• Spellbound

  • Book II of the Grimnoir Chronicles
  • By: Larry Correia
  • Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
  • Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (9,250 ratings)

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Spellbound  By  cover art

Spellbound

By: Larry Correia
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Paranormal, 2013

Dark fantasy goes hardboiled in Book II of the hard-hitting Grimnoir Chronicles by the New York Times best-selling creator of Monster Hunter International. The Grimnoir Society’s mission is to protect people with magic, and they’ve done so - successfully and in secret - since the mysterious arrival of the Power in the 1850s, but when a magical assassin makes an attempt on the life of President Franklin Roosevelt, the crime is pinned on the Grimnoir. The knights must become fugitives while they attempt to discover who framed them.Thing go from bad to worse when Jake Sullivan, former P.I. and knight of the Grimnoir, receives a telephone call from a dead man - a man he helped kill. Turns out the Power jumped universes because it was fleeing from a predator that eats magic and leaves destroyed worlds in its wake. That predator has just landed on Earth.

©2012 Larry Correia (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Spellbound

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noir meets fantasy meets thriller

If you are looking for an audiobook that`s long, captivating, engaging, well narrated and so on, you definitely have to check out mr.correia`s grimnoir series. Perfect entertainement!

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Right again!

Would you listen to Spellbound again? Why?

Larry Correia did it again with this installment! Fun and action-packed, this book picks up about a year after the first book's end. Where the Imperium was the focal enemy in the first book, another, more sinister enemy takes the lead in this book.

Have you listened to any of Bronson Pinchot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Mr. Pinchot is perfect. Simply perfect.

Any additional comments?

I can't wait for the next installment in this series!!!

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fantastic!

An exciting story with great narration! This is a gem, it doesn't fall into the cookie cutter trap of many of the new series. Very creative twists on history.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Superpowers and Guns: Fun Pulpy Libertarian SF

Less than a year after the California Knights of the Grimnoir's desperate attempt to save the USA from the Tesla superweapon of the evil Japanese Imperium in Larry Correia's Hard Magic (2011), the sequel, Spellbound (2011), begins with their being framed for the attempted assassination of President Roosevelt. Indeed, a new governmental organization called the Office of the Coordinator of Information is out to eliminate the entire covert Grimnoir Society. The mood in America regarding Actives (people like the Grimnoir able to access "the Power" to perform specialized "magical" abilities like telekenisis, telepathy, and healing) has turned dangerously ugly, and although the Grimnoir are dedicated to coexistence between Actives and Normals, they are "loved by few, feared by many, and hated by more." Worse, the Power, an alien entity who came to earth in 1849 and started seeding certain people with "magic" so they can grow it and feed it back to the Power when they die, is about to be followed here by its own super alien predator, the Enemy. To prevent the Enemy from destroying the earth, someone must kill its Pathfinder, and to have a chance at that, the Grimnoir may need to call on their Imperium archenemies.

If all that sounds involved and absurd, it is, but Correia tells his story with pulpy panache and appealing characters. Our favorite Knights from the first book are back, like Francis Cornelius Stuyvesant, a young Mover (able to mentally move objects) who's been playing the Bruce Wayne-esque millionaire playboy corporation head; Jake Sullivan, a hard-bitten, chivalrous Heavy (able to manipulate gravity) who's been researching magic and carving magical spell sigils into his own flesh; and Faye Rivera, a teen Traveler (able to teleport herself and other people and objects) who's possibly turning into the Spellbound, the vessel for the most dangerous and powerful cursed spell of all. Correia introduces some intriguing new Knights, like Whisper, a French Torch (able to manipulate fire) and Ian, a bitter Summoner (able to summon demons); X-factors, like the Japanese Iron Guard Brute Toru (able to access super strength and speed) and the Texas Justice Beverly Hammer (able to find people and detect when they lie); and antagonists, like OCI agent Crow (an amoral, scary guy with a long history of dirty work). And real historical people appear with alternate-world twists, as in epigraphs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert E. "Heavy" Howard, and Geronimo, references to Babe Ruth and Jack Johnson, and cameos by Navy Lt. Heinlein and Raymond Chandler, who says when Francis gives him a tricky covert job, "I'm an accountant, not a detective." (Funny lines like that are many in the novel.)

As in the first novel, Correia revels in writing exciting and creative (and destructive!) small- and large-scale fight scenes featuring a variety of weapons (tommy guns, shotguns, 45s, knives, nails, katana, war clubs, etc.), machines (automata, dirigibles, magic nullifiers, etc.), powers (electricity, fire, gravity, animal possessing, spell writing, etc.), foes (G-men, demons, black domes of death, etc.), and injuries (broken limbs, burst eyeballs, punctured lungs, gunshot wounds, immolation, etc.). Correia is not above adding humor to the action, as when a nearly deaf and blind old woman sleeps through an apocalypse in her boarding house.

The novel has a libertarian thrust. The Grimnoir's raison d'etre is "to fight for liberty though it cost my life," and Jake is sick of men with "grand visions," "just a bunch of assholes trying to control everyone else." At one point Francis says, "Nothing like that [the government imprisoning all Actives] could happen here [in America]." But of course, it can happen here, and it's up to the Grimnoir to stop it.

Correia does some politically correct things regarding race, as in repugnant racist epigraphs by H.G. Wells and Jack London, Faye's opposition to segregation, and a white Knight's marriage to a "quadroon" woman. And he depicts a more complex side to the Japanese than in the first novel's one-note depiction of them as loyalty-crazed, inhuman eugenic experimenters bent on purifying the world.

Bronson Pinchot has great fun reading the novel, changing his voices for European characters and for Americans from different classes and regions, and for demons and men and women. I really like his deliberate, deep voice for Jake, and his Okie-naïve-girl-on-the-surface-cold-killer-beneath for Faye.

Spellbound is so entertaining that it almost teleported me past some flaws.

--Correia writes some bad lines, as when a man has "unfashionably large old-fashioned sideburns."

--His ends-justify-the-means villain mastermind is prone to typical flaws of such figures, being unable to resist gloatingly telling his plans to captured heroes, and generally seeming less brilliant than he's supposed to be.

--Although Correia generally obeys the limits to magic he sets up, as when Faye can't Travel outside a boarding house because of a dust storm, he also ignores such limits when expedient, as when she Travels into an OCI room that's "full of dust."

--Correia callously uses animals for humor, as when a Knight possesses a cow into the path of a speeding automobile to stop it and then has the cow, with all four legs broken, wink at the enemy and trash-talk him.

--Finally, although the plot of Spellbound has its own closure and prepares the way for the climactic third volume, I suspect that much of the entertaining second book is superfluous, for its necessary developments (re Faye and Toru) could come in the beginning of the third book, making a potent duology instead of a de rigueur trilogy.

Anyway, readers who like pulpy horror sf about super powers and "Cog" inventions (like a Thomas Edison-made spirit phone to call hell) with plenty of exciting action and appealing characters should like the trilogy.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Better than the first book.

If you could sum up Spellbound in three words, what would they be?

Action, action, action.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Spellbound?

The final fight against the rogue agent in D.C.

What about Bronson Pinchot’s performance did you like?

Everything. this guy is one of the best narrarators I've heard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The scene when one of the Grim Noir gives his life to end the dust bowl in Oklahoma was touching.

Any additional comments?

I liked this better than the first in the series which is pretty rare. I'd advise getting all three books in the series.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A worthy sequel. A marvelous universe.

The title of my review for Hard Magic (Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles) was "Simply, the best audiobook I've ever encountered." After getting through Spellbound I have to say that Hard Magic still holds that title, but the sequel is certainly no disappointment. Perhaps it was because Hard Magic just felt more fresh, and upon reading Spellbound my wonderment at the universe had been a bit diluted (I listened to them back to back all in less than a week). But, the best way to put it is, if I give Spellbound 5 stars all around, I'd have to give Hard Magic 6 stars. Although, Bronson Pinchot's performance still gets 10/5 in both books.

Spellbound has the same incredible historical urban science fiction fantasy mojo that is touted by Hard Magic. Most of your favorite characters return and the new characters that are introduced, for the most part, do not disappoint, with a very interesting interaction between a magic-envious academic and a demon possessor; yes a demon summoner that possesses the demons. Clever stuff.

You won't be disappointed by Spellbound if you found Hard Magic worth your time. But, while this seems obvious, definitely get through the first book before even attempting this one. Though, you could probably take a pretty big break in between and have no trouble picking right back up into the universe. And, what a universe it is!

The only disappointing thing about Spellbound is that Larry Correia hasn't finished the last book yet. Right now I'm feeling quite impatient waiting for both Cold Days, the next Dresden Files installment and for the third book of the Grimnoir Chronicles. I'm working my way through the Monster Hunter series now, trying to get my fix of Correia's action packed fantastical imagination.

Comparing Grimnoir Chronicles to Monster hunter:
After finishing the first book, Monster Hunter International, I would suggest that both Hard Magic and Spellbound really represent a definite refinement of Correia's art. The Grimnoir Chronicles series blows, at least the first, Monster Hunter book out of the water, and that's saying a lot because MHI itself represents a fantastic addition to the urban fantasy genre. Though I admit that I am probably speaking too soon since the MH books likely improve with each new installment. I am quite excited to see how Correia evolved as an author.

Plug for Iron Druid Chronicles:
Oh, and one final recommendation for those waiting for the third GC book: The Iron Druid Chronicles. While the series is a magnitude lighter than Larry Correia's writing, Kevin Hearne's own take on urban fantasy with a 2000 year old druid living in Arizona might be of interest to those who have similar tastes to myself, based on my review above.

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Second book delivers

I don't think that Larry Correia can write a bad book. Pinchot however, still leaves me cold. Some of the characters that carried over from the last novel did not have the same voice as they did the first time. One that sticks out like a sore thumb is Jane. You'll note in this book that her accent is completely missing and now she all of the sudden sounds like any other American girl. I really wish that Oliver Wyman could have voiced this series as well. He is a better fit for Correia's writing. That said, this is still a fantastic book and I am excited for the next in the series.

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A solid middle book.

The first book of the Grimnoir Chronicles focused a lot on Heavy Jake Sullivan but also offered up a number of teasers indicating that Faye Viera was somehow different from other Actives. Well this book explores that difference in great detail while at the same time revealing lots of details about the source of the magical abilities that give the Actives their power. Add in the new shady Office of the Coordinator of Information (OCI), which is hell bent on rounding up Actives for the safety of the people, and you have a story that is action packed from cover to cover.

All of the members of the Grimnoir are under siege for one reason or another. The OCI has framed some of the Grimnoir for an assassination attempt on the President, an ancient evil is about to arrive on Earth as it pursues the power that gives the Actives their abilities, and Faye learns that the reason she wasn't born with her power is that she is the reincarnation of one of the most evil Actives to ever exist. Loyalties are questioned all along the way until the various story lines all come together in a final battle that puts everyone to the test.

Spellbound is an excellent follow up to Hard Magic and it sets things up for a thrilling conclusion in the finale of this genre bending trilogy. I really enjoy the blend of actual personalities from history along with the fictional characters and I am eagerly moving on to the finale. This audiobook is once again expertly narrated by Bronson Pinchot and makes for a excellent listening experience.

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A great new book in the series

This is the second book and the series and it deepens the readers understanding of the world as well as exploring all of the characters in it. The narrator keeps up his attempt to provide a unique voice for each character and does well overall, though some of the accents are more noticeable than others. Overall a great new addition to the series.

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A Worthy Successor To 'Hard Magic.'

'The Spellbound' is great fun. It's the second in a series, so read 'Hard Magic' first. You'll be glad you did.
For those who have read and enjoyed 'Hard Magic,' this book is sure to be a treat. Correia seems like he has a ball writing these books. They're not silly (not in the denigrating sense, anyway), but they never take themselves too seriously.
The surviving characters from Hard Magic are back, and some intriguing new characters are introduced.
Once again, Bronson Pinchot's narration is spot-on. Highly recommended.

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