The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

I asked the Schmidtleins one evening what books they were reading...and they both heartily recommended this particular book, even though they said they liked others of his books as well. They said it was original and interesting. They like wholesome reading and this author is a member of the church and keeps it clean. They told me it was a little sci/fi and fantasy, but that there were interesting characters.

Well, the story was definitely sci/fi and kind of dark and even gruesome in parts. I found the characters shallow and somewhat predictable. What was amazing, though, was the author's ability to invent and share a whole method of fighting evil with chalk drawings that come to life according to prescribed rules. The whole idea of "chalklings" attacking and eating humans was not so impressive; what intrigued me was the idea of drawing lines of defense and offense that did different things. Ben McSweeney's illustrations were more interesting to me than the story! This whole world of rithmatics was somewhat allegorical to our creation and the way we fight. Seen this way, the story becomes more intriguing. But all in all, it's not a book I would ever read again nor recommend. But it might be more appealing to a young male reader who likes adventure and strategy. 

One more thing...I did get engaged enough in the characters to read the whole book to see if good would win over evil. And it did, of course, but not with any closure. Most plot threads were left untied and unexplained. The main character still had a big dream to fulfill. The last sentence in the book is a highly UNsatisfying, "To be continued." I threw the book down when it ended this way, pretty frustrated that I was hooked in for so long with so little resolution. Cheap author trick!!!