The Way of Wizards
Tom Cross
Andrews McMeel
Fiction, Fantasy
*****
DESCRIPTION: Wizard. The word conjures images of mysterious, bearded figures in flowing robes, wielding crooked staffs as they trek into strange caverns, pore over ancient tomes, or summon unworldly spirits. But what, exactly, is a wizard? Where do they come from, and what do they do? This book attempts to answer those questions, offering the reader insights into wizardly ways that have never before been seen by mortals.
REVIEW: The first thing that struck me about this was the many beautiful illustrations. Some were sketches, some photographs, and others somewhere in between, but all were vivid with color and rich in imagination. They were the sort of bright, captivating images one might chance upon in a dream, but never be able to capture again in waking hours. Of course, I've seen more than one illustrated book where the illustrations were the only thing worth looking at. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the writing matched the mysterious, imaginative, sometimes cryptic and sometimes whimsical nature of the pictures. I rated it for the overall inspiration factor, as the narrative itself began to bog down toward the end when it tried introducing a wizardly calamity for little discernable reason, except perhaps to justify any sequels. This book seems to be hard to find, but well worth the effort to track down.
You might also enjoy:
The Lost Years of Merlin (T. A. Barron, YA Fiction - The youth and education of history's most famous wizard)
A Treasury of Witches and Wizards (David Bennet, editor, YA Fiction - Stories of witches and wizards)
The Wiz Biz books (Rich Cook, Fiction - A Silicon Valley programmer, pulled into a magical world by a wizard, finds that spells and code scripts have a lot in common)
The Coldfire trilogy (C. S. Friedman, Fiction - On a distant world, wizards manipulate the natural force known as Fae, which renders one's imagined dreams and terrors into tangible creations)
Eyewitness Books: Witches & Magic-Makers (Douglas Hill, YA Nonfiction - A visual overview of magicians from around the world)
Which Witch? (Eva Ibbotson, YA Fiction - The darkest wizard in the land seeks a dark witch to marry)
The Fire Rose and The Serpent's Shadow (Mercedes Lackey, Fiction - Mages control elemental beings in the late 1800's)
Earthsea trilogy (Ursula K. LeGuin, YA Fiction - In the isle-and-ocean land of Earthsea, a wizard faces the forces of darkness)
Dragon's Fire, Wizard's Flame (Michael R. Mennenga, YA Fiction - A dragon without fire must face an evil sorcerer)
Sabriel (Garth Nix, YA Fiction - A girl's necromancer father sends her a message and a mission from beyond the gates of Death)
The Seventh Tower series (Garth Nix, YA Fiction - In a world of perpetual darkness, light and shadow form the basis for magic)
Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - Three kids learn they have magical gifts, and must travel to the heart of all worlds to learn their purpose)
The Circle of Magic series (Tamora Pierce, YA Fiction - Four children with rare gifts must learn to trust and control their powers)
Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - A boy orphaned by an evil wizard grows up ignorant of his powers)
A School for Sorcery (E. Rose Sabin, YA Fiction - A gifted girl attends a school where nothing and nobody is what it appears)
A Wizard in Mind (Christopher Stasheff, Fiction - An interstellar meddler with special powers helps a medieval-era colony on the brink of war)
Wizardology (Dugald A. Steer, editor, YA Fiction - The world of wizards, explained and illustrated)
A College of Magics (Caroline Stevermer, YA Fiction - The heiress to a small duchy is sent to a magical college)
Mairelon the Magician (Patricia Wrede, YA Fiction - A street girl becomes entangled with an exiled mage in turn-of-the-century London)
Wizard's Hall (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - A talentless boy ends up at a magical school)
The Young Merlin trilogy (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - A feral child has inborn gifts that lead him through tragedy to his place in history)
A Plague of Sorcerers (Mary Frances Zambreno, YA Fiction - When a young wizard's power awakens, he attracts the unpromosing Delia the skunk as his familiar)
Return to Top of Page - Return to Book Review List
Return to Brightdreamer Books Home
Brightdreamer Books is created and maintained by TBW, a.k.a. "Brightdreamer."
E-mail: tbweber AT comcast DOT net. (Remove spaces, replace AT with "@" and DOT with "." - please put "Brightdreamer Books" in the subject line, or your e-mail may be deleted as
spam! Thank you!