Spellcrash

Webmage #5

by Kelly McCullough

Prepare for a total systems failure in this WebMage novel from Kelly McCullough.

Ravirn—umpteenth great-grandson of one of the three Fates—is a talented sorcerer and a computer hacker extraordinaire in a world where magic has merged with 21st century technology. But even though he’s the best hacker around, there are some things that even he can’t fix.
 
Necessity—the sentient computer that runs the multiverse—is still broken, and the only thing that can repair her is a massive reboot. But while Necessity is offline, anyone with enough power can attempt to seize control of the entire multiverse. As the time for the reboot draws near, four clear contenders Zeus, Hades, Fate, and Eris—all Gods from the Greek mythos who are more than a match for any man, even a demi-god like Ravirn. Now, in order to protect Necessity, Ravirn has to utilize all of his skills as a mage and fight to prevent complete chaos—even if it costs him his life...

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Mythology, Magic

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 8, 2010

About the author

Kelly McCullough was raised and educated by free-range hippies. Later he received a degree in theater and worked in improv. That combination was the perfect preparation for his current career as author and cat herder. He lives and writes in the Midwest with his physics-professor wife, Laura. He enjoys hiking and biking and his role as self-heating cat furniture. He is the author of the WebMage and Fallen Blade series.

Reviews

[Chichipio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good closure for this part of the story. It leaves Ravirn and Mel with an almost clean slate to begin messing around in other places.

An excellent thing about these books is that Kelly never uses Ravirn (or Mel) to move the plot along. Things happen in spite—rather than because—of Ravirn's best intentions, quick thinking and appropriate action. In other series, you find out what's happening immediately and have to suffer page after page watching the character with all the clues in front of them while they fail to put two and two together. Here, Ravirn solves the mystery, finds a way to fix the problem and yet, the bad guys are always on his heels complicating things. It's nice because you get all the excitement of an action-packed book without the all too common accompanying frustration that comes from reading the main character making stupid decisions to trigger said action.

Another great achievement is that the author manages to update the heroes' powers in every book without writing himself into a corner. I'm tired of ending a book with a character gaining a new cool power only to find out in the next that it can't be used because ::insert lame reason here::.

Looking forward to reading the next one.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just terrific, smart, funny sci-fi/fantasy adventure. The characters don't always do as expected, make mistakes, and have a lot of heart. The way the author makes his crazy combo of hacker technology concepts and traditional mythology tales come together is always creative and interesting, very clever. The traditional pull between chaos and order in the stories adds another level of thoughtfulness. And Ravirn's heritage through the lines of Fate and Slapstick keep the laughs coming.

All that being said, it really is the characters' hearts that holds it all together. The love in the friendships is genuine and touching. The Fury's love for their mother is true. Ravirn's admiration for Persephone is sweet and gentle. Even his relationship with his ex rings true with anger, regret and tenderness. Through all of the exciting adventure, near-death (and sometimes actually death) experiences, bad jokes, ironic humor, hacking and cracking, all enjoyable features, it's the genuine warmth that I remember most. Ravirn is that classic reluctant hero, pulled from childhood into responsibility, and despite his fears and reservations, he really tries to do the right thing. Watching how he, as a clever but snarky kid and as a chaos power, does it is always entertaining.

[Kirstyn Rowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss Tisiphone :(

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

SpellCrash is the fifth and final book in the WebMage series written by Kelly McCullough. It centers on a hacker and junior at university who just happens to be a sorcerer and the grandson of Lachesis – one of the three Fates of Greco-Roman mythology.

Necessity, the sentient computer that runs the multiverse is still broken, and the only thing that can repair her is a massive reboot. However, while Necessity is offline, anyone with enough power can attempt to seize control of the entire multiverse. As the time for the reboot draws near, four clear contenders emerge: Zeus, Hades, Fate, and Eris. Now, in order to protect Necessity, Ravirn has to utilize all of his skills as a mage and fight to prevent complete chaos.

Meanwhile, Ravirn has taken a turn for the worse since he became a Trickster aspect. Now he's obligated to make a smartass remark even when he prefers to shut up. His ex-girlfriend Cerice has just become a Fury, which puts extra strain on any of their meetings. His relationship with Persephone is described as courtly love. Ravirn just respects Persephone and did it because it was the right thing to do. It's interesting to read about an intense relationship between a man and a woman that doesn't involve sex.

SpellCrash is written rather well. Unsurprisingly, McCullough has blended cyberpunk, Greek mythology, and techno-magic rather well in this fast-paced action adventure where the literal multiverse existence is on the line. McCullough brings a satisfying closure for the series in a wonderful complex and climax narrative.

Overall, the WebMage series is written rather evenly, but well. McCullough has blended the sub-genre of science fiction – cyberpunk with Greek and in one case Norse mythology rather well. The technobabble is done rather humorously, but the veracity of it is beyond me as I am totally a technophobe. The narrative is always fast pacing with twists and turns and it is a fun read to pass the day away.

All in all, SpellCrash is written rather well and is a wonderful conclusion to an equally wonderful series.

[Kat Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Though the ending is rather open - especially since it says on McCullough's website there are potential for more books (even though it's been four years since the release of SpellCrash), it also settles things quite nicely.

Necessity and Nemesis gone. For a while there, I thought everybody was going to throw in the towel and just dive into sacrifice mode, especially since that's Ravirn's specialty. First it was Shara, then Fenris, Cerice, and even Alecto. It was interesting to see the split between the "four" sisters - Megaera with the bad guy, Alecto on Necessity's side and on her own, Tisiphone in the Norse MythOS, and Cerice trying to maintain the peace. I also found it interesting that Ravirn now knows what it's like to screw around with both fire and ice. The irony of that made me laugh.

Although there was one little part I got confused on and the ending was a bit rushed, I really, really liked this one and therefore, gave it five stars. Maybe it was because there was a lot less computer lingo until about a 1/3 of the way through and I understood it better, but I guess I just liked how the other parts of the book fell in.

And Eris, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! The nature of the gods are so fascinating - multi-faceted and driven by their own needs. I've always enjoyed Eris/Discord's character and was glad she stayed true to the end, not to mention the same with Zeus, Hades, and Fate. I think the final Titan really showed them he was there to stay, always watching, though in the end, it didn't matter because Ravirn's place was taken by the lovely Persephone.

Great series. If there are any others to come, I'll certainly add them to the list. Until then, I'm off into the new adult genre.

[Brian Paterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Since the good books are usually not in the bookshops, I appear doomed to discover an author’s work in a secondhand shop. Spellcrash was the last of its series. The spoiler dilemna is solved by beginning the first chapter to get a taste. I only made it to page 6. Alas, I won't be finishing the book and I’m not desperate for the rest of this series judging by this one. I grabbed it for the male first-person narration (yes, and because he wasn’t a private investigator) but the protagonist begins this story nowhere and he and the other characters tell me stuff and why they behave as they do. Tedious. I’m told that there is a problem with the world because his ex-girlfriend got a job. A job? I see no evidence of a problem there. Familiarity with the previous four books may have helped but frankly a book in a series should be whole in itself.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book in the 5-book series. Great. and Great Fun. Ravirn/Raven is the ultimate hacker of computers & magic and also now an aspect of the Trickster, which sometimes takes over. Things are really falling apart as the computer that runs the multiverse is being attacked from within. His universe of the Greek gods and their descendants is in grave peril. What can he and his laptop/familiar Melchior and their recently acquired cohort Fenris from the Norse MythOS do to keep things from breaking down. Lots going on.
Highly recommended series, but read them in order, starting with WebMage.

[Joe White · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author should have done a whole series based on webgoblins, webtrolls, quantum computing, and the conjunctions of old technology into new technical capabilities.

[John Grose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series and its take on magic.

[Drake Sandman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it started rather slower than the other books in the series when the pace picked up it was quite enjoyable, and felt a fitting end to this joy of a series

[Kat Mandu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat Mandu says...

I’m sad to see this series go. But McCullough does a wonderful job at bringing everyone back for a big ole reunion – one filled with humor, cybermagic, and lots of fight scenes. Spoilers ahead, ya’ll.

What a book. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Though the ending is rather open – it also settles things quite nicely. The characters are so engaging, the plot is so original, and the action in nonstop in this.

Necessity and Nemesis gone. For a while there, I thought everybody was going to throw in the towel and just dive into sacrifice mode, especially since that’s Ravirn’s specialty. First it was Shara, then Fenris, Cerice, and even Alecto. It was interesting to see the split between the “four” sisters – Megaera with the bad guy, Alecto on Necessity’s side and on her own, Tisiphone in the Norse MythOS, and Cerice trying to maintain the peace as a transformed Fury. I also found it interesting that Ravirn now knows what it’s like to screw around with both fire and ice. The irony of that made me laugh.

Although there was one little part I got confused on and the ending was a bit rushed, I really, really liked this one and therefore, gave it five stars. Maybe it was because there was a lot less computer lingo until about a 1/3 of the way through and I understood it better, but I guess I just liked how the other parts of the book fell in.

And Eris, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! The nature of the gods are so fascinating – multi-faceted and driven by their own needs. I’ve always enjoyed Eris/Discord’s character and was glad she stayed true to the end, not to mention the same with Zeus, Hades, and Fate. I think the final Titan really showed them he was there to stay, always watching, though in the end, it didn’t matter because Ravirn’s place was taken by the lovely Persephone.

I’m fascinated by this, I really am. I would reread this any time. If you love great world building, comical dialogue, Greek god interpretations, and computers, this is for you. Actually, this series is for anyone.

Great stuff, McCullough really knows his stuff and I agree he’s created his own subgenre.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

"SpellCrash" is a fantasy and a little juvenile but I liked it. It is the 5th book in a series beginning with "Webmage".

In this series, a college student named Ravirn is a minor member of the Greek Pantheon of gods, a distant grandchild of Lachesis, a goddess of Fate who measures out one's life thread. Ravirn can't seem to fit in. He is a hacker who can build magic spells like he can write computer code.

You will note on the cover that he carries a Smith and Wesson 1911 but the gun does not figure into the story much. I think the author came up with a good idea involving the gun but couldn't make it work so the gun is rarely critical to the story. Too bad. I started reading the series primarily because of the recommendation of The Handgun Podcast (Eric Shelton) that mentioned the series, but once I got into it, I liked the series in general and kept reading.

In "SpellCrash" the goddess of Necessity has transferred her consciousness to a server farm and a virus has caused her to go mad. It is Ravirn's job to crack the security codes to Necessity's severs and either fix her or do a hard reset, a very risky operation endangering the entirety of this multiverse.

While it's not necessary to read the entire series to follow along in this novel it's probably a good idea to at least read "Webmage" which sets up the main ideas.

Warning: Sex amongst the Greek gods and goddesses is rather a casual thing. If you are practicing modesty you should probably avoid this series. If you are married... no problem.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

So we're back to three stars, and I feel three stars overall for the series. This is the end of the WebMage series, and while it does cover most of its bases, there are a few leftover tidbits not covered. What about Raviren's cousin Daren's soul? What about that e-mail sent to Hades's personal account that Raven copied yet never read? Who's the young man leaping into the river in Hades? How will Mel survive in the Norse-based lands (since he didn't get a snakebite)? Why the discrepancies between Cerice's early coloration (red and gold) and symbol (phoenix) and her turn as a Fury based in ice? Also wouldn't her desire for order conflict with the nature of being a destructive Fury in general? In the end, I found her to be the weakest character, with Shara one of the strongest. While I don't mind not knowing if Raven makes it back to Tisaphone, it seems a strange lacking to avoid a reunion.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so the Webmage saga comes to a close. While there is always the temptation to continue a story past its proper lifespan, especially when you love the characters, I do feel that "SpellCrash" completes the story of Ravirn and his friends. There's only so high you can push the stakes and responsibilities of the characters before it becomes cartoonish, and the fate of the multiverse is about as far as you can go and still be plausible. The happy endings are sometimes surprising and yet in hindsight seem both proper and inevitable. I would like to see more of Ravirn's adventures once he returns to the Norse MythOS, but still found this ending satisfying. If you like Percy Jackson, Harry Dresden, non-traditional magic/fantasy, and computers, I can definitely recommend this series.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very enjoyable, complex and growth filled book in the series. It is rare for an author to truly build an arc throughout a series, but McCullough accomplishes it with grace and agility. There were organic but still unexpected twists to this story that makes it a worthy read. I think this book had a perfect ending that still leaves room for further exploration. Ravirn is a character who grows in ways that few characters accomplish and yet retains that quality that makes him entertaining and unique.

[Ju Transcendancing · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Necessity doom has finally landed, squarely at Ravirn's feet, it all looks kind of horrific from his point of view. But he and companions handle things with the usual amount of dedication and wry humour. Ravirn's self awareness reaches a pinacle here that always breaks my heart a little, and makes me laugh too. Everything ties of neatly for this story arc, though not without significant cost to the characters that we know and love by now. The ending to Ravirn's story is epic, and well worth reading.

[Marianne Boutet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to think about this series for s few days before I said anything about the final book. So what I say is this: It was hard to put the books down, as the reader gets sucked into Ravirn's life and swept through all his experiences. He grows and changes with each book; not just becoming the Raven but dealing with just exactly what his purpose is. A series well worth reading. And I have it safely put aside on my "reread" shelf.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've really been enjoying this series. They kind of vaguely remind me of the Amber novels in its meta reality story telling focusing on family politics among powerful supernatural beings.

Spellcrash draws the first part of this series down to a well done conclusion but still leaves room open for future stories. I'm looking forward to seeing where The Raven goes from here.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wrap up for the Webmage series was a good finish, but in a way felt like a let down. It was more on the personalities than the earlier books, but also more about the geekiness. It almost felt as though the author was trying to show that she really did know a lot about computer internals.

Overall a good finish but not a good recommendation for the author or the series.

[Tankerbay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a nice conclusion to the series, actually. I was impressed at how neatly many things tied together at the end, and Raven actually has several positive things happen to him without the shaft showing up. It's obvious the bible for all 5 books was well thought out prior to.. well, at least the 3rd book. Nicely done.

[Nanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

And so this series comes to a close. The final chapter of the Ravirn story wraps things up nicely and does so in record-time. I must say though that the lack of depth in these stories got to me a bit, it reads away nicely but it feels like everything is narrated rather than being able to emerge yourself in the story.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ravirn aka the Raven has to use his spell coding hacker abilities to save Necessity the fate of the Gods, but he has to go up against all the powers to do it.

Another good outing by McCullough in the cyberfantasy he's crafted with equal parts Greek myth and cyberpunk.

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, even after five books. Will admit to being slightly irritated by repetitive phrases and explanations on occasion, but overall a great, light weight fun read in the fantasy multiverse that McCullough has created.

[T.W. Fendley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun romp through McCullough's techno-magic cyberworld that blends mostly Greek mythology and IT. Lots of familiar characters taking on different roles. Enjoyed it! Makes me want to go back and read the Norse adventure that I apparently skipped (Mythos?).

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review here:

http://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/2...

One wishes this could have been 2 books, but it's not, so while wonderful, there's a lot of rough and unfinished edges.

[Jupiter1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Well, I sort of skimmed it. I don't know if my tastes have just changed since I started this series or what, but both this one and the one before was just okay.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is a guilty pleasure for me. Fun and quick to read.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, this was a great book. I would find this a satisfying end to the Ravirn books. I hope this isn't the case, and that McCullough writes piles more about the surviving characters of this book.

[Jeff Smith]

Very good. The end of an excellent series. I am kinda sad. Look forward to more work from Kelly McCullough though.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great (I assume) ending to the series. What a great twist at the end to bring a resolution to the entire series. I definitely recommend this series.