User:Jhansche/sandbox/The Shadow of the Gauntlet

The Shadow of the Gauntlet is a science-fiction/fantasy novel by American author Casey Caracciolo. According to Geekadelphia, the novel "covers well worn, well loved territory, but puts a fresh spin on the magic, tech, and fantasy that we’ve all grown up loving."

Synopsis
On the eve of his graduation from New Salem High, Thomas Scargen awakens from an all-too-real nightmare depicting his father’s mysterious disappearance. Before the boy can regain his composure and slack back into his familiar world of artifs and hologames, Thomas is torn away from his home and hastily ushered into a secret world of magic. He quickly begins to discover his magical potential and grasp his manifesting abilities, but he lacks perhaps the most important component: control.

Yareli Chula, Spirit Summoner and member of The Council of Mages, has been dispatched to recover the boy and bring him to The Council. There he can find the discipline he needs and the answers he seeks, but getting him there alive will be anything but easy. Yareli is not the only one searching for the Scargen boy.

Along his journey, Thomas will ride atop a teleport dragon, duel a High Demon of the Depths, run with the Lions of Sirati, outfox a spirit ghost, race a vampire, and quote Shakespeare with a whiskey-swilling werewolf—all in the hope of discovering the truth about his father.

This quest will be fraught with darkness and a malevolence far more unyielding than anything Thomas has come across in his fantasy books. Armed with his newly realized powers and his unlikely companions, Thomas Scargen will have to face this pervasive evil without being entirely consumed by The Shadow of the Gauntlet.

Plot
Set in an unspecified futuristic universe, The Shadow of the Gauntlet begins with Thomas waking from a dream in which his father, Dr. Carl Scargen, has mysteriously disappeared. Before he has a chance to question the dream, Thomas and his robotic sidekick LINC are drawn outside where he meets Yareli Chula—a beautiful Native American mage—and her spirit-fox Wiyaloo. Together the four battle the mysterious Eerah, ultimately leading to Thomas discovering that he has magical abilities. The friends finally escape the scene riding on Bartleby, a dragon with teleportation capabilities.

Bartleby and LINC have both sustained damaging injuries from the battle, so the group has to divert to Bartleby's home, Draige Manor, where Bartleby's roommates with technical know-how—including Bartleby's gremlin friend Fargus and curator of the manor Hawthorne—will attempt to repair the dragon and the crashed artif. Thomas and Yareli are sent to London to retrieve parts necessary for the repairs from a couple of underground tech dealers. The exchange turns into an ambush, however, when it is revealed that one of the dealers in the meet has sold the pair out to a group of Global Alliance Hunters. The pair narrowly escapes the trap, safely returning to Draige Manor with the parts needed to repair Bartleby and LINC.

After the repairs, Thomas and LINC, together with Bartleby, Fargus, Yareli and Wiyaloo, continue on their journey to their final destination: Sirati, a shifting city resembling an African rainforest protected by magic. Here Thomas meets an entire community of humans and talking bipedal animals living in harmony, including the werewolf and vampire brothers Anson and Malcolm Warwick, his Elephant roommate Onjamba, the militant Lion Emfalmay, and the man who created the city and summoned Thomas in the first place, Ziza. During his stay in Sirati, Thomas undergoes a rigorous training regimen designed to teach him how to hone his magical abilities, and more importantly, how to control them.

...

Major themes
~thematic description, using the work of literary critics (i.e. scholars)~

Development history
Caracciolo describes the novel as "Sci-Fi + Fantasy + a dash of Comics and Anime = The Shadow of the Gauntlet." ~history of the novel's development, if available (e.g., Things Fall Apart)~

Publication history

 * 2013, USA, Roundstone Publishing, LLC ISBN 0615779204, Pub date 28 May 2013, Paperback

Explanation of the novel's title
~Explain the novel's title if it's not immediately obvious (e.g., Things Fall Apart)~

Reception
~description of the work's initial reception and legacy based on the work of literary critics and commentators over the years, give citations; if no literary significant should just be called reception~

Awards and nominations
~lists awards the work received, and significant nominations, if applicable; include in reception if brief~
 * The Shadow of the Gauntlet project was named "Kickstarter Project of the Week" in December 2012 by Geekadelphia.