What Kind of Wizardry is This?!
594563
This thing is amazing. I bought one for a trip to Disney World since I am a hypochondriac and constantly concerned that I am going to pass out from the Florida heat. It worked like magic.
3721218
Heads up witches, pagans, and wiccans alike: THIS BOOK ISN'T INTENDED FOR YOU. Please do not be offended by the contents of this book. In the beginning chapters the authors explicitly state that this book is not intended for witches. Could it provide some lovely inspiration for spells? Absolutely. Though their "spells" read more like meditations which makes sense because it is essentially a self help book formatted through the lense of witchcraft.
Could this spark some curiosity and bring about a drive to learn more about witchcraft? Totally. Is this a witchcraft for beginners book? Hell no.
It is entertaining and fun. Hell even for actual witches if you are in a slump this might be the pick me up you need. But it is definitely not an educational source for witchcraft, and it was never intended to be so.
Pick this up if you want to smile. Not if you want to learn about different forms of witchcraft (not just wicca).
819163
This book is actually a combination of 2 books by the same author: "The Amazing book of Magic" and "The Amazing Book of Card Tricks". It contains some of the best tricks for someone to begin a hobby or career in magic. Since one cannot "search inside", I will just write the names of the sections:

1. Money magic (Basic sleights, vanishes, penetrations and a lovely trick involving burning money! Adult supervision required!!)
2. Safety Pin magic (5 beautiful tricks, including one where you place a pin on one end of the handkerchief, and pull it to the other end...without damaging the hanky!!)
3. Matchbox magic (3 incredible routines. All may be used in a show, or as I prefer just one per show. One trick is to bring  a mathbox to life and it obeys your commands!)
4. Rope magic (Besides strangling people I despise ;), one is able to equalize 3 unequal pieces of rope!!)
5. Mind magic (I am not a fan of the clairvoyant, but when you are able to always end up with the envelope containing the money, I'm in!!)
6. Magic Miscellany (A mixture of tricks which are none of the above, like the classic cups and balls trick, and making wrapped sugar cubes penetrate your hand and into your coffee cup!!)

The card magic is divided into the following sections:

1. Basic Handling Skills (skills & terminology needed for section 2).
2. Selected Card Tricks (a selection of beautiful tricks that have stood the test of time. The routines here will -in the words of the author- leave you gobsmacked!)
3. Self-Working Card Tricks (once in a while I'm not in the mood for sleight of hand, so I revert to this section, and so should you!!)

Kudos to Jon Tremaine for compiling and writing such an exquisite selection of tricks. Truly most, if not all, are suitable for building a routine and a wonderful reputation.
4609205
Just about the time you figure it out, there's a twist and once again you are in thrall. Wizards and demons and magicks oh my! It's been a while since I raced into Kindle for a sequel so forgive me for running off, I just heard that this demon may not be what they thought he was!
2658665
Ok, I have not read any of the Discworld series at this point in time, but the title struck me as a bit of an allusion or, oppositely, an originator for Mr. Bobo's Mouse Circus in Neil Gaimans "Coraline" (great book, for a kids book)...does it interest anyone to know that Gaiman and Pratchett intersected about 1990 or so to write a novel together, "Good Omens" (another kick-nuts book)?
3075258
I am really enjoying this.  It is sort of a coming of age fantasy novel that also is a parody of fantasy novels.  Imagine some of the snarkier kids in G & T classes going to the college version of Hogwarts in upstate New York.  Imagine them landing up in a twisted version of Narnia . . .  It is well-written, too, something that can't always be said about this genre.
4112637
Fantastic! but whats next? does it end here? this series truly has me wanting more, the literary hook has been set. Magic without monsters, without fairy in the back ground, but still, evil lurks? count me in. A fun frolic in this fresh world by Larry Correia. This almost creates it's own genre of magical urbanism. Mr. Correia is right up there with Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne, The world is well thought out alternate realtyesque and deserves the discerning readers eye.
2148396
What a fun adventure!  Ms. Horan has created a story with innovative magic similar to  Harry Potter novels and the suspense of the chase around locations like a Dan Brown novel.  I know I'm not the demographic for this novel, but I think anyone would enjoy the fun of watching the trio of adventures on their quest.  I look forward to the next one!
1578049
I normally start my reviews with an encapsulating blurb - my take on the primary story line, but in this case I'm at a loss. There is no single story driving the action. It's very much an ensemble cast, and we watch them struggle to find their various ways through a turbulent period in the history of their world. That should give us lots to see and do, and it should be exciting. But it isn't. At least, not for me.

The problem is that, in order to get excited by a story, I need to become emotionally invested in the characters first. But that just never happened for me here. So many people traipse through this tale, crossing and recrossing each other's story lines, that I just kept getting lost. Who is this, again? Who is he with now and what are they doing? Never mind that there doesn't seem to be a single likeable character in the entire mix. I just can't keep them all straight long enough to bond with any of them.

So many of these characters seem to be interchangeable. There's a group of wizards, and a group of soldiers, and another group of wizards, and some thieves and some super-wizards... Most of the players in any one group seem completely indistinguishable from one another, and even characters from different groups seem equally depthless and banal. The magic system seems vague, and yet all powerful. I can't even tell how many races there are supposed to be, because it's not always clear whether this new "group" being mentioned is a race, or a religious order, or a nationality.

The first time I tried to read it, I got about 20% in and bailed. But I've read so many good reviews that I decided to give it another shot. This time I got 98% of the way in - I reached the freaking climax! - and I was so confused and so underwhelmed by the big finish that I just folded up my tent and went to watch some TV instead. If a 500 pg book can't hold me during the last 50 pages, when it is purportedly paying off that 450 pg investment, there is something seriously wrong.

A number of people have told me that it really starts coming together in book 2 or maybe book 3, but I'm just not willing to wade through 1000 or more pages of confusing crap to get to the good stuff. And frankly, I have a hard time believing there's anything in the future other than more confusing actions being conducted by interchangeable cardboard characters that I have come to loathe. So why on earth would I want to keep reading about them?
479818
Mr. Grossman seems desperately afraid of finally being pegged credulous or simple-minded in re:  the practice of magic.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn that as he sat down to write he declared to himself, "That junk may be what sells, but I'll show 'em a thing or two," grimly determined to deconstruct every piece of fantasy ever written that dared to trade in whimsy, jollity, or even just an ordinary good time every once in a while.  You can't do a spell by waving a wand and declaiming a pseudo-Latin phrase, he tells us sternly!  [Be not so afraid, dear author, we didn't really think so.]

In service of gravitas and deeper meaning, his teenage heroes ("the nerdiest of the nerds") forever snatch depression from the jaws of victory, each of which, right on schedule, proves hollow.  No parent cares about their child.  No friend can truly be relied upon.  Every group is a clique.  And above all, magic is not magical.

Why are they there (at Brakebills, which the reader will instantly recognize as Hogwarts without the charm), the students are asked, rhetorically.  Because they are WOUNDED AND MISERABLE, they are assured.  And, yes, they surely are.  Magic is GRIM STUFF.  Magic is DIFFICULT.  Magic is INTRICATE AND TEDIOUS.  How many times must the reader be told this?  How many adolescent hangovers must be described lest we imagine we were given the real scoop by authors who led us to believe that becoming a magician might be fun?  How many times must our hero ... oh, never mind.  It isn't worth it.  It really isn't.
1887013
Another addition to the ever-growing Swords & Sorcery genre, this is a tale not to be passed by. Oh, all the expected elements are there, they just aren't quite what one is expecting. We have our warrior, Andrasta, who is a a well-muscled, highly trained half-breed woman with almost no sense of humor. We have our near useless (at the beginning) comic relief  Rondel. He use to be a great bard and something of a fop. However, he starts this story off mutilated and having spent too many years in prison. These two make an unlikely alliance, and the adventuring begins with an escape!

Every time I thought this book would take a turn and head down the often-trod trail of mediocrity, it surprised me. Are there maidens who need rescuing? Well, yes but they are also willing to stab your eyes out if you turn out to be with the bad guys. Is there an untried young magician in the group? Well, yes but Andrasta puts him through some really tough & rough training before he has to do any actual battle. Is there a horrendously evil cult that everyone must try to escape from at the end? Well yes, and not everyone makes it.

Plus, there is all this other great stuff going on in the book. Like Andrasta has his huge chip on her shoulder that only she can knock down. But until she is ready to do that, she will just pound Rondel into some semblance of a fighter. Theres this horrible place called the Blood Forest. Yeah, its creepy and hungry, evil things lurk with in it. Of course I want our heroes to have to enter it! So, that was awesome, twice over because they had to go through the forest twice.

Our two main characters had excellent story arcs for a first book. We met them and then they slowly changed through out the book. Rondel is the more compassionate of the two and he rubs off on Andrasta, even as she teaches him to use the sword and make shim run laps to build up his endurance. Then the author takes it one step further and has a few of our side characters also grow and change through out the book. I think I will miss two of our side characters, as I don't expect them to be in the next book. On occasion, there is a minor character that happens by at the right time who provides critical info to the heroes. While I understand this is done to help move the plot forward, and it was decently done, it was also obvious that was the characters entire point. If I have to have a criticism about this book, that would be my tiny, little one right there.

By the end of the book, we have plenty of murder and mayhem because the Cult of Sutek is full of evil people who need to die. Hopefully, the good guys got them all. While there is plenty of death, it is not particularly gory and the author doesnt linger of spilled guts or the blood rituals the cult practices. Enough details are given to make you want the cult dead but not so much that your lunch will revolt on you.

I am very much looking forward to the next installment in this series. Andrasta is a fascinating character because she pounds against boundaries until they break. Rondel has also earned a warm little place in my heart with his mix of practicality and compassion. The two make a great duo!

Narration: Jeffrey Kafer was a good pick for this book. Much of the tale is told through Rondels eyes and he Kafer makes a very good broken bard turned sellsword. He also had a plethora of female and male voices to fill out all the other characters. He had a good young male voice for the untried magician. The book does talk of accents from time to time, and I couldn't discern much of an accent given to any of the characters, to that would be my only quibble. If the book hadnt mentioned accents as much as it did, I wouldnt have noticed the lack of them.
2212781
It's Harry Potter...what's not to love?  Forget all the disagreeable folks who want to quibble over what a word means...isn't Clinton (Bill) out of office?  Mugwumps...people without magic.  We have them here in our world!  No name calling is done...and the kids are fun.  Life is hard enough...don't look for fights where there aren't any!  This probably isn't as helpful as it could be...let's see:  Harry Potter saves his friends and their world again in his own inimitable style, and makes viewers smile...viewers of all ages!  If you've enjoyed the other Potter stories, you'll love this one too.
4392351
Random Magic is just that: Randomagical - and definitely for the whimsiest of minds! At first I hesitated to continue reading as Chapter 1 seemed like a whole lot of randomness that I was entirely unprepared for - but by the time Henry and Winnie meet in Chapter 3, I settle in quite nicely into this bizarre world that somehow makes sense in its nonsense. I always enjoy a good play on words and ideas - and Random Magic definitely has a party with them! There is quite the colorful cast of epic proportions - and I'm fairly certain that everyone can find one or two or all characters to love!

I definitely loved Garden of Nine Muses where we get to meet the Muses who are rather ridiculous, but adorably so if you are a die-hard fan of the Muses (which I am). The random story about naming mix-up between Erato and Errata was awesome - it makes me giggle each time I stop and think about it!

If you love MirrorMask or appreciate the beauty in random, then Random Magic may be the right book to whisk you away to a world that makes the Mad Hatter look average!
561811
The so-called spells were not very convincing.  Simple stuff anyone could do.  Wizardology is way more realistic to wizard-lore.
3912134
Lots of these "spells" require you obtain strange things like rabbits ears, and the eyes of a toad born in the full moon and crap like that. It's pretty much all bs
2576041
Something witchy this way comes.

Kindergarten-teacher-slash-sorceress Ivie McKie has officially sworn off magic. With her father back from the deadjust in time for her upcoming wedding to sexy former magician Jackson BlakeIvie has plotted a course straight to happily-ever-after-ville. And she won't let anything get in her way this time. But Daddy Dearest has something sneaky up his sleeve. When just one more spell goes horribly wrong and detours her into the path of her fathers dangerously hot new apprentice, Ivie has to scramble to get the magic and her love life back on track. Along the way, she encounters a promise made before she was born, a clan of Scottish sorcerers in kilts, and yet another goat.

Suddenly Spellbound is a new madcap adventure featuring Ivie McKie from Suddenly Sorceress.

What did I like?  Im a fan of the I dream of Genie era where Samantha just twitched her nose and all kinds of fun things happened.  Well this book is so close to one of those types of stories and it kept me in stitches all the way through.  I laughed and really enjoyed every escapade that Ivie got involved in.  Ivie is the the girl next door type that all of know and sure wish that there were more of them around today.  She has the dangest time keeping herself out of trouble and even though she really does not want to do magic cause it only seems to get her into more trouble, it just happens and watch out here comes the fun.

What are you going to like?  You will love every single one of the cast except one and that one is the one that makes the book so much fun towards the end.  The interactions between each of the cast are going to keep you laughing and yet there is a very serious love affair going on, the kind that all of us dream of having.  The storyline is very developed and the author has put a lot of work into it as it shows in all the important ways.  I love a book that is filled with humor, a little sex, a little more drama and a ton of laughter type situations.  This one if filled to brim and will keep you reading till you're done.  I have confirmed that the author is working on the next book and is excited to get it finished.  I do want to comment that there is a little sexual content involved in this book but it is all done very tastefully and even to the extent of humorous.  I cant wait to get my hands on book three.

I received this for being an advanced reader for the author.  Besides getting all the good books in advance of hitting the market and have the opportunity to share my remarks, I love to be part of the team that watches a young author as they develop their own style and become better and better with each book that they pen.  Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
4199711
Craziest looking thing.
Works like magic.
Must be made by fairies.

I love it!