In many ways, what Larry Correia is doing here is a superhero comic in literary form. A gun-toting, slightly uncouth cousin to George R.R. Martin's excellent Wild Cards series. Technically, it's steampunk laced with magic. But almost every 'magical' ability in this story is more like a superpower, originating from a single alien source. Mixing things up a bit are elements of a less muddy magical nature, such as those whose power is Summoning; the ability to pull demonic or ghostly forms from another dimension. Interestingly, we learn that the specific place is a former refuge of the Power. The remaining life forms there now inhabit an utterly devastated world, after encountering the magic-eating Enemy; an entity that gives the impression of being Galactus, without the coat-hanger hat and gay disco threads. Among the many plusses in Spellbound is that the fun factor, character development, and world building scale even greater heights than its predecessor. Yet some of the problems from Hard Magic carry over. The author stubbornly insists that his characters are 'wizards,' despite that much of what they do clearly being rooted in geometry that intersects with alien science. As with the first book, some chapters are split by embarrassingly poor full page graphics. Given that Larry Correia, when away from his keyboard, is a competitive shooter, firearms instructor and accountant, it is not unreasonable to expect him to have a better eye for detail. Especially when it comes to errors that unintentionally distract the reader. These niggling issues aside, this second novel of Grimnoir Chronicles does not disappoint in its primary objective. Inventive twists of alternate back history work with sly references to individuals who, in our world, followed a different path, combining to add substance, authenticity and crucial individuality to this series. By the time I got to the last page I was, once again, eager for more.

In a genre rapidly becoming stuffed with mediocre products, Spellbound has enough of what it takes to rise above much of the competition. Larry Correia writes in a style that while modern and accessible, is also nicely seasoned with the essence of Ditko era comic books, and just the right amount of pulp fiction appeal. The entertainment value is high, the plotting lean and mean, and the characterisation evolving very nicely indeed. It's definitely one to buy.