Spellsinger

Spellsinger is a series of fantasy novels written by Alan Dean Foster. At present the series consists of eight books and, although there was a significant gap between the writing of book six and book seven, it seems unlikely that any more will be written.

These volumes are:

The story initially deals with the characters of Jonathan Thomas Meriweather, referred to by the locals as Jon-Tom, when he is unwillingly pulled into a fantasy world by the turtle wizard Clothahump. Having been, at the moment of his transportation, high on cannabis, Jon-Tom initially thinks it is all a dream brought on by the drugs. He soon finds out differently: he is in an unfamiliar world with little prospect of returning home anytime soon.

The world of Spellsinger is largely inhabited by animals that are similar to those found on Earth, but are anthropomorphic: generally bipedal, they are intelligent, able to wear clothing and handle tools, generally closer to human-sized than their Earth counterparts, and are capable of speech. Humans, far from being the dominant species, here are equal to others.

The threat to the Western areas are from the Plated Folk, larger versions of insects and other arthropods who periodically mount assaults on the Western areas. Spiders are not included in the main society, which has centipedes and various insects like beetles. Spiders have their own society known as The Weavers, and are highly isolationist.

Many of the primary characters in each of the books only appear for that volume; however, there are a number of characters who appear in the majority of the series.

Jon-Tom

Jonathan Thomas Meriweather, called 'Jon-Tom,' is a student in law at UCLA who is pulled through to this world from Earth by the wizard Clothahump. Since Jon-Tom is high on hallucinogenic drugs at the time, he initially believes that he is dreaming. This belief is soon dispelled when Mudge the Otter stabs him. Mudge, who considers Jonathon Thomas' full name to be too long-winded, nicknames him Jon-Tom. Jon-Tom is an easygoing person, a bit naive, and also someone who seems to look for the best in people. His social skills seem a bit awkward, especially in Mudge's world, and he initially makes a few faux-pas.

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