Spellcrash (Ravirn, Book 5)

There are so many twists and turns to this story, I had no idea how it was going to end. Ravirn goes through so much in this one that you can't imagine it will turn out well for our hero, but somehow he turns things around, no matter how dark the future looks. If this is the end of the series, McCullough did a good job, but there is certainly room for more, and I would gladly read it. The mix of mythology and contemporary fantasy is something lots of people have tried but only a few people have succeeded at, and McCullough brings out the big guns in this one. Definitely glad I purchased it.

SpellCrash takes up Ravirn's story immediately where last years MythOS left off, with his return to his native pantheoverse accompanied by the newly released Fenrir, the wolf of world's end, his sidekick, the webgoblin Melchior, and Laginn, the disembodied and animate hand of the Norse god, Tyr. All is not well back home, however: Necessity, the supercomputer goddess charged with keeping order in the multiverse, still seems to be broken, or even worse, going mad, and the prime movers of creation are manoeuvring to replace her. Seeing as the ascension of any of these to ultimate power would make the remainder of his existence unpleasant and short, followed by an eternity suffering the tender mercies of Hades, who hasn't forgiven him for freeing Persephone from his clutches, Ravirn has little choice but to take up the challenge of fixing the multiverse himself - if only so he can leave it and return to his beloved Tisiphone, who chose freedom from the rage of a fury, at the cost of exile from home, at the end of last book. All the ingredients in McCullough's series so far are here in this final volume: mixtures of magic and hacking, witty exchanges with a variety of mythological characters, a likeable hero with a stalwart sidekick - even if he is a short, purple goblin, desperate straits, cunning plans, hairsbreadth escapes, and triumphs against the odds. If you've liked the other instalments of Ravirn's adventures, there's no doubt that this will hit the spot, and you'll enjoy the return of some old-favourites: Dave, Mort and Bob, the three heads of Cerberus, and Eris, goddess of Discord, not least among them. It's always sad for a fan when an author decides to bring a series to an end, and there's a tendency to rail against it and want the characters' adventures to just continue, but there's a good deal to be said for calling it a day while everything is still fresh and novel. Thus, while I can't help but wish that Mr McCullough might take Ravirn to visit the Hindu mythos, or the Buddhist one, say, I have to admit that now he's saved his universe, there's not much more for him to do, and so I wish him well in his retirement, and look forward to seeing if Mr McCullough's next work can match the level of this one.

Magic and twenty-first-century technology have merged. Ravirn is the umpteenth great-grandson of one of the three Fates. He is a talented sorcerer and THE computer hacker extraordinaire. Tisiphone, a Fury and his lover, has remained in the Norse MythOS. Ravirn and the rest of his small group have returned to the Greek MythOS to find a major power struggle happening. Ravirn of Raven House is the pantheon's newest and least responsible demigod. Becoming the Raven has amped the daylights out of all Ravirn's worst tendencies toward risk-taking and mischief-making. Ravirn the hacker and cracker is now also a trickster, whose mouth does not seem to know when to stay shut. Necessity, the computer goddess, is broken. Shara, a former webgoblin, is basically plugged in and holding Necessity together for now. Lately, evidence shows there to be a code war happening within Necessity's mind. At least two other entities, besides Shara, are hacking and rewriting. Necessity will soon need to hand over her role as the Fate of the Gods. There are four candidates: Zeus, Hades, the Fates, and Eris. None of the four are good choices for the continued survival of team Raven. Ravirn's former girlfriend and programmer specialist, Cerice, is no longer human. With the absence of Tisiphone, Necessity needed another Fury. Cerice is now living ice. Shara deputizes Ravirn and grants him a tiny part of a Fury's blood (Cerice's) so he may access any part of Necessity he may need. The entire multiverse is resting on Ravirn's divine hacking skills and god-level magic that he still does not fully understand or know how to use. This WebMage, who is something like the ultimate biological malware, has become the fulcrum on which the future pivots. Ravirn is not positive of how he will accomplish this massive task. One thing is for sure. It is going to take some serious malice aforethought. ***** FIVE STARS! Ravirn and his webgoblin familiar, Melchior, return for the fifth novel in the WebMage series. This may very well be the final book. The author can either stop it here or continue in the Norse MythOS. From the first sentence to the last, this story is non-stop. All the major Greek gods and goddess have come out to play and the members of team Raven barely have the time to bandage their wounds from the last fight, much less recover, before the next fight begins. Author Kelly McCullough seems to get better with every story he publishes. Though his knowledge of mythology is extensive, the author writes in such a way that all readers will easily understand. Though the plot is intense and the story flows at a fast pace, it never feels overwhelming. The writing style comes across as both simple and elegant. And even though Ravirn has the title in this series, McCullough is the true demigod of Web Magic. Brilliant! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.