Ithanalin's Restoration: A Legend of Ethsar

By Lawrence Watt-Evans

Despite several years of study, Kilisha, an aspiring young apprentice wizard, has much to learn. After gathering ingredients for a lesson, she returns home to find her master, Ithanalin the Wise, transformed into a statue. A tax collector interrupted Ithanalin while working on a spell, a magic mirror tells her, with the result that the wizard's soul has been distributed among the various household objects. "The dish had run away with the spoon" is literally the case here, as all the furnishings have become animated and escaped out the door. In her efforts to track down the runaway objects and restore her petrified master to his former self, a quest that will eventually take her to the Overlord of Ethshar's fortress, Kilisha first tries to involve the Wizards' Guild but ultimately must rely on the few spells she knows and her master's spell book-as well as her own imagination, initiative and ingenuity.

"Excellent pacing and naive charm make this good-natured fantasy especially suitable for teens." -- Publishers Weekly

"Ebullient fantasy featuring sympathetic characters, fantastic sorceries, and a fairytale plot." -- Library Journal

"Lawrence Watt-Evans delivers worlds brimming over with magic, mystery, and danger; fast-paced, action-packed, and thoroughly entertaining." --Realms of Fantasy

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: Jul 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781479402984

Lawrence Watt-Evans

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Lawrence Watt-Evans has been a full-time writer and editor for more than twenty years. The author of more than thirty novels, over one hundred short stories, and more than one hundred and fifty published articles, Watt-Evans writes primarily in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comic books. His short fiction has won the Hugo Award as well as twice winning the Asimov's Readers Award. His fiction has been published in England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Poland, France, Hungary, and Russia He served as president of the Horror Writers Association from 1994 to 1996 and after leaving that office was the recipient of HWA's first service award ever. He is also a member of Novelists Inc., and the Science Fiction Writers of America. Married with two children, he and his wife Julie live in Maryland.

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Reviews for Ithanalin's Restoration

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OK, I must just be in a mood to tolerate silly. I've started and put down this book at least twice because I couldn't handle it - but this time I didn't find it unbearably silly. It's a silly _situation_, yes, but the story is quite rich. It's a coming-of-age story with several happy endings and some hints at happy beginnings...I don't know if he intends to continue this storyline (probably not, looking at previous ones) but it's very nicely not all-loose-ends-wrapped-up - just most of them. The spriggan and Kelder may have more to say in her story...

[coruca · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In my more relaxed moments, I prefer a book that is lighter, more relaxed itself: a read that leaves you smiling, with a bit of adventure, of course. One book perfect for this mood is Lawrence Watt-Evan’s Ithanalin’s Restoration, a fun book that is also fast paced and spiced with humor.The story is set in Ethshar of the Rocks, one of the three cities in the Ethshar series. Ithanalin, a wizard in the town, specializes in animation magic, creating helpful homuculuses to keep house, animated serving dishes or even a pet miniature dragon for a noble. When a magic spell goes wrong, Ithanalin is caught in it and becomes immobilized while his parlor furniture, from the rug to the chair to the latch on the door, are animated by his life force. It is up to his apprentice, Kilisha, to round up the wayward pieces, including a dish that ran away with a spoon, so she can try to restore her master. Although she has been apprenticed for several years, Kilisha lacks the experience with more advanced spells, causing her to doubt her ability to complete this task. But there is no one else to turn to because all the other wizards in town are dealing with a rebellion at Ethshar of the Sands. A mad magician who has attacked wizards in that town now claims to be the Empress of all three Ethshars. (To find out more about that story, see the early book, The Spell of the Black Dagger). With no wizard guild support, Kilisha turns to Ithanalin’s family and neighbors for help in finding the missing furniture and gather the things she needs to free her master. There are also a few distractions, such as the unknown spell Ithanalin has left on a burner in his lab, but Kilisha forges on bravely.Watt-Evan’s has brought a number of pieces together in Ithanalin’s Restoration. Kilisha considers herself as ordinary and run-of-the-mill. While she is no beauty, her intelligence and resourcefulness shine through and even she begins to realize she might be underrating herself. As she gains confidence in her abilities, she moves from a timid apprentice to a self-reliant journeyman. The search for the missing furniture, dealing with the Wizards’ Guild and deciding how to disenchant Ithanalin prove that Kilisha has what it takes to become a wizard. And she learns that Ithanalin maybe the master, but he is not all-knowing or perfect. Besides turning himself into a statue, he fumbled in the past by accidently turned his previous apprentice into a platypus and his children into squids.Ithanalin’s Restoration is a great book for adventure, humor and warm characters. Any Harry Potter fans who need a fix should try this work, and if you enjoy Diane Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle, you will find a similar spirit in this work. Next time you are in a light-hearted mood, check out this whimsical book.

[impstar · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A pretty fun read, although the majority of the novel is taken up by disorganized running around (in the literal sense, not just a plot sense). The depth of characterization is lacking in this book, as — somewhat like in The Blood of a Dragon — we're in the head of a mostly unremarkable, not-super-intelligent young person. (In this case, she just happens to be a wizard's apprentice.) We don't see a lot of the other characters as she goes about her frantic business.I also agree with one of the previous reviewers that the wife's reactions ring false (although to me, her increasing obnoxiousness as the book goes on and its resulting thwarting of the apprentice's quest are illogical enough to almost seem like realistic human behavior), and I'll add that I'm not inclined to completely believe in the wizard himself, either — he behaves as might be expected of a wizard dealing with his apprentice, without a smidge more personality. Really, no one in this book is absorbing or extremely realistic, except maybe the spriggan and the children, who aren't expected to have much depth...The climax and wrap-up are pretty satisfying, if quick; better than in The Blood of a Dragon, but The Spriggan Mirror and The Misenchanted Sword were much better.