5.0 out of 5 stars
A cool and nuanced YA book, 26 Nov 2011
This review is from: School of the Ages: The Ghost in the Crystal (Kindle Edition)
I've always been a fan of philosophy, ancient history, culture, and magic/the fantasy genre -- all of these elements were very well mixed in "The Ghost in the Crystal." I was pleasantly surprised to come across mentions of "Alexander the Great" (one of my favorite historical figures; more familiar with non-fiction, than fiction works that make a reference to the famous conqueror)!
What I really enjoyed and appreciated as a reader, was the historical accuracy of the traditions and cultural components mentioned in the book. I've rolled my eyes at TV shows before when such facts are inaccurate ["...it doesn't matter if you don't know that Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Indonesia" -- heard that one from an old episode of "The OC", LOL (KL is the capital of Malaysia)]...but Mr. Posner is certainly a lot more careful, educated, and discerning.
While aspects of the book reminded me of the Harry Potter series, I thought that setting the story in NYC was cool and refreshing. The writing style is concise too (I'm always thankful when an author doesn't take an unnecessary 100 pages to get from one plot point to another!).
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Magical Review From a Magician's Point of View, 12 Aug 2011
This review is from: School of the Ages: The Ghost in the Crystal (Kindle Edition)
When I was first given this book to read and review, I was a bit concerned about this being a Harry Potter clone, set in the urban environment of New York City. After all, when a series such as Harry Potter does so well, there are bound to be imitations, most of which fall far short of their goals. In addition, having read all 7 Harry Potter books, I felt that this book would have a lot of work to do in order to measure up.
I'm pleased to say that the author has done a fine job of blending an urban setting with the intricacies of magic... and being a magician and 40+ year member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M. Ring 210), I can be very picky about that sort of thing.
I've only been to NYC once, so my knowledge of the NYC environment is a bit limited. Nonetheless, Mr. Posner has captured the spirit and essence of the city, along with the spirit and essence of magical legerdemain within that environment. I was quite surprised by the cultural diversity which was incorporated throughout the storyline. Usually, a story sticks with a single culture or society and tells the story through that culture or society. Mr. Posner has managed to capture that cultural aspect most expertly, all the while maintaining historical accuracy, which most authors do not.
His grasp of magical knowledge is also impressive, although I would have liked to have seen a little less emphasis on the mystical aspect and more emphasis on the hands-on, sleight-of-hand magic that I grew up with. I suppose it's just the magician in me that wishes for that style of magical authorship. Still though, Mr. Posner does very well in my mind in his portrayal of magic and mysticism.
Finally, as an author myself, I know all too well how difficult it can be to develop characters, have them interact and maintain consistency throughout a story as long as this one (I've always preferred shorter stories, at least up until I read the HP series). Mr. Posner gives us a fine look into the relationships between Simon Magnus (the hero) and his classmates, as well as developing a most unusual and intriguing style of writing. I welcome that as it gets old reading the same style of storytelling over and over. The nice thing here is that there is never a dull moment, the story never bogs down with too much detail or nonsense, and there is a great deal of action (some of it very dark and disturbing).
I was very pleased to have read this fine novel, which was sent to me by Mr. Posner. My only regret is that it is only available as an e-book. Being old and used to old ways, I've always preferred paper to electrons and I hope Mr. Posner considers publishing this novel as a hardback paper edition.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
NOT Harry Potter, 24 July 2011
This review is from: School of the Ages: The Ghost in the Crystal (Kindle Edition)
This was a young adult book I think, but nevertheless it was an engrossing read. The wizard school is no Hogwarts but I think this a darker series in a lot of ways than HP, I will read the synopsis of the next book before deciding to go on with it!
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