knowledge of science will prepare him for the world of magic. The master once more becomes the apprentice. But Franklin must learn his spells fast, for he is far from the only one studying magic.
In point of fact, he’s late to the race and almost out of time . . .
Praise for Peter J. Wacks:
"Peter Wacks is a talented writer coming at you from all different genres. Watch out, readers!"—Kevin J. Anderson
Praise for the work of Etyan Kollin:
"Reminiscent of Heinlein—a good, old-fashioned, enormously appealing SF yarn. bravo!"—Robert J. Sawyer
"Turns what could have been a one-note trilogy into something more interesting that encompasses a wide range of ideas."—The Denver Post
"The Kollins' masterful command of multiple plot threads, characters, and the motifs of grand-scale space opera make for a breathtaking sequel."—Booklist
"Rich with multiple plot thread skillfully handled by the authors. . . . Well-conceived characters, along with intense battle-oriented space content, will keep even new readers glued to the page."—RT Book Reviews
416 pages, Hardcover
Published June 2, 2020
6 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 5, 2020
Sparks Fly in this Fantasy
Wacks and Killon have written an exciting addition to the Arcane America trilogy. This book illustrates how America came to be Sundered and how Benjamin Franklin became the Wizard who makes such an entrance in the first book. There are spells and science galore, mixed with history that takes intriguing turns.
Well-written and action-packed, I would read this book first, number 2 next, then number 1 last if you want the saga in order. In any order, they are quite enjoyable.
I hope for more from this magical alternative American history.
Wacks and Killon have written an exciting addition to the Arcane America trilogy. This book illustrates how America came to be Sundered and how Benjamin Franklin became the Wizard who makes such an entrance in the first book. There are spells and science galore, mixed with history that takes intriguing turns.
Well-written and action-packed, I would read this book first, number 2 next, then number 1 last if you want the saga in order. In any order, they are quite enjoyable.
I hope for more from this magical alternative American history.
November 17, 2021
Ever since I read Uncharted and was completely blown away, I've been excited about the Arcane America series. It hits all the elements that made me love the Alvin Maker and Age of Unreason 'verses. So of course I read Council of Fire as soon as the library got it in -- and I was more than a little disappointed when the library failed to acquire this volume. Eventually I put in a request for it, assuming that it had simply been overlooked.
Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed by this novel. It's set before either of the two previous volumes, with Ben Franklin's discovery of magic during his famous kite experiment. The next several chapters are devoted to his efforts to master his new-found powers, and the discovery that he has a rival.
And then he heads off to England, and the storyline goes off the rails. Prequels are tricky things to write, because they need to simultaneously feel like they were always there in the background of the previous stories, yet give new insights onto the fictional world.
Quite honestly, I cannot reconcile the second half of this novel with the Benjamin Franklin we meet in the beginning of Uncharted, who is commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition to seek a westward route around to England and re-establish communication with England and their rightful sovereign. Yes, the scene is from the POV of Merriwether Lewis, so we know only what Franklin says about his intents and motivations. But everything in that scene says that Franklin is utterly ignorant of the cause of the Sundering, and is not only searching for an explanation for those events, but also desperately seeking reconnection with the mother country.
In this novel, we have Franklin in the middle of those events, using arcane devisings to battle a king gone mad with power and ending up defeating him, right in the middle of Philadelphia. Part of the problem may well be having different authors writing each volume, but there should be someone looking over each volume with an eye to continuity.
Part of me still wants to read more volumes of this series. However, I'm rapidly doubting it's going to be possible to reconcile the existing three books with one another and build out from them.
Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed by this novel. It's set before either of the two previous volumes, with Ben Franklin's discovery of magic during his famous kite experiment. The next several chapters are devoted to his efforts to master his new-found powers, and the discovery that he has a rival.
And then he heads off to England, and the storyline goes off the rails. Prequels are tricky things to write, because they need to simultaneously feel like they were always there in the background of the previous stories, yet give new insights onto the fictional world.
Quite honestly, I cannot reconcile the second half of this novel with the Benjamin Franklin we meet in the beginning of Uncharted, who is commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition to seek a westward route around to England and re-establish communication with England and their rightful sovereign. Yes, the scene is from the POV of Merriwether Lewis, so we know only what Franklin says about his intents and motivations. But everything in that scene says that Franklin is utterly ignorant of the cause of the Sundering, and is not only searching for an explanation for those events, but also desperately seeking reconnection with the mother country.
In this novel, we have Franklin in the middle of those events, using arcane devisings to battle a king gone mad with power and ending up defeating him, right in the middle of Philadelphia. Part of the problem may well be having different authors writing each volume, but there should be someone looking over each volume with an eye to continuity.
Part of me still wants to read more volumes of this series. However, I'm rapidly doubting it's going to be possible to reconcile the existing three books with one another and build out from them.
July 22, 2025
i picked this book up on a whim from my local library because the premise sounded interesting, without knowing it was a prequel. from the other reviews i can surmise i would probably have enjoyed it more if i had read the other entries in the Arcane America series first. nevertheless i did like this book, for the most part. i thought the pacing was a little slow at times but i felt it gave the reader ample time to get acquainted with each character. the prose was light and clever and each chapter created an adequate sense of intrigue. i’m definitely impressed by the depth of research; i’ve learned a couple things from this book that i was unaware of before. it represents a lot of what i love about historical fiction, and the fantasy elements are a nice addition to that.
however.
i don’t know if i got a defective copy or something, but it seems to me the quality takes an abrupt nose dive in the last quarter of this book. did the editor throw in the towel? we’re treated to such gems as “it’s” being written as “its,” “toll” being misspelled as “tool” (really??), an antagonist seemingly being killed almost immediately after his identity is revealed, and benjamin fucking franklin uttering the words “It’s okay to cry,” which was so jarring and immersion-breaking for me that i returned the book immediately. these are all mistakes even seasoned writers can make in a first draft—but this isn't a first draft.
maybe i was too hasty to DNF this one. maybe it’s not what it looks like, or it miraculously pulls a hail mary and manages to resume its prior quality in the few chapters it has left. i’d definitely like to come back to it. for now, though, onto less infuriating things.
however.
i don’t know if i got a defective copy or something, but it seems to me the quality takes an abrupt nose dive in the last quarter of this book. did the editor throw in the towel? we’re treated to such gems as “it’s” being written as “its,” “toll” being misspelled as “tool” (really??), an antagonist seemingly being killed almost immediately after his identity is revealed, and benjamin fucking franklin uttering the words “It’s okay to cry,” which was so jarring and immersion-breaking for me that i returned the book immediately. these are all mistakes even seasoned writers can make in a first draft—but this isn't a first draft.
maybe i was too hasty to DNF this one. maybe it’s not what it looks like, or it miraculously pulls a hail mary and manages to resume its prior quality in the few chapters it has left. i’d definitely like to come back to it. for now, though, onto less infuriating things.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2020
I received a review copy of this from the publisher through BookSirens.
I'd not heard of the series and the description caught my attention. Three books by three pairs of co-authors...sounds ambitious. This third book is a prequel to the conditions set in the first two and reading it "out of order" was recommended. Three quarters in, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to read the other two (not a big Kevin J. Anderson fan anyway) - slow, flitting, shallow ...and then the pace picked up considerably in the last quarter. I think much is unsaid here, whether deliberately as a literary device like Gibson's, deliberately because the characters are largely actually people about which some, or a lot is known, or perhaps assuming that a reader of this book had already read the earlier ones and was familiar with the framework of that universe. The curious thing is that one might like one or another of this series, and yet not all, as the styles of six authors over three novels surely have to be different? We'll see. This one is a quick read if you spend the time, or a slightly less than quick if you split time with other readings. Which I do.
I'd not heard of the series and the description caught my attention. Three books by three pairs of co-authors...sounds ambitious. This third book is a prequel to the conditions set in the first two and reading it "out of order" was recommended. Three quarters in, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to read the other two (not a big Kevin J. Anderson fan anyway) - slow, flitting, shallow ...and then the pace picked up considerably in the last quarter. I think much is unsaid here, whether deliberately as a literary device like Gibson's, deliberately because the characters are largely actually people about which some, or a lot is known, or perhaps assuming that a reader of this book had already read the earlier ones and was familiar with the framework of that universe. The curious thing is that one might like one or another of this series, and yet not all, as the styles of six authors over three novels surely have to be different? We'll see. This one is a quick read if you spend the time, or a slightly less than quick if you split time with other readings. Which I do.
July 2, 2020
Finally, here in book three of Arcane America, we find out that it was no accident that Halley's Comet has brought magic to the world! Caller of Lightning is the story of the magicians who had designs upon the comet and the magical battle that ensued!
This book is more a prequel to the earlier two books in that now we see that magic had been dribbling into our world each time the comet had passed in the past.
Inveterate experimenter Benjamin Franklin is always seeking to discover more about natural philosophy (as science was called in his day). Even before the appearance of the comet he is already discovering some minor magic!
Recommended for all alternate history and fantasy fans!
This book is more a prequel to the earlier two books in that now we see that magic had been dribbling into our world each time the comet had passed in the past.
Inveterate experimenter Benjamin Franklin is always seeking to discover more about natural philosophy (as science was called in his day). Even before the appearance of the comet he is already discovering some minor magic!
Recommended for all alternate history and fantasy fans!
April 2, 2021
After reading the novella "Chasing Your Tail" I was excited to read this book (which takes place in the same world with some of the minor characters from the book). Being a full novel I wasn't exactly sure what to expect in the pacing when my only frame of reference was a novella. The pacing is slow and methodical until the end when things pick up quite a bit, the flow is good throughout and the transitions between chapters is easy to read through. As I mentioned with the flow this book wasn't as exciting as the novella until the pace speed up, there is a lot of build up to set up the final chapters that I think was definitely needed and added to my enjoyment of the book. While it isn't required reading for the novella I would have like to have read this first.
September 6, 2020
Arcane America surmises that Haley’s comet in 1759 brought with it a return of magic. Before that Ben Franklin had become The Caller of Lightning (hard from Baen) because of the special metal in the key which was also found in the Liberty Bell. Peter J. Wacks and Eytan Kollin have fun with Ben Franklin’s investigation into magic in both Philadelphia and London. He encounters magical societies, but also an immortal man who has spurred these societies over the ages, and a plot to use the Bell when the comet was directly over head, to create more immortals. Light fun.Review printed by Philadelphia Free Press
April 7, 2022
It was a bit strange ending the trilogy before the first book had begun but the story itself was quite good reading. The whole alternate history theme across the series worked pretty well too.
Using different authors for each book in the series was also a bit unusual as their writing styles differed greatly. I struggled with the first book a bit, enjoyed the second much more and this one, once I'd grasped what was going on, captured my interest.
Using different authors for each book in the series was also a bit unusual as their writing styles differed greatly. I struggled with the first book a bit, enjoyed the second much more and this one, once I'd grasped what was going on, captured my interest.
September 2, 2020
Great prequel to a great fantasy series!
It can be read as a standalone as it's a sort of prequel.
A highly entertaining and gripping read.
I loved the mix of historical facts and fantasy, the well thought characters and the plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It can be read as a standalone as it's a sort of prequel.
A highly entertaining and gripping read.
I loved the mix of historical facts and fantasy, the well thought characters and the plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
May 28, 2021
As a prequel this fills in the gaps as to what happened before the sundering but truth be told it was like anticipating a good juicy burger and getting a paper thin patty. Hopefully this series will continue with a bit more meat on the bones
June 13, 2020
Finally...the story of The Sundering
I enjoyed the historical background and the inventive fiction. Great characters with some wonderful growth moments. Make sure you read all 3.
I enjoyed the historical background and the inventive fiction. Great characters with some wonderful growth moments. Make sure you read all 3.
January 8, 2023
This 3rd installment of Arcane America was really good and explains how the Sundered World came to be. I really hope they continue this, as the setting and characters are compelling!
May 13, 2023
Of course Ben Franklin had to be a major player in Arcane America. It was a fun, fast read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews