I was fascinated by the intricacy of the Rithmatic drawings and the precision and knowledge needed to protect and fight against the chalklings. In this world, math and beauty mean power. Ritmatists rely on geometry to create circular intricate defenses–greater precision means greater strength–while they use more artistic approaches to create their own chalkings–unicorns, knights, dragons, and anything else they can imagine or sketch to launch attacks. To fight this threat, Rithmatists are chosen to train in creating drawings that can defend and attack against the chalkings. In Joel’s world, humans fight against wild chalklings, two-dimensional drawings that rip people apart. The premise alone was enough to draw me in. With sympathetic characters, an engrossing mystery, and a vividly-drawn world, The Rithmatist proves one of the finest fantasies I have read in a long time. The Rithmatist is one of those rare, gripping reads–the kind that you finish in one sitting in the wee hours of the morning because you can’t bear to put it down.

But with no Rithmatic powers himself, how can Joel hope to win a fight drawn in 2D? REVIEW Then Rithmatist students begin disappearing and Joel finds himself assisting the professor determined to find the perpetrator. Joel would do anything to be a Rithmatist himself, but because he was not chosen during the initiation ceremony, he spends his days studying Rithmatic theory and old Rithmatist duels. In Joel’s world, students train as Rithmatists–people who can make chalk drawings come alive to fight the wild chalklings that threaten their society.

The rithmatist book