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| The Rithmatist |
Joel is a high-school student who, despite his poverty,
attends the exclusive Armedius Academy.
He has access to some of the best teachers in the United Isles. Yet he
squanders the opportunity to excel at most academic subjects because more than
anything, he wants to become a Rithmatist.
Rithmatists are chosen by the Master (or God) at age
8. They can create chalk drawings that
are more than just lines on the pavement: the drawings have power and
life. Using defensive techniques that
they study at school, Rithmatists must learn to defend against chalklings drawn
by others. The chalklings are creatures
that eat away at Rithmatic defenses and can ultimately kill. When students reach their last year of high
school they go to apprentice in Nebrask, where an ongoing war against wild
chalklings has been raging for years.
Regular students and Rithmatic students have always kept
their distance. But things change at
Armedius when a Rithmatic student disappears.
When two more go missing, the campus goes into lockdown mode.
Inspector Harding, who is sent to locate the missing
students, recruits Professor Fitch as the man to help him understand the
Rithmatic aspects of these apparent crimes.
Strange new lines have been discovered at the scenes and these could be
the key to solving the mystery.
As Fitch’s assistant, Joel becomes involved. Joel understands Rithmatic theory more than most,
but he is not a Rithmatist. Melody,
however, is a remedial Rithmatic student and may be able to help Joel. As Joel
and Melody become acquainted, their skills begin to meld together, taking
Rithmatics to another level. But can
they really help solve a series of major crimes?
The Rithmatist is a fast-paced and suspenseful novel with
an element of fantasy. The very idea of
the Rithmatic drawings and the theory behind them is fascinating – unlike any
other fantasy novel I have ever read. Joel is an immediately likeable character and readers
will be rooting for his success. I
couldn’t put it down!
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