in addition to Harry Potter and Sabriel mentioned previously in this forum Sorc GMs may be interested in The Amulet of Samarkand (Stroud), published by Doubleday, which is coming out soon or just came out (I read the proof, it hasn't arrived in our store yet)

it features a ten-year old with a mean streak a mile wide and the demon he summons; imho some of the writing is a bit iffy (first and third person... aargh!) but the story is quite fun

(written half-and-half from the pov of the boy, and the demon, and sometimes the narrator (third person gnashing of teeth here))

the setting is interesting from a social pov (politician-sorcerers take 10 year old adepts from their parents to train them; everyone knows they're magic-users but not the source of their powers) but the alternate earth (well, england) is just mildly interesting (not as gosh-wow as, frex, Sabriel's world)

[reading status: almost finished Sword and heading into the remaining supplements, wow! here's hoping I can get some prep time in to run The House demo at imbolcon this weekend]

Thanks David! I'll be picking up a copy when we Outsiders can buy it.

The question I have, if it's not giving away too much, is what exactly prompted the initial Binding? Do we know? And what was it like?

I ask because practical, literary/cinematic references for making the rituals matter in play are something I'm hunting for these days.

Best,
Ron

hi ron,

the binding described is your traditional chalk circles and incantations (rules about True Names as well, including the demon knowing yours), although in this case in the venue is the attic/boy's bedroom

briefly, having been humiliated by a senior sorcerer, the boy seeks revenge (with no clear plan), and to do so summons up the meanest demon he can (he has unrecognized talent in sorcery) to steal the amulet of the title, by the end of the book various conspiracies have been uncovered and he has by-the-by saved the world from destruction

there is a lot of focus on the relationship between the boy and demon, and the back-and-forth power they have over each other in various ways (eg, the demon eventually learns the boy's True Name)

there are also some setting questions left open for the rest of the trilogy to explore (some anti-government rebel types)

if Doubleday publications aren't readily available in the US try the publisher Hyperion Books For Children who should also be releasing the book this year (no month listed on my database, price listed $17.95, ISBN 0-7868-1859-X)

(no dollar price for the Doubleday, GBP 12.99, ISBN 0-385-60599-4)

Ah! Perfect. I'm looking for instances of deliberate "I am doing this sorcery" decision-making for character concepts. Sabriel, unfortunately for this purpose, was stillborn and brought back from the river by her father. Which is tres cool in all sorts of ways, but carries the possible implication that she "can't help" her affinities for necromancy. It's easy to get hung up on that and miss the thirteen years of hard work and study between the Prologue and Chapter 1.

Best,
Ron

indeed; although this boy hasn't exactly chosen his path (being taken from his parents and all), the decisions and actions taken in the story are entirely his, esp. the Summoning & Binding

When you dropped the "can't help it" phrase, I couldn't help thinking about the interplay between morality, fate, and power. I know that in Sorcerer it's thematically important that the sorcerers intend to be what they are, but in a larger scope...

If, for instance, a person is granted powers that allow them to control others, or destroy men with a touch, or whatever... is their personality not dominated by that the same way a star athlete's personality is dominated by their ability and the way others react to it?

I guess this is kind of off topic, but hey, tangents is what I'm all about. ^_^ Feel free to ignore my comments.